IT Project Mechanic

In the series, Finding the right PM software package, I set about trying to find the few ‘shining stars’ out of the hundreds of applications that I am aware of. I’m not limiting this search to commercial, off the shelf software or to desktop applications – the sector is getting incredibly large and spans well beyond these bounds.

I had heard good things about GANTTproject (http://www.ganttproject.biz) and decided to download and install the Windows version of the app (v2.0.6). The install was very straightforward and didn’t require me to jump through any hoops. GanttProject is also available for the Linux and MAC OSX. For the Windows version, you do need a version of JRE (Java Runtime Environment) loaded as well as GanttProject.

GanttProject is opensource, meaning that there is no cost to download or use the application and the code is availabe (under GPL for the most part). The flagship aspect for GanttProject that many other packages don’t have is the ability to import and export MS Project files (2000-2003 was the only file-version I was able to import and export). This worked quite well and pulled in the salient aspects of the MSP file I gave the tool. GanttProject provides a streamlined version of PM tools and for the casual user of PM software this is a perfect fit. I haven’t had the chance to try importing an MSP file, changing it and exporting back to MS Project format – I suspect there are some fields that could be lost in a more complex MSP plan.

The scheduling aspects of the tool work off duration based scheduling, with the smallest increment of time being 1 day. Each resource has their own vacation calendar that can aid in proper resource scheduling, as well as resource work units (availability percentages, normally 8 hrs.) GanttProject’s visual presentation of its namesake, Gantt Charts, is as you would expect great.

I believe that GanttProject is an opensource project that has really hit the mark – this product allows those in PM roles a tool that can do most of what they need, interact with the MSP users of the world, and focus on executing projects. For the individual PM, this is worth a look.

P.S.: If you happen to see a software package that I haven’t reviewed or that isn’t on my list of apps, drop me a line and let me know which one you know of. Thanks!

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm and is filed under PM, PM_Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.