Requirements & Requirements Management

Why Move Away from IBM® DOORS® Legacy, and Why Now?: Part 2

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This is Part 2 of a series examining the role legacy requirements management solutions, such as IBM® DOORS®, play in introducing project risk to the product development process. To read Part 1,  visit Why Migrate, Why Now?: Part 1

5 Common Migration Myths Debunked

Transitioning to a new solution doesn’t have to be challenging; however, there are some assumptions that mislead us into thinking that difficulty is inevitable. Consider the following myths:

MYTH 1: Migrating away from IBM solutions will be more expensive. The amount of work that goes into upgrading to IBM DOORS Next or transitioning to a new RM solution is the same, differentiated only by the quality of the tool and services available to help with migration. An option other than the DOORS family is most often a better fit for your organization.

MYTH 2: Customization will carry over to DOORS Next. You spent a lot of time customizing IBM DOORS and may believe those customizations will transition seamlessly to DOORS Next. However, this isn’t the case and is the reason selecting a different solution doesn’t involve more work.

MYTH 3: DOORS is already deployed and cheap to maintain. Continuing the current path with IBM DOORS is an expensive option in the long term, and often requires dedicated personnel. Switching to an alternative RM solution can improve efficiency while saving money.

MYTH 4: Business disruption is too difficult. The right RM tool will empower teams to effectively hit deadlines, collaborate, and improve business outcomes.

MYTH 5: The user experience will suffer. Many people refuse to use DOORS due to a challenging user experience. DOORS Next is a completely new tool with a new user experience. Adopting a user-friendly solution allows teams to collaborate far more effectively as team members can accelerate concepts, designs, and validations for faster times to market.

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The fact is, IBM® DOORS® is extremely outdated, and at some point, updates and support will inevitably end.

If you’re currently using DOORS, you likely know that moving to a different solution is necessary, and you might be considering DOORS Next. However, fast-shifting market dynamics require a new approach to accelerate innovation. As a modern alternative to traditional legacy platforms, Jama Connect® enables digital transformation with a more efficient and user-friendly approach to managing risk and compliance.

Customers agree, naming Jama Connect the overall leader (#1) in requirements management software on G2, outranking IBM DOORS Next for implementation time, adoption, ROI, and market presence.

Jama Connect is a proven IBM DOORS alternative with flexible and reliable solutions, including:

  • Operation in an IBM DOORS supply chain.“Innovative companies leverage Jama Connect to get up and running fast with a modern requirements management process that tightly aligns with industry standards and practices that support regulatory compliance. Organizations can connect to customers and suppliers that use IBM DOORS through Data Exchange for Jama Connect.”
  • Integration services. Jama Connect provides integration with key product development lifecycle tools.
  • Coexists with IBM DOORS. IBM DOORS is embedded in many organizations and may take some time to migrate completely. Progressive teams and divisions can get started on Jama Connect quickly while the larger organization works toward replacing existing programs over time. This approach is supported through a mix of integration, migration, and exchange services.

“Jama Connect lowers the complexity and burden of having to manually keep requirements, architecture and specifications all in sync and traced to each other. It’s a formidable problem that is virtually eliminated courtesy of Jama without the hassle of having to learn a clunky UI (IBM DOORS).” Alan M., Chief Product Officer

Jama Connect® created Live Traceability™ management which reduces project development risk by forming a digital thread through siloed development, test, and risk activities. The flexible platform is designed to support the end-to-end product development process with:

  • A simple, single repository so it’s easy for remote teams to gather, review and execute on requirements.
  • Structured reviews and collaboration — teams can elicit feedback, review product features in real-time with stakeholders and track critical decisions across teams and locations.
  • Change management throughout product development — end-to-end traceability and real-time collaboration improve visibility and make it easier to adapt to changes and track their impact.
  • Integrations across the ALM-PLM ecosystem.

Moving from IBM® DOORS® Next to Jama Connect® for Requirements Management

To adapt to shifting and ever-increasing challenges and complexities and keep pace with the competition, innovative organizations are now requiring best-in-class software to scale development, reduce risk, save time, and ensure compliance to quality and safety regulations.

Download this paper to learn how Jama Connect stands out above DOORS Next in the G2 Summer 2021 report for requirements management in the following areas:

  • Overall satisfaction
  • Implementation
  • User adoption
  • ROI

Go live with Jama Connect 2.7x faster than IBM® DOORS Next®

In Conclusion

Products, systems, and software development are only getting more complex and not modernizing your requirements management process will increase the probability of negative outcomes in your product development process.

As your team requires the ability to adapt, innovate, and grow, continuing to use IBM DOORS will become more difficult and will introduce significantly more risk in your product development process. Think about DOORS as a landline rotary phone that stopped being on the receiving end of upgrades after the industry switched to marketing push-button touchtone phones. (And now there are smartphones available, which are mobile and make you even more connected and productive.)

Transitioning to new technology provides your teams with the tools required to innovate, meet deadlines, and succeed. A modern requirements solution can help you to define, manage, and validate complex systems requirements while eliminating the risks and inefficiencies associated with documents and legacy systems.

Hear about the experiences of the more than 50 companies that have made the switch from IBM DOORS to Jama Connect.

Connect with us today to learn how you can enable end-to-end compliance, risk mitigation, and process improvement with our intuitive, award-winning requirements management platform.

To read this series in its entirety, visit this whitepaper: Why Move Away from IBM Doors Legacy and Why Now

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