IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs Rally Software comparison

IBM and Broadcom are both solutions in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category. IBM is ranked #13 with an average rating of 6.5, while Broadcom is ranked #8 with an average rating of 7.0. IBM holds a 3.7% mindshare in ALM, compared to Broadcom’s 5.5% mindshare. Additionally, 77% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Read 20 IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) reviews

1,744 Views
1,727 Comparison Views

77% willing to recommend

Rally Software

Read 120 Rally Software reviews

4,189 Views
3,770 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

IBM Engineering Lifecycle M...

Rally Software

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) and Rally Software are competitors in the project management and development lifecycle sector. IBM ELM has the upper hand due to its robust integration capabilities, while Rally Software excels in agile project management for teams focused on agile methodologies.

Features: IBM ELM provides comprehensive solutions for managing requirements, quality, and engineering workflows, offering tools for traceability, collaboration, and integration with other systems. Rally Software is known for its agility and adaptability, supporting iterative development with features centered on planning and tracking and enabling the integration of various agile methodologies.

Room for Improvement: IBM ELM could enhance usability and reduce complexity in configuration. Its interface might benefit from updates to meet user expectations. The integration processes could be streamlined to improve efficiency. Rally Software might enhance its reporting capabilities and scalability to better cater to large-scale projects. It could also benefit from improved test management features and better customization options for varying project needs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: IBM ELM's deployment model is complex, requiring initial setup and configuration, supported by extensive customer service. Rally Software offers a simpler deployment model with flexibility for agile environments and satisfactory customer service, ideal for quick implementations.

Pricing and ROI: IBM ELM involves higher upfront costs but offers long-term ROI with its comprehensive feature set. Rally Software provides a more cost-effective initial setup with quicker ROI, emphasizing its value for teams embracing fast-paced agile practices.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Rally Software Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Rally Software

February 2026

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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 Engineering Lifecycle M...

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

13th

Average Rating

7.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Rally Software

Ranking in Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

8th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

120

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites category, the mindshare of IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is 3.7%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Rally Software is 5.5%, down from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Rally Software	5.5%
IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)	3.7%
Other	90.8%

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites

Featured Reviews

LasseMikkonen

CEO at byte

Has supported highly regulated documentation needs but requires a modernized user experience

I think usability should be improved in IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) as the top priority. If you look at the UI, it was literally designed ten years ago, and even at the time it was introduced, it was already somewhat outdated. Even though it is a professional tool, nowadays people expect at least some level of usability from their tools, regardless of how professional the task is. Additionally, if you want to utilize it on a wide scale in an organization, you need to train every person to use it. There is always a threshold for new users to start using it.

Read full review

Rakhee Srivastava

Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited

Real-time dashboards provide clear insights into project progress and team velocity

Rally Software is easy to use for Agile project methodology because it follows Scrum and Kanban, helping with sprint planning and backlog management. Rally Software provides real-time dashboards for different kinds of stakeholders and governance, giving clear insights into project progress, team velocity, and potential risks. Backlog management is present in the product, allowing prioritization of tasks. The dashboards provide all types of insights through analytics. Capacity planning helps optimize resource allocation, ensuring balanced workload and realistic sprint commitments for our projects. The solution integrates with GitHub, and we can also integrate with Excel and CI/CD pipelines.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I would rate the stability of this product a nine out of ten."

"One of the key advantages of IBM Rational ALM is its workflow capabilities, which enable seamless collaboration between development and production teams and ensure that all stakeholders are aware of the progress and readiness of the solution. Additionally, the solution is good for integration."

"The most valuable feature is how IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) allows me to present to the customer what the actual software, even hardware, will do."

"It helped us contain critical things, like source code and several documents, which is very important to us."

"The integration with Git works well."

"The most valuable feature is the reporting of the CPU usage on the dashboard."

"The word emulation and importing is good."

