OpenText™ ALM Octane, formerly from Micro Focus, includes integrated planning, continuous integration, test management, and release management. With these capabilities, it helps Agile teams and DevOps toolchains to deliver high-quality software with insight, traceability, analytics-focused end-to-end visibility, and continuous quality.
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Polarion ALM
Score 9.8 out of 10
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Polarion ALM is an application requirement management software platform now owned and supported by Siemens since the 2015 acquisition. It is available on the cloud (Polarion X) and on-premise. Polarion connect teams and projects to improve application development processes with
a single, unified solution for requirements, coding, testing and release.
For big applications and projects where different teams work in a different location, it is very helpful for them to keep all the processes in one place and makes it easy to keep track of all team member's processes.
Polarion ALM shines where it is intended to be used: Application Lifecycle Management. It fits well with agile development concepts, but the extensive customization abilities allow it to adapt to other concepts, too. It is suitable as an all-in-one solution, which is capable of giving transparency over all related areas, be it Requirement Management, Test Management, Release Management, Defect Management, etc., to the involved stakeholders.
Requirement management in Polarion is extremely effective, with a simple but powerful authoring environment, simple approval process management, seamless traceability and advanced reuse capabilities
Test management capabilities allow to link together the requirements with the validation process, and let the user define, plan, execute and record tests across the whole development process
Day bay day management of development is easy to track, with out of the box support for agile methodologies, live planning reports and integration with Git, SVN and CI/CD tools.
There is too much at stake to go into a new system. But with everything else being promised as far as newer more innovative products, the justification to not renew is a huge risk so that is not a concern
Polarion ALM can be used individually and what I do with Polarion ALM is decided by my configuration. Lesson-learned, operational risk management, product, system or software development or customer management .... doesn't matter at all. I decide with my configuration what I will do with Polarion ALM. Of course, you can also use Polarion ALM out-of-the-box for your development because it comes with a large set of project templates.For this reason, I would also recommend not to just get started. A suitable consultant will show you the right templates and customize them according to your needs. Having Polarion ALM is like having a car. You know exactly how to operate the car. You've done it a thousand times before. The details are in the configuration: did I have a navigation system installed or not? Do I have a lane departure warning system or not? Do I have cruise control or not? Unlike when buying a vehicle, almost all functions are already available and can be used, usually at no extra cost. However, if something is missing, it can be obtained via the manufacturer's extension portal. Individual extensions are subject to a charge. Polarion ALM - easy to deploy and easy to use.
Micro Focus ALM Octane use at DaVita goes back beyond my starting with them three years ago. They have used it as part of DevOps as well as for performance measurement of software releases in combo with HP Performance Center (a great combination). Jira is well suited to managing bug reports and development processes with Agile and Scrum, but ALM Octane goes above and beyond that.
Some tool suites look cheaper at first, but the hidden costs make it expensive in the end. This also applies to the operation of the application or, in the case of some manufacturers, I would have to speak of stitched applications. Regardless, with all tools it becomes critical at some point. We have found for ourselves that when safety and/or security come into play, things get tricky with most applications. Ultimately, it is and remains a matter of taste and the food should be based on the requirements and not on personal sensitivities. I hope everyone makes the right decision for themselves and the company.
Our Performance Measurement team uses ALM all the time for test performance measurement in conjunction with HP Performance Center. We could not have such a robust performance capability without ALM.
Not being on the management side of it (I am a technical resource for support), I do not have solid information on ROI.
The traceability features in Polarion ALM help identify and address issues early in the development cycle
Polarion ALM provides real-time dashboards and reporting, offering stakeholders visibility into project status, progress, and quality metrics.
The initial implementation of Polarion ALM may require time and effort. Some organizations may face challenges in adapting to the tool, and there might be a learning curve for users, especially those new to ALM solutions.
