Zephyr for JIRA vs aqua ALM — which one to choose for test management?
Tags: testing, testdev, testmanagement, tooling
Published: 2022-05-31 09:46:06

[aqua](https://aqua-cloud.io/) and [Zephyr Enterprise](https://www.g2.com/products/zephyr-e/reviews) provide management staff, development and test teams with the software they can rely on. However, choosing between two tools with approximately similar functionality is pretty challenging. Let’s compare what features they have and what users say about them.

Each tool offers several levels of support, making it complex to compare. In this article, we will focus on the ALM framework and test management functionalities of aqua and Zephyr in order to put them on the same level.

**Test management**
Test Management tools should have the ability to level up your software development process and make it easier for both testers and developers to collaborate on solving issues and fixing bugs.

Several criteria can sort out the necessary features of a test management tool that can meet the needs of IT employees, such as managing test cases or their reusability.

- Notification about issues and changes via communication channels: Zephyr -, aqua +;
- Visualisation of test results (pass/fail) status: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Visualisation of test automation: Zephyr -, aqua +;
- Managing test cases: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Reusability of test cases: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Requirements managing: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Scalability: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Customisation of folders: Zephyr +, aqua +.

**ALM**
The ALM functionality has a lot in common with test management tools. However, the main task of ALM is to help management set appropriate requirements for projects and control whether they are met, or changes must be made. Using an efficient ALM system also impacts the development process to ensure that executing tests are appropriately set, and the work is fairly distributed amongst the team members.

Criteria that should be considered for ALM tools include the following workflow, permissions control and collaboration tools.
- Customisable dashboards graphs, reports and metrics: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Scheduled reports: Zephyr -, aqua -;
- Security and certifications: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Service and support: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Workflow: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Permissions: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Collaboration: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Customisable fields: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Bug tracking: Zephyr +, aqua +;
- Task board: Zephyr -, aqua +.

As we can see, aqua and Zephyr Enterprise cover the necessary functions for test management and simple organisation of the work of the development department quite well. Both of the presented tools provide many options for the implementation of planned projects — tracking and automation of testing, the ability to communicate with colleagues and detailed reports, and customisation of the workflow and folders.

However, a significant difference when choosing from the two presented tools was that Zephyr is suitable only for large enterprises, while aqua is able to provide all possible scenarios for companies with a few people to companies with thousands of employees. aqua is the leader for regulated industries and companies with strict security protocols, you can be sure that aqua is able to cover any needs for quality assurance when the size of your team is considered as a large enterprise.

Among other things, aqua makes it clear from the very beginning that its pricing policy is quite flexible and fully corresponds to an adequate price category for the provided range of services.

aqua and Zephyr Enterprise are worthy competitors with the widest and most convenient functionality among popular test management and ALM systems on the market. We can definitely say that you will not be mistaken by choosing any of the considered tools.

Learn more about aqua and Zephyr differences on [this](https://aqua-cloud.io/aqua-vs-zephyr/) review.