"We have something called the GC (global configuration), which is a unique feature compared to any other competitor we have in the ALM space."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) pros

"We have teams come and go all the time. We have teams in India, America, Ireland, Poland, Italy, England... we are spread out everywhere! Rally is our key tool for scrum planning and our single source of truth, and it handles it all flawlessly."

"Rally Software provides the capability to accurately estimate the time required for building large software projects, which can be challenging to predict...Rally Software enables us to schedule tasks better, allocate resources, and meet project deadlines."

"The Defect feature. In one view you can see all your defects and you can push them into the different releases."

"It's designed around Agile, so it has all of the pieces that match up with the process."

"When it comes to the valuable features of Rally Software, it excels at burn-down charts, burn-up charts, and road mapping once it's set up. I particularly appreciated the new feature for releases and road mapping, which worked exceptionally well."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the Kanban board."

"It has allowed the quality assurance team to keep all information in sync with the application requirements and user stories for our general development."

"The most valuable features of Rally Software are the executive dashboards, ease of use, and many other features. They have encapsulated everything that a GI can do, such as monitoring, maintaining, and then releasing. It's continuous integration and development."

More Rally Software pros

Cons

"The user interface requires significant improvement as it is overly complex."

"The reporting functionality needs to be improved."

"Some improvements to the user interface (UI) would be helpful, such as exposing more services to make it easier to customize to the needs of each customer."

"The solution can improve in the development area and the customized applications."

"I think nowadays people are getting into Jira and other tools. What is happening is, this solution is becoming more traditional, whereas Jira and other tools are more attractive for the new users to learn and start using because of the graphical interfaces."

"The features should be more intuitive. If I'm looking for something, its location should be easy to locate."

"There is not enough beginner support material in the form of FAQs or simple training to help you get started."

"IBM Rational ALM should remove the features not used by the customers and keep this product as lightweight as possible."

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) cons

"One problem I see is that if there is a dependent user story - for example, if my team is working on one thing and there is a dependent user story from another team - we can have a dependency created but we don't know if there is a change of status from the other team. That is something which is very important for Agile Central to look into so that if the other team makes any changes we will be notified as well."

"In terms of improvement, perhaps some more metrics. If they could add some additional, that would be cool."

"It's a bit cumbersome to manage the Project Picker. As we sunset teams or projects close out - but we still have test cases tied to those teams or projects that are being used in other spaces - we have this monstrous list in the Project Picker that becomes really difficult to manage and find, and we can't clean that up ourselves. It would be nice if it was easier to do that and not lose your history."

"I would like to see more Kanban support. As it stands, it doesn't seem to have the features or the layouts that the teams really need to be able to execute their tasks. It almost tries to force you into more of a Scrum style."

"CA Agile Central does not have a workflow tool included."

"Rally Software is highly complex, and it takes some effort to get everything tied together. But once you do, it's a satisfying experience, and the result looks beautiful. Azure, ServiceNow, and Jira do not have all the features that Rally Software provides in one place, making it an exceptional tool for project management."

"One area for improvement might be the rigidity in role and access configurations, which require many process changes to fit the tool."

"In Rally Software, the connection with GitLab and GitHub needs improvement."

More Rally Software cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a contract, but I am not aware of the details."

"The solution is not cheap."

"IBM Rational ALM has both monthly and yearly licensing options."

"This product is a little expensive and we had to pay extra to have them set it up for us."

"The price of the solution could be reduced. Many of our customers are not using all the features and this could be why our clients feel the price is too high."

"I don't know the exact pricing, but I think the tool is priced high. They provide quality workmanship, good software, regular upgrades, and they're always attentive and listen to users. Everything comes with a price. I think it's an expensive solution compared to Jira or other competitors, but it's a complete package."

"We are always looking for a discount, if the solution was less expensive it would be a benefit."

"Rally Software costs $50 a month, and for a base account, that price is acceptable."

"I understand it's a little more expensive. That is why many people prefer Jira."

"It is expensive and may not be worthwhile for a small company."

"The license costs are fairly high as compared to some of the other solutions out there."

