Figure B Simple reports are easy to customize. The result is low-frills reporting that you can use to document your project or share with others.

The defaults are reasonable and easily customized. You can easily print or preview this window and you can print to a PDF file, but you’ll probably rely more on Reports view, shown in Figure B. Figure A Enter a project’s tasks in WBS view. Durations and task dependencies work as expected and for the most part, finding the options you use most will be easy. Gantt view calculates and displays your project’s path visually by default.

Whether you’re input or interface oriented, you’ll find projects easy to set up and maintain. Creating dependencies and resources is easy and intuitive (mostly). It also supports several languages.įigure A shows its similarities to MS Project. (Cheeky!) It’s compatible with MS Project 2003, 2007, and 2010, and Linux, MacOS, and Windows, so it covers almost everybody. ProjectLibre (previously known as OpenProj) is open source project management software that openly bills itself as a replacement for MS Project. This article is also available as TechRepublic Screenshot Gallery. Be sure to read all licensing agreements to make sure you meet all requirements. All five are desktop applications for Windows, although some are compatible with Mac OS and Linux. At the end, you’ll find a short list of feature comparisons (Table A). If you’re supporting a small organization with an even smaller budget, consider one of these free software management solutions. Unfortunately, proprietary software is usually expensive or ransomed via subscription fees. Poor planning is the root of most project failures and interestingly, the smaller the project, the less scrutiny the plan gets! If you’re managing projects, execution will benefit from tight tracking.

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