Jira users often encounter numerous issues, which are exacerbated when attempting to use Jira for project management. This is primarily because Jira was initially designed to track bugs and problems rather than to manage projects. As one company noted, “Jira was initially developed for tracking bugs and issues and was later updated to serve as a project management tool.” Below are several chronic issues with Jira identified through simple web searches and why Codebeamer is a far better platform for project management.
- Complexity and Learning Curve
Jira has a steep learning curve, leading to costly and disruptive implementations and slowing the onboarding process for new employees. Non-technical users, such as those in marketing, sales, or support, need help navigating Jira, making collaboration impractical. This lack of transparency in the engineering team’s progress forces users to communicate outside the tool.
Codebeamer has a more contemporary approach. Its implementations are swift, taking only a day or two, and end-user training for both technical and non-technical users can be completed in as little as an hour or two. The product’s numerous fully customizable templates further facilitate rapid product adoption, making the transition smooth and hassle-free.
- Customization Challenges
While Jira can be customized, altering workflows and configurations requires expertise in using and administering the product. Its modular structure means some necessary functions may be hidden or locked, requiring additional purchases and increasing the cost of ownership. Third-party plugins are often needed, and support must be sought from the third-party supplier directly.
Codebeamer, in contrast, is a much simpler, one-stop solution. It is highly customizable, allowing quick changes to workflows, configurations, and permissions for individual users. All the tools needed for the entire product development process are included at no extra cost, ensuring that you have everything you need to manage your projects effectively.
- Resource Intensive
Jira’s basic CPU load is very high, and as more information is added, page load times become slower. This is a common complaint and a hindrance to productivity. Plugins required to make Jira functional consume additional database connections and memory, often necessitating their disabling to resolve issues, which removes needed functionality.
Over time, as more custom fields are created, data retrieval becomes slower and slower, reducing productivity. This resource-intensive nature is problematic for development teams, especially those with limited computing resources. Users have reported that the cloud version is even more sluggish.
Jira’s performance issues are so significant that its Terms of Service include a clause prohibiting public dissemination of cloud product performance information!
Codebeamer’s newer architecture ensures that performance does not degrade as projects grow or when specific permissions are added. Performance is responsive, regardless of the amount of data added to the system.
- Limited Agile Support
Jira is mainly used in Agile environments, but its Agile support is less intuitive than newer, dedicated project management systems. Many organizations also use Waterfall or sequential methodologies or a Hybrid approach – combining Agile and Waterfall, both of which Jira poorly supports. No Waterfall template is available for Jira, and the company discourages its use due to the extensive customization required.
Codebeamer, in contrast, is a versatile solution that supports not only Agile but also Waterfall and Hybrid approaches. It provides templates for all these methodologies, thereby speeding up the implementation process and catering to a wide range of project management needs.
- Integration Complexities
Integrating Jira with other platforms requires additional plugins and development effort, adding significant complexity to the implementation process and requiring a deep understanding of the product. When Jira or its plugins are updated, administrators must ensure all versions are compatible, necessitating extensive testing and making system administration a full-time job, which is impractical for many organizations.
Codebeamer includes all tools and integrations needed for the entire development process (such as Jira, IBM Rational DOORS, Git, Jenkins, Azure Pipeline, etc.), supported and maintained by Codebeamer and not a third-party developer.
- Traceability
Due to the number of plugins and disconnected products required to make Jira usable, especially for project management, maintaining traceability throughout the entire development process is impossible. This is critical for regulatory compliance, product approvals, and ensuring the finished application meets all requirements and has been thoroughly tested.
With Codebeamer, maintaining full traceability throughout the entire product development ecosystem is a breeze. Writing compliance reports, including all changes, requires only a few mouse clicks, underscoring the system’s efficiency and ease of use.
- Cost
Using Jira for project management results in a prohibitively high total cost of ownership due to the time needed to implement the product and train users. Adding the cost of additional modules, plugins, and the manpower required for necessary functions and customization makes Jira impractical as a project management system.
With Codebeamer, there are no hidden costs or missing functionalities.
Reference: Sprintzeal blog, July 28, 2022
Authored by
Conrad Montgomery