"From a price point, it's a cost effective solution for our needs."

"Frankly, pricing is expensive and needs to be carefully planned for when budgeting."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

22%

Government

11%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	110

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Rational ALM?

The solution is customizable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM Rational ALM?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM Rational ALM?

For companies in heavily regulated industries who are doing product development, IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) is a good tool. It helps them create documentation that satisfies auditors.

See all answers

What do you like most about Rally Software?

Rally offers many features that help the management of activities, coordination, alignment and reports, which applies agility across the organization. If I were to highlight a particular feature, i...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rally Software?

Rally Software is affordable because our customers also prefer it, and I have never heard concerns about pricing preventing us from using this tool.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Rally Software?

While I'm not heavily involved in project management tools, I am familiar with these tools. One area for improvement might be the rigidity in role and access configurations, which require many proc...

See all answers

Comparisons

Jira vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 19% of the time

Codebeamer vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 9% of the time

Jama Connect vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 9% of the time

Ansys SCADE LifeCycle vs IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

Compared 4% of the time

More IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) Competitors

Microsoft Azure DevOps vs Rally Software

Compared 27% of the time

Jira vs Rally Software

Compared 18% of the time

Jira Align vs Rally Software

Compared 6% of the time

OpenText Application Quality Management vs Rally Software

Compared 5% of the time

IBM Engineering Workflow Management vs Rally Software

Compared 2% of the time

More Rally Software Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM)

January 2026

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) report

Download IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Rally Software

January 2026

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Also Known As

IBM Engineering Rhapsody, Rational ALM, MKS

CA Agile Central, Rally Enterprise, CA Agile Training, CA Agile Coaching, CA Agile Academy, CA Agile Management , CA ALM

Overview

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) offers an integrated platform with customizable workflows, Scrum planning tools, and resource management features, enhancing project execution and collaboration.

ELM supports Agile and Scrum project management through its integration with tools like Git and IBM Doors, providing cataloging, traceability, and reporting capabilities. While users benefit from requirement management and dashboard functionalities, the interface and reporting could be improved for better navigation and customization. Its cloud-based architecture facilitates compliance and auditing, making it a valuable tool for engineering teams focusing on configuration and version control.

What are the essential features of IBM ELM?

Customizable Workflows: Tailor project processes to specific needs for adaptability.
Scrum-Based Planning: Facilitate Agile project management with Scrum tools.
Resource Management: Efficiently allocate and track resource usage.
Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrate with Git and IBM Doors for enhanced traceability.
Global Configuration: Manage configurations across locations for consistency.

What benefits should users consider?

Compliance Support: Provides tools essential for meeting industry regulations.
Collaboration: Streamlines team communication for smooth project execution.
Stakeholder Alignment: Enhances visibility and alignment with personalized dashboards.
Traceability: Ensures complete tracking of requirements and changes for accountability.

ELM is widely used in the automotive and manufacturing sectors for managing requirements and monitoring performance. Engineering teams leverage ELM for Agile methodologies, with central teams deploying it for end-to-end development processes including requirement gathering and backlog management. Stability and improved integration support remain critical implementation areas, along with enhanced governance features for comprehensive application.

IBM

With Rally Software, you can plan, prioritize, manage, track, and continuously improve your work so that you can deliver the value that your customers need with speed, quality, and efficiency. Our enterprise-class Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) SaaS platform provides visibility into progress, roadblocks, and dependencies across multiple teams, projects, and programs. This allows you to align to your strategic goals and create better business results, and to do it all in a single system of record.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Tennis Australia, WeCloud AB, Port Otago Limited, Logicalis US, Valmer, The Chevrolet Volt, Ashurst

Physicians Mutual, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Editora Abril, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications, Seagate, TomTom, Philips, Hiscox, Physicians Mutual, MYOB

Buyer's Guide

IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Rally Software

February 2026

Free Report: IBM Engineering Lifecycle Management (ELM) vs. Rally Software

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