reqSuite® rm vs. Excel in Requirements Management

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel: Which Tool Is Better for Requirements Management?

At first glance, there are certainly similarities.

Both Excel and reqSuite® rm can be used to capture, search, sort, and filter requirements. In both tools, additional information such as status, responsibility, priority, or category can be maintained.

Collaboration among multiple people is also possible in both tools. Excel offers corresponding capabilities particularly when used in combination with Microsoft 365, OneDrive, and SharePoint. reqSuite® rm supports project- and role-based collaboration.

The main difference therefore becomes apparent not when simply capturing a requirement, but in everything that happens to that requirement afterward.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel: List or Requirements Model?

Excel primarily thinks in rows and columns. Each requirement is typically captured as a row in a table, while additional information is stored in columns. This is simple and flexible, but only semantically meaningful to a limited extent.

Excel does not know whether a row represents a stakeholder requirement, system requirement, module requirement, test case, or risk. Nor does Excel know which relationships between this information are technically valid or necessary. The team itself must define this logic and maintain it consistently.

reqSuite® rm, by contrast, works with a project-specific requirements model. This model can define which types of information exist, which attributes they have, and how they can be connected to one another.

A stakeholder requirement can, for example, serve as the starting point for system requirements. System requirements can in turn be refined into module requirements and linked to test cases.

The tool, therefore, understands the structure of the project. Relationships become traceable, dependencies become visible, and errors are easier to identify. In Excel, this structure largely depends on the discipline of the users. In reqSuite® rm, it is supported by the system.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel When Getting Started

One clear advantage of Excel is the quick start.

Excel is already available in many companies and is familiar to users. A spreadsheet can be created without extensive preparation and used immediately.

reqSuite® rm, by contrast, first needs to be configured for the specific use case. This includes a suitable project template and corresponding onboarding.

There is a reason for this additional effort: The required structure should not emerge spontaneously during day-to-day work, but instead be systematically represented in the tool.

Excel therefore enables a faster start. reqSuite® rm requires more effort upfront to create a structured foundation for subsequent requirements management.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel in Terms of Flexibility

Excel offers a great deal of freedom.

New columns, worksheets, formulas, or custom conventions can be added at any time. Especially in early project phases, this flexibility can be helpful.

However, this freedom is largely uncontrolled. Different teams or users can structure spreadsheets differently and document the same information in different ways.

reqSuite® rm is also flexible, but represents the desired structure through defined project templates, requirement types, attributes, and relationships.

The difference can therefore be summarized as follows: Excel offers unrestricted flexibility. reqSuite® rm offers structured flexibility.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel for Traceability and Relationships

Traceability is one of the areas where Excel and reqSuite® rm differ particularly clearly.

In Excel, relationships can be represented using IDs or additional columns, for example. A requirement can reference a higher-level requirement or a test case.

With only a few relationships, this can work.

As complexity increases, however, numerous spreadsheets, ID columns, and cross-references can quickly emerge. The team itself must ensure that references exist and remain correct.

In reqSuite® rm, relationships are actual links between elements and part of the data model.

This makes it possible, for example, to trace refinements from stakeholder requirements through system requirements to module requirements or to link requirements with tests and other relevant information.

Gaps and dependencies can therefore be identified and analyzed more systematically.

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel for Versioning and Changes

Excel files can be versioned, particularly through SharePoint or OneDrive. This makes it possible to restore earlier versions of a file.

In professional requirements management, however, the question “What did our file look like last week?” is often not enough.
Instead, it must be possible to trace which specific requirement was changed, what was changed, and which dependent information is affected.

In Excel, this requires additional processes, change logs, or other workarounds.

reqSuite® rm, by contrast, versions individual elements. The history of a requirement is therefore part of the system.

This is particularly relevant when changes occur frequently, because changes cannot be viewed in isolation. If a requirement is changed, subordinate requirements, tests, or other linked information may also be affected.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel for Data Quality

Excel provides options such as drop-down lists, data validation, and protected areas. Nevertheless, the consistency of a set of requirements depends heavily on how consistently users follow the agreed structure.

reqSuite® rm supports requirements capture through defined attributes, input forms, mandatory fields, and project templates.

