IBM DOORS vs Jira comparison

IBM and Atlassian are both solutions in the Application Requirements Management category. IBM is ranked #2 with an average rating of 7.1, while Atlassian is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.4. IBM holds a 32.5% mindshare in ARM, compared to Atlassian’s 15.4% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Atlassian users who would recommend it.

IBM DOORS

Read 55 IBM DOORS reviews

6,772 Views
2,309 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

Jira

Read 274 Jira reviews

2,801 Views
1,608 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

IBM DOORS

Jira

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

IBM DOORS and Jira operate within the project management and requirements management categories. While IBM DOORS is known for optimizing large-scale requirements and traceability, Jira offers flexibility in project management, particularly for agile methodologies. IBM DOORS has an advantage in requirements engineering due to its emphasis on customization and traceability, whereas Jira stands out for agile project management with its modular functionalities and ease of use.

Features:IBM DOORS is distinguished by its robust traceability, customization through the Dynamic Extension Language (DXL), and comprehensive requirements analysis. It facilitates intricate requirements traceability and offers extensive audit capabilities. Meanwhile, Jira excels in agile project management, providing essential issue tracking, extensive integration options, and the ability to customize workflows to suit agile methodologies.

Room for Improvement:IBM DOORS can be difficult to use, with a steep learning curve, and its proprietary database sometimes limits integration. Efforts to enhance user-friendliness are ongoing with DOORS Next Generation. Jira's flexibility can lead to complex customization challenges and occasional performance issues. Moreover, its native reporting and requirement management integrations would benefit from further enhancement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:IBM DOORS typically involves on-premises or private cloud deployment, accommodating stable data control. Its customer service has been inconsistent but has seen improvements. Jira offers cloud, hybrid, and on-premises deployments, appealing to diverse organizational needs. While its support responds well, price negotiations can be challenging during transitions.

Pricing and ROI:IBM DOORS is often perceived as costly, especially for large-scale deployments, but shows significant ROI through enhanced requirements management. Jira presents a more affordable model for small and medium-sized teams but can grow expensive with additional plugins. Its ROI is enhanced by its adaptability, excelling in agile and fluid project management methodologies.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM DOORS vs. Jira Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

IBM DOORS vs. Jira

June 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

IBM DOORS

Ranking in Application Requirements Management

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Jira

Ranking in Application Requirements Management

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

274

Ranking in other categories

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (1st), Project Management Software (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Requirements Management category, the mindshare of IBM DOORS is 32.5%, down from 35.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Jira is 15.4%, up from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Requirements Management

Featured Reviews

SHRINIVAS ALAGERI

Architect at itcinfotech

Offers a well-refined ASPICE template and satisfying requirement management features

IBM DOORS effectively synchronizes with Polarion. But suppose when Polarion is running on Linux and you want to integrate with IBM DOORS on Windows, that is when compatibility issues arise. For the aforementioned issue we often receive advise in our company to migrate Polarion to Windows before integration. IBM DOORS is a heavy-duty application compared to competitors such as PTC Integrity. Exporting an IBM DOORS module is highly time-consuming for its bulkiness. PTC Integrity is a lighter solution that allows the development of a gateway template. It's crucial to consider the use cases and the other vendors that need to be integrated before using IBM DOORS. Our company is a PTC competence center, so most of our customers are from PTC. The customer integrations our company deals with include modeling tools such as Simulink, MATLAB, and Integrity Modeler to synchronize documents. The digital threat maintenance between IOD and Windchill is also a crucial part of our organization's operations. The solution should be more compatible with thin clients, there should be focus on web-based clients who can be more effective in IBM DOORS. At our company, we don't want every customer to use the thick client format with the solution. I would like to witness the seamless integration of IBM DOORS with Windchill in the future version. The integrations in IBM DOORS should be web-based, I don't prefer to use multiple plug-ins. For example, I want to integrate IBM DOORS with MATLAB, Simulink and Jenkins effortlessly which is possible in Codebeamer. I want every feature of Codebeamer to be present in IBM DOORS in the future releases.

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AmitUbale

Assistant General Manager at ICICI Bank

Efficient project management that's comprehensive and and helps with time efficiency

We use Jira primarily for project management within the organization. It helps us manage tasks, bug management, and tracking tickets effectively. We assign tickets to individual team members and track them easily For project management, Jira has helped facilitate efficient task segregation and…

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution is stable."

"I like the user interface with regard to creating links between requirements and tracing links to requirements."

"The most valuable feature is the management verification and login."

"It helps to manage requirements efficiently, which significantly improves the way requirements are managed."

