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I noticed posts on here about MKS Integrity as compared to other source code control. Has anyone been using MKS Integrity to manage requirements? How is it going? I'd appreciate any insights about it if:

  • you install it and use it
  • evaluated it but decided to go with something else

I noticed that it advertises that it can do lots of other things and possibly tie in with other systems (JIRA, Test Link?) to coordinate processes (bug tracking, testing and coverage) - how sophisticated is the integration? Anybody trying to report across all these integrated systems?

lots of questions with possibly big answers ... i know ... but any comment on any point would be appreciated from the stack overflow universe :)

Afriza N. Arief
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mamj
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2 Answers2

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We use MKS at work for version control, issue tracking and requirement management. It's all very bad. Avoid if possible. MKS Requirement Management is very slow, overcomplicated and cumbersome.

After having worked for 7 years with DOORS and MKS RM, I've to say that requirement management in general is overrated. It's just a fashionable expression among people wearing ties.

What I've seen from RM tools so far, there is nothing a decent Wiki engine could not do. Just think about Redmine: it has Wikis, issue tracking and version control integration.

There is another aspect of this issue, namely the exorbitant prices of proprietary tools. We've invested a lot of work to cover our requirements in DOORS, then suddenly upper management decided DOORS is out because it's too expensive. Years' work more or less lost. And MKS is much more expensive than DOORS.

Contrary to mainstream opinions, support for open source tools is very good, and they are much better at import/export and working with other tools in general. And there is no danger that the whole tool will be shut down due to cost savings.

SzG
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    New job since then at a more enlightened company. No MKS. Just Git. And guess what's used for requirement management... :-) – SzG Dec 04 '14 at 22:58
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Maybe it is too late for you, but my experience with MKS-RM is also terrible: an expensive piece of crap that still make us headaches. The "integrations" to other tools is mostly using SCC interface and specially in Windows 7 64-bit you might face some issues with this, as so far MKS has no 64-bit version.

I really don't see much gain comparing lets say to a decent relational database or even excel!

petete
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