This does not automatically eliminate errors. However, the system can help ensure that standardized ways of working are applied more consistently.

In addition, reqSuite® rm provides specific assistance functions for requirements, for example for quality, reuse, and derivation. General AI capabilities within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem can also support work in Excel, but they follow a different approach that is not specifically focused on requirements management.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel for Collaboration, Reviews, and Approvals

With Microsoft 365, multiple people can work on an Excel file at the same time. For small teams and simple lists, this is a powerful way to collaborate.

As the number of requirements grows, however, collaboration is no longer just about shared access.

Roles, responsibilities, tasks, reviews, and approvals emerge. Multiple departments, locations, or external partners may be involved.

Such processes can be established organizationally around Excel, but Excel itself provides only limited support for managing them.

reqSuite® rm is designed for project-based collaboration. Roles, permissions, tasks, reviews, and structured coordination can take place closer to the actual requirements.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel for Reuse

Excel enables reuse primarily through copying.

An existing requirement or spreadsheet can be copied and adapted for a new project.

With similar products or recurring customer projects, however, this can quickly lead to duplicates. Requirements then evolve independently of one another, making differences between variants difficult to trace.

reqSuite® rm supports the targeted reuse of requirements and structures.

Requirements can therefore be reused, compared, and further developed more systematically instead of simply duplicating content through copy and paste.

‍

reqSuite® rm vs. Excel for Documentation and Exports

Excel itself is already a widely used format for exchanging information. For more extensive requirements documents, however, additional manual effort is often required.

Tables are copied, formatted, and prepared for customers, suppliers, or auditors, for example. If the underlying requirements change, it must then be ensured that the corresponding documents are updated as well.

reqSuite® rm can generate documents from the structured data repository and configure exports accordingly.
This makes it possible to create regularly required documents in a more standardized way and reduce manual effort.

‍

When Is Excel Sufficient Compared to reqSuite® rm?

Not every project requires a specialized RM tool.

Excel can be entirely sufficient when only a small number of requirements need to be managed, a small team is involved, and no complex relationships or formal evidence are required.

Excel can also be the more pragmatic solution if requirements merely serve as a rough collection or if the project is a one-time, low-complexity effort.

One example would be a small team that collects and prioritizes 50 requirements for an internal tool and then hands them over to IT.

In this case, introducing a specialized RM tool would not necessarily be required.

‍

When Is reqSuite® rm Better Suited Than Excel?

The situation is different when requirements are no longer simply documented but need to be actively managed.

reqSuite® rm offers particular advantages when there are many requirements, multiple levels of requirements need to be linked, or several teams and departments are involved.

Frequent changes are another reason to use a specialized system, as their impacts can be traced more effectively.

Other typical use cases include the systematic reuse of requirements, structured reviews and approvals, linking requirements with tests, risks, or product structures, and regularly creating requirements documents.

The difference becomes particularly clear in a technical development project with several hundred requirements.

If stakeholder, system, module, and component requirements as well as test cases exist, and changes can affect different areas of the product, managing everything in Excel becomes increasingly difficult.

A specialized requirements management tool such as reqSuite® rm is designed for precisely these kinds of structures.

‍

Why Companies Still Stick With Excel for a Long Time

Switching from Excel to reqSuite® rm initially requires additional effort.

Excel is already available. There appear to be no additional licensing costs, no procurement process, and no need to introduce a new tool. In addition, the existing ways of working are familiar.

These advantages are real.

However, the actual costs of using Excel for requirements management do not necessarily come from the software itself. More relevant are the effort involved in manual coordination, searching, copying, reworking, and correcting inconsistent data.

Errors caused by a lack of transparency or changes that are identified too late can also create additional effort.

When deciding between Excel and reqSuite® rm, the question should therefore not be limited to:

“How much does reqSuite® rm cost?”

Just as important is:

“How much does our current requirements management with Excel cost us?”