No company today can afford to ignore agility and rapid adaptability. IT and project managers face the challenge of selecting the right tools for their needs. Therefore, we are comparing two popular platforms, each offering unique strengths in the areas of agile business strategy and planning: Jira Align and Planview.
What is Jira Align?
Atlassian Jira Align is a leading Enterprise Agile Planning platform – a platform for scaling agile methods in large enterprises. It allows you to connect your business strategy with technical execution. Here are some key features and reasons why Jira Align is so popular:
- Strategy, Planning and Execution: Jira Align enables the direct linking of strategic plans with technical execution, allowing companies to seamlessly align their business goals and agile development initiatives.
- Scaling Agile Methods: Provides tools and processes specifically designed to scale agile methods across the entire organisation, improving consistency and efficiency in large organisations.
- Real-Time Insights and Reporting: Allows leaders and teams to keep track of progress and make informed decisions based on data updated in real-time. These organisation-wide real-time insights facilitate quick problem-solving and shorten project times.
- Support for Multiple Frameworks: Jira Align adapts to various agile working methods by supporting diverse frameworks, giving companies flexibility in designing their agile processes.
- Integration with Atlassian Products: As part of the Atlassian family, Jira Align integrates seamlessly with other applications like Jira and Confluence, promoting collaboration and data consistency between teams and strengthening agile practices across the organisation.
What is Planview?
On the other hand, Planview is a solution that specialises in portfolio and resource management. Planview also brings comprehensive features that enable companies to effectively implement their business strategies:
- Advanced Financial Reporting: Planview offers detailed financial reporting, allowing for precise monitoring and analysis of budgets, costs, and ROI.
- Comprehensive Resource Management: Enables precise planning and allocation of resources across projects and portfolios to ensure optimal utilisation.
- Flexible Project and Portfolio Views: Supports customised views and dashboards tailored to specific business requirements, ensuring better oversight and control.
- Efficient Planning and Prioritisation: Scenario planning and centralised data allow users to quickly plan and set priorities, supported by comprehensive portfolio management.
Feature Comparison - Jira Align vs. Planview
| Feature |
Jira Align |
Planview |
| Enterprise Focus |
Agile transformation and scaling for large enterprises.
|
Resource and portfolio management for various enterprise sizes.
|
| Deployment Options |
Cloud and On-Premise.
|
Cloud and On-Premise.
|
| Agile Support |
Specialised in Agile, SAFe, and Spotify.
|
Supports agile and traditional PM methods.
|
| Integrations |
Extensive selection of apps and seamless integration with Jira and other Atlassian products. The open API also allows for custom integrations.
|
Strong integrations with numerous enterprise applications through 60+ no-code connectors.
|
| Adaptability |
High adaptability for agile processes.
|
Comprehensive customisation options across business processes.
|
| Reporting & Analytics |
Advanced analytics for agile processes and team performance.
|
Comprehensive reporting for portfolio and resource management.
|
| Strategic Planning Tools |
Focus on agile roadmaps and strategy alignment.
|
Offers tools for roadmapping and scenario analysis.
|
| User-Friendliness |
Very intuitive, especially for Atlassian users.
|
User-friendly, but with a steep learning curve.
|
| Community Support |
Large and globally active community.
|
Limited.
|
| Costs |
Generally very transparent and flexible pricing, as it is based on the number of users and required features to cover specific needs.
|
Since a range of features is purchased that are not tailored to the need, companies pay for these features. For larger organisations, this discrepancy could then potentially scale up in terms of cost.
|
| Scalability |
Very high and ideal for agile scaling.
|
High, especially for large organisations with complex requirements.
|
The user-friendliness of Jira Align, along with comprehensive support for agile frameworks and deep integration into the Atlassian ecosystem, makes it particularly attractive for large companies looking to scale agile methods. The seamless integration with other Atlassian products like Jira makes the integration of all common enterprise applications a breeze. This can also be achieved through the open API and numerous apps from the Atlassian Store.
Planview offers robust integrations with most common enterprise applications. This compatibility makes it ideal for organisations seeking a central solution to manage their enterprise resources. Planview also enables the application of agile practices but also supports traditional project management methods. Notable are its financial management and reporting functions.
However, this has an impact on the final sum. Because a complete package like Planview costs more than if a company precisely selects the required features and users for the individual requirement.
Conclusion
The decision between Jira Align and Planview largely depends on your company's specific needs. Jira Align is ideal for companies looking to deepen their agile processes, while Planview is suitable for organisations that want to support both agile and traditional PM methods. Both tools offer powerful features, but for agile teams that value deeper integration and ease of use, Jira Align might be the better choice.
