What combination of project-management software will meet my just-started project's needs?

Question

Hello all,
I have a got couple of software projects that I want to run with my friends(max 10 persons) privately(at least for now). But I'm kind of lost between software management systems. I am not even sure about the definitions of my needs. Dear all, what is the definition/name of the system/software that meets my needs listed below? Continuous Integration? And please suggest me a good ALL-IN-ONE instance of it:

• project roadmap/planning
• project resource(people) allocation
• project issue&bug tracking
• project mailing list
• project forum

• project wiki

• source control server

• source control client
• repository change notifier client
• build system(like scons)
• nightly build automation
• IDE integration(VS)

Note: I tried Redmine and liked it, but found it kind of slow. All-in-one kind ones will be the most appreciated but if your suggestion includes more than 3 softwares, please suggest me the ones that work together painlessly.

thanks in advance..

Answer 1

Running projects is hard, and one of the toughest challenges is consciously managing and zealously pruning unnecessary overhead. Trying to manage a bunch of separate tools is going to give you serious headaches and slow down your project a good deal, and I think you may be overthinking this at such an early stage.

Instead, try the simplest thing that could possibly work. Just throw some stuff up on a wiki or a Google Spreadsheet and manage the project that way. Use github for your source control server, and a Hudson instance for your CI.

That will keep you going for quite a while. Once you're ready to upgrade because you're managing more than a few people or projects, you can upgrade to another relatively lightweight combination of tools. One that would give you much of what you want would be Git (source control), Pivotal Tracker (project planning, schedules, tracking), Rake (build management), and Hudson (continuous integration).

Answer 2

There are definitely many solutions to your needs but since you are looking for as much as an All-In-One as possible I would suggest looking into Fogbugz with Kiln (Mercurial Source Control). It will get you almost there:

• project roadmap/planning
• project resource(people) allocation
• project issue&bug tracking
• project mailing list
• project forum
• project wiki
• source control server
• source control client
• IDE integration(VS)

All that's really missing is the build system which could be done via scripts and/or something like cruise control.

If you are willing to consider other options that aren't all wrapped up into one I think you will find there are many suitable solutions that even though they may not be tightly integrated will get you what you need without a large amount of headache.

For full project management you could go with Basecamp or for a more lighter/agile approach you could go with Agile Zen, etc....

For Source Control, Git, Mercurial are great for Distributed Source Control or SVN if you don't want distributed.

For Build automation, there are several good choices. Hudson, TeamCity, etc....

Answer 3

I have personally used collabtive in the