Discussion on:

DOWNLOAD: Project management software reviews

Microsoft Project many be the benchmark in project management software, but you can find effective open source and shareware applications. We recently reviewed four Project alternatives (GanttPV, Open Workbench, Plan for Windows, and Project-XL) that project managers should carefully consider before purchasing Microsoft Project.Use the following links to download each review as well as a companion chart that compares all four applications:

GanttPV
http://techrepublic.com.com/5138-10593-5672298.html

Open Workbench
http://techrepublic.com.com/5138-10593-5672300.html

Plan for Windows
http://techrepublic.com.com/5138-10593-5672302.html

Project-XL
http://techrepublic.com.com/5138-10593-5672304.html

If you've used any of these products or other shareware and open source project management software, join this project management software discussion and share your opinions of their performance. Also, let us know if this review provided helpful information or if there's anything we can do to improve the review's format.

I've used dotProject (dotProject.net) and regard it highly, especially for tracking projects in a multi-user mode. dotProject has a lot of nice features, but not everything that you find on M$ Project. dotProject is a lightweight web app written in PHP using MySQL database. I also use M$ Project as a single user for proposals to customers.

Whenever anyone thinks of project management software, it seems that MS Project is all that comes to mind. Hopefully, this series of reviews will help change that for some users.

What other types of project management software would you be interested in having reviewed? Web-based, MS Project viewers, Outlook integrated options? As the author of this series I'm intersted in learning more about what you - the TechRepublic community - is interested in learning about!

Thanks ~ Janice

I am looking for a mid-level project manager as an alternative to Microsoft project with the following criteria:

* Easy to learn and use (Stay focused on the project)
* Can import and export Microsoft Project files
* Gant and CPM charts
* Interfaces with Microsoft Outlook
* Moderately and competitiely priced.
* Pleasant and intuitive interface.
* Good technical support and documentation.

ALL OF THE PROJECT MANAGMENT REVIEWS STATE A NUMBER OUT OF TEN.

I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE WHAT THESE 10 ITEMS DID THEY LOOK FOR WHEN THEY REVIEWED THIS SOFTWARE.

WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW THEY DETERMINED THAT RATING?

I've recently started using Project Drive (www.project-drive.net), and I'm really liking it's features and useability.

It seems to combine all the features of other programs in a user-friendly web interface, with better control and efficiency for collaboration and managing tasks.

Because it's web based, I can access it anywhere, as can all my team members. So far their service and hosting has been impeccable. They advertise 99.99% up-time, and I haven't had a single problem yet.

I find the web-hosted interface both convenient and easy to use. The interface is generally really intuitive, and they provide useful tips and help screens if you need help.


It has all the key elements provided by many other project management applications, including a timesheet module, gantt charts, project management templates, workflow and links, resource allocations, document sharing and management, automated communication tools, scheduling, recurring tasks, reporting, cost analysis and budgeting, exporting, user management and customization.

I couldn't ask for anything else. Their rates are also reasonable. They scale to the number of users, and have monthly and annual subscription plans. The monthly cost might be off-putting at first, but the fact that they host all that key information on their secure and reliable servers means I have a lot less to worry about, in terms of back-up. It also means we don't need to deal with any installation or compatibility issues. It works great in all the browsers we've tried so far, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome.

I highly recommend Project Drive.

Hi Bill, thanks for the post the reviews are great. I personally use this new project planning software for management at http://www.projectplan.com. It just offers me a little more in the way of planning and time management.

There is a new and interesting add on to Microsoft CRM 2011 online or on premise, to manage projects and resources that offers simple but very powerful project management solution, called q-project (http://www.q-project.com.au).
You can import projects from Microsoft Project or plan new project, schedule tasks (WBS) and dependencies, review & update in Gantt chart, assign tasks to CRM Users or external Contacts and report job work details and expenses.
One of the most important features of Q-Project is ???being organized???. Q-Project is using Microsoft CRM as a platform and as such, all communications with stakeholders and all documentation related to the project is linked to the project, whether it???s an email from Outlook, an appointment, notes and activities or documents stored in Share Point and integrated with CRM.
You can download 30 day free trial or if you do not have access to Microsoft CRM, get CRM 2011 trial as well.

Our telephone and web-based employee time clock system is totally optimized for the web (unlike typical client/server technology). As a result, our system is fast and very easy to use


web time clock

I believe Project Documents/Deliverables creation is a hot topic, since it takes the 80% of a project effort.
We have been using for some time now an innovative solution which prevents you from creating the same docs for customers over and over again, for all typical IT Project Phases. You may find it at http://www.projectframework.com : you basically get a software which helps you focus on Project Scope, gather Functional Requirements, specify Data Model, Technical and Application Architecture and finally create nice documents to be handed out directly to Customers (or enrich as you wish) in MS Word and Excel. The software allows to share the work on a team as well...

Project Monitor is a french tool for project management that I know well. The software is published by the french company Virage Group. The language used may be English. More information http://www.viragegroup.com.
This is a complete solution to manage projects by milestone, workpackages, tasks, budgets allowed, ressource activities, from reporting to consolidated information of sets of projects

Virage is moving into the US and UK with a new Version (5.0) out in October, and a push to international sales. The new version offers improved ergonomics, and reinforces cost and budget management functions.
English web site with on-line demo :

http://www.viragegroup.com/en.html
http://www.viragegroup.com/en/component/content/article/93.html

I noticed a lot of people in this discussion looking for a web based alternative to Microsoft Project. ProjectManager.com offers a simpler solution for anyone tired of the confines of desktop solutions and the complexities of MS Project Server. More info here: http://www.projectmanager.com/microsoft-project.php.

I can't believe this post is dated 2005 ?
Would you be interested in reviewing Project Monitor by Virage ?
http://www.viragegroup.com/en.html
Contact tb@viragegroup.com