The list of requirements management tools on MakingOfSoftware.com has received a new update: The March 2020 version includes 69 tools, with a selected subset of 13 tools that we find particularly noteworthy.
The list gives an up-to-date overview of the requirements management (RM) tools market. It shall guide teams and organizations when compiling a longlist for tool evaluation and selection.
RM Tools Market: Ongoing Transformation & Consolidation
During our research for this update, we could once again observe that the RM tools market is undergoing a transformation and consolidation process. After the recent acquisition and merger wave, important tool vendors have now restructured their portfolios.
Most notably: Micro Focus has positioned Dimensions RM as its core RM tool, with ALM Octane as a very interesting additional candidate for agile requirements management. Its previous other RM-related products Caliber (former RM flagship) and Atlas (more recent agile tool) have reached end of marketing.
Micro Focus ALM/Quality Center is positioned fully towards test management. When looking for a new RM tool solution, it is not a relevant choice any more. However, if you happen to have it inhouse, it can still effectively support your RM processes. In particular, the tool will pair well with the agile ALM Octane.
Other important portfolio consolidations happened at Broadcom, PTC, and IBM: after Broadcom has acquired CA, it has renamed the tool CA Agile Central into Rally Software. So, it has reinstalled the Rally brand, which CA had acquired and removed some years ago.
PTC Integrity Lifecycle Manager platform has been renamed into PTC Windchill RV&S. And IBM has restructured and rebranded its former IBM Rational portfolio. As a consequence, the two DOORS requirements products are now called IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS Family and IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS Next.
13 RM Tools in Selected List
Due to the large number of tools, we have again compiled a list of 13 selected tools that we regard particularly noteworthy. Features and technology of these tools are markedly up to date, or the tools obviously have strong market presence. When you want to collect a longlist for your tool evaluation, you might start your research by scanning through this list of selected tools.
Compared to our previous release of the tools list, we have removed Micro Focus ALM/Quality Center from the selected list. As described above, the tool is not a hot candidate any more for new purchases. Existing Micro Focus customers might have a look at Dimensions RM instead, and at ALM Octane for agile development in particular.
A new tool on the list is ReqSuite RM from Osseno Software. Over the past years, ReqSuite RM has gone through a remarkable development and maturation process. It started with novel and very interesting support for business analysis. Today it includes an attractive feature set with most characteristics we find important for an up-to-date RM tool.
Tool Availability & Up-to-Date Information
During the update of the RM tools list, we have conducted the following steps:
- All tools have been checked for availability and up-to-date web links to tool and vendor pages
- Several tool entries have been changed (e.g., name changes, new product bundles), several obviously outdated ones have been deleted
- All tools have been supplied with up-to-date version information (where available, as of late February 2020) and assigned to the relevant tool categories (e.g., RD, RM, Agile)
We have again removed several tools for the following reasons: (a) the tool has been discontinued or is not actively marketed any more, or (b) the tool’s product or vendor websites have not received any substantial updates for more than two years.
- Atlas
- Caliber
- CORE
- DevSuite
- Raven
- RDD-100
- Rhythm
- TopTeam Visual Use Case
- TraceCloud
- TREND/Analyst
- Visual Trace Spec
If you want to get an overview of the RM tools market, or want to select a suitable requirements tool for your team and organization, feel free to explore the latest list of requirements management tools: