Open source or freeware Project Planning Softwares

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Open source or freeware systems available for project management are complex, professional and often free or very in expensive to use. They are also stable, well supported and definitely worth looking into. Linux users have a wide selection of project planning software, most of which are completely compatible with Microsoft and Mac platforms.

 A wide variety of tried-and-tested project planning software exists designed for computers running Linux. Often these are much cheaper than the Windows-based alternative, if not free, and they are every bit as professional, and capable of being run on Microsoft and Linux platforms.

 The systems discussed below all contain the scheduling tools (Gantt charts, resource management tools and so on) that would be expected, but just as no to projects are the same, no two project management software systems are the same. The systems will offer some or all of the following:

Some of the Project Planning Software are listed below

OpenProj is an offering developed by a company called Projity, Projity has since been acquired by Serena Software. OpenProj is a piece of open source software, it is free to use. Serena also offers “Software as a Service” (SaaS) project management solution called Projects On Demand which provides a scaled up version of OpenProj capable of managing multiple projects, or multisite projects.

jxProjectis also free. The development is supported by adverts that show within the application’s window, paying a fairly low amount for the software can get a business an advertisement free version of the software system. It can look a little outdated and will need the latest JRE from Oracle on every computer that it’ll be used by, but it has a good reputation.

Task Juggler was developed for use with Linux operating systems. This is a very large software suite that provides business with a great deal of functionality. Task Juggler is able to cope with large-scale multi-site projects. Again, it’s free to use, and in its third release is now capable of running on Microsoft and Mac platforms. There’s a lot of support and documentation provided, and for users who already have knowledge of project management tools it is an incredible deal.

GanttProject is a cross-platform desktop tool: runs on Mac, Linux and Microsoft, and can report and import between Windows-based programs and machines and Linux based computers . Compared with Task Juggler it is limited in its functionality, but where cross-platform functionality is needed it’s a definite winner.

Feng Office Collaboration Platform enables you to Manage your projects and business services Collaborate with your team and your customers Organize and share documents and files. It is a 100% web based application and it contains the features like Taks Management, Time Tracking, Calendar.

Open Workbench is an open source desktop application that provides robust project scheduling and management functionality. Already the scheduling standard for more than 100,000 project managers worldwide, Open Workbench is a free and powerful alternative to Microsoft Project. However there are some limitations.

Project2Manage is an online project management application that helps you stay up-to-date, on task and connected with your team. We’ve taken the hard work of staying organized and simplified it for you. It has the features like Upploading Files and Collaborate, Set Reminders, Assign Tasks,

RationalPlan is a powerful project management software designed to help both project managers and teams to create consistent project plans, allocate resources and analyze workload, track work progress, estimate projects' costs and manage budgets. Whether your applications are in the area of construction, engineering, services&consulting, software development or any other business field, RationalPlan can help you to complete your projects on time and within budget.

These choices are by no means a full and total list, that would be an almost endless task. A very simple chart here compares a larger array of both freeware and commercial project management software.

Cloud Based Project Planning

Cloud or web based project planning software is an ideal solution for companies that rely on mobile and remote staff. User data and the software are both stored on (normally) a third party’s server, and access via the internet by mobile and computer. The risk, as with all cloud based offering is that the stability and security of data lies in the hands of a third party. While it’s becoming more accepted there is still the risk of companies folding, or suffering problems that might deny users access to vital data.

Considerations

The cost risk of freeware and open source systems lies only in the time invested in installing and learning the programs, but if a company can spare the time there is a brilliant opportunity to try out systems before taking the plunge and rolling them out company wide.

Any IT professional, in-house or hired to consult, should be able to work with and advise management about what technical issues might arise (if the users are mobile, multisite, cross-platform, will the servers cope).

Managers need to consider levels of access for users, the functionality needed for their particular project. If the project is a specialist one then it is worth considering if specialist software exists. Trac is an application specifically designed to manage software projects, Creative Project Manager does what it says on the tin and offers specialist tools for Creative and Design industry project management.