"We have different generations of all products. It lets us select and see unique attributes for each release or generation. You can use attributes to define a selection area to see which equipments are for the old versions and which ones are for the new versions. This inbuilt view is what I like in IBM Rational DOORS. So, for a database and a set of requirements, it will select and show unique attributes for a release or a generation."

"Rational DOORS' most valuable feature is that you can write any kind of requirement you want."

"It is very customizable and easy to scale."

"What I like about DOORS is baselines, it's easy and I use the capability of multiple users. The traceability or links between different levels are very nice. Additionally, it is used by all of our suppliers, which brings us commonality."

More IBM DOORS pros

"It's flexible and it can provide a lot of different options, such as dashboards, that you can create and manage."

"The solution helps a lot with scrums."

"It benefits us because we have globally located teams. Our team members work in different geographies, so the product is a better way to manage progress and see the status of different tasks"

"The most valuable feature is managing software development."

"Integrates with other components."

"The most valuable features are the customized Dashboard, Sprint Planning, and Automatic Notifications."

"The integration of other open source tools with Jira is very useful. It allows us to create documents and transcriptions, making it versatile beyond software development."

"It helps me to use virtual Scrum boards across four locations, three time zones, and to plan my work. It fully supports the Scrum approach, and the Agile way of working, and it has Agile thinking behind it.."

More Jira pros

Cons

"One of the things that many people complain about is it's hard to manage attributes. For example, tables or figures. This is something that can be improved."

"IBM DOORS should cover all engineering functions seamlessly, not just requirement engineering."

"It's difficult to set the code on the solution."

"Overall, the user experience should be enhanced."

"Not all Rational Team Concert operations are available from the web client. Certain operations, like creating streams or components, still require using the desktop application. They're not accessible through the web interface. And in my opinion, this limitation should be removed."

"It would be helpful if Microsoft provided a more user-friendly interface for updating and querying updates. Additionally, if there was a way for users to notify developers of any changes in requirements, it would allow for faster and more efficient updates to the solution's architecture. This could be in the form of a notification system that alerts developers of any changes that need to be made. Additionally, the solution is document-driven and it should be more digital."

"It would have been ok ten years ago, but we are used to having better tools now."

"Rational DOORS' most valuable feature is that you can write any kind of requirement you want."

More IBM DOORS cons

"The performance could be improved in the future."

"In the way it is deployed, I think Jira is too dependent on the third-party applications that are available in its marketplace. If we could get some of the basic functionalities which are offered by these third-party applications, that would be ideal because each time we need a new functionality, we have to purchase a new plugin as an add-on."

"It should have its own repository for test case creation, so that one does not have to resort to third-party tools and plugins."

"From an automation perspective, there are more aspects that could be needed, especially regarding natural language reporting in the generative AI context."

"I manage the progress of the stories in an Excel chart with dates on work progress or thing to do. I don't like the progress or the stage changing from the stories in Jira."

"I would prefer it if the solution was more intuitive."

"There should be a way to integrate the mobile application or in some way, make it more clear because at first instance, I didn't understand how to use it."

"It's also difficult to migrate through, things don't always tie-up. It's not easy to use."

More Jira cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten, with one being very affordable and ten being quite expensive."

"It is expensive to onboard additional users."

"The licensing cost is too high."

"I am not sure why it is so expensive, but one license will cost approximately $15,000 in US dollars."

"It's expensive."

"Pricing can vary depending on the size of the organization and how contracts are negotiated."

"IBM is a bit too expensive in terms of pricing. Customers are paying a lot for the license, and the price is quite high for this kind of environment. It is quite high as compared to what we can get today with other solutions."

"I think it's expensive because you have to pay for the licenses to IBM and all that and maintain them."

More IBM DOORS pricing and cost advice

"The price is quite competitive."

"The pricing for Jira is reasonable, although I think they can bring it down because the plugins cost extra."

"The price of Jira is reasonable."

"Its price is good and similar to other products. It is about five or six dollars per user."

"We feel that the product is a good value for the cost."

"I don't deal with licensing in my current consultant position."

"The standard package of Jira is for 100 users. They should offer more packages for other increments, such as 500 or 2,000. In my previous company, there was a free package that provided a minimal number of users."

"Jira and its solution off the shelf are cheap. It is cheap for startups."

More Jira pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

26%

Computer Software Company

Aerospace/Defense Firm

Government

Educational Organization

25%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Rational DOORS?

The traceability matrix in DOORS improved our project outcomes. It helps ensure coverage of requirements at different levels, from user requirements to software requirements to test requirements.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Rational DOORS?

Over the years, the first version cost something around 5800 euros.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Rational DOORS?

Compared to today, DOORS' competitors also excel in this discipline. Yet the price is too high. It's often not as generic as it used to be. IBM promised to find a way for a generic format that allo...

See all answers

Is Jira better or would you go with Micro Focus ALM Octane?

Hi Netanya, Basically , it all depends on the use cases for your environment and the business needs. Hope the below data may be relevant to you for identifying your needs and deciding on the approp...

See all answers

Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?

Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products and work logs. It is easy to implement and navigate, and it is stable and scalabl...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Jira?

We operate under a nonlimited license with Jira, allowing a number of users to access it with a single enterprise license.

See all answers

Comparisons

Jama Connect vs IBM DOORS

Compared 25% of the time

Polarion Requirements vs IBM DOORS

Compared 24% of the time

IBM DOORS Next vs IBM DOORS

Compared 11% of the time

OpenText Dimensions RM vs IBM DOORS

Compared 5% of the time

PTC Integrity Requirements Connector vs IBM DOORS

Compared 5% of the time

More IBM DOORS Competitors

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs Jira

Compared 12% of the time

OpenText Software Delivery Management vs Jira

Compared 8% of the time

Polarion ALM vs Jira

Compared 6% of the time

Rally Software vs Jira

Compared 5% of the time

Codebeamer vs Jira

Compared 4% of the time

More Jira Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM DOORS

June 2025

Download IBM DOORS product report

Buyer's Guide

Jira

June 2025

Download Jira product report

Also Known As

Rational DOORS

Jira Software

Overview

IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS (DOORS) is a Requirements Management (RM) software designed to help organizations manage engineering project requirements throughout the development lifecycle. It provides a central location for capturing, defining, and organizing project requirements, facilitating communication and collaboration among stakeholders like engineers, system designers, and customers. Key features include requirements traceability, version control, and impact analysis, ensuring effective implementation and testing. DOORS improves efficiency, enhances communication, reduces risks, and supports better decision-making through clear visibility into requirements. Compared to its newer, web-based counterpart DOORS Next, the mature DOORS 9 offers a wider range of features with a traditional user interface but lacks web-based functionality and modern integration with IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) tools.

IBM

Jira is a powerful cloud- and subscription-based application lifecycle and issue management solution. It is designed to aid users both in project management and in resolving any issues that arise at any point in the software development process. It is especially concerned with easing the ability of developers to collaborate.

Jira Benefits

Some of the ways that organizations can benefit by choosing to deploy Jira include:

DevOps lifecycle visibility and planning. Jira provides application developers with tools that enable them to track and visualize where they are in the development process. This means that a DevOps team can measure their progress at all times. Jira’s roadmapping feature also enables a DevOps team to work more efficiently by setting goals for their projects, keeping them on track. Additionally, they are able to track whether they are meeting the goals that they set for their projects.

Regular product updates. Atlassian is constantly updating Jira so that it is continuously evolving into an ever more powerful and user-friendly solution. Users can be sure that the product that they are using is always being tweaked so as to provide them with the best possible project management solution.

Flexibility. Jira enables users to customize their workflows and dashboard so that the solution is operating in a way that best matches their needs. Jira can also integrate with more than 3,000 other applications and integrations. Organizations can use it to expand their project management and DevOps capabilities in many different ways.

Jira Features

Security capabilities. Jira is equipped with a number of useful security features. It gives administrators the ability to restrict access to certain tools so that only users who are authorized to complete certain tasks have access to the tools related to the completion of that task. Users can also set default permissions so that only particular users can work on new projects or particular projects.

Real-time notification feature. Users can set Jira so that it offers them notifications that contain critical information in real time. It can send users email notifications when pressing issues have been updated. They can also set it to notify them about tasks that may be due, or other similar events.
Activity log. Jira has the ability to track any and all changes that are taking place within the software framework. Users can keep a close eye on everything that is going on. This promotes a high level of visibility and can be leveraged to aid developers in their collaboration efforts.

Reviews from Real Users

Jira is a powerful solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Two major advantages it offers are its workflow engine and its highly customizable dashboard.

Bharath R., the tool implementation and project management lead at a financial services firm, writes, “I feel the strongest feature of Jira is its workflow engine. It empowers us to automate our workflows within our organization. It's the one characteristic of Jira which I think can help any organization, be it in any domain.”

Uday J., a staff engineer at a computer company, says, “Another thing that I like a lot about Jira is that in the dashboard, you can plug the modules that you want. You can enable certain sections. For example, you can show trend history, open Jira tickets, etc. Some of the managers have created a dashboard for each engineer.”

Atlassian

Sample Customers

Infosys, Chevrolet Volt

Square, Nasa, eBay, Cisco, SalesForce, Adobe, BNP Paribas, BMW and LinkedIn, Pfizer, Citi.

Buyer's Guide

IBM DOORS vs. Jira

June 2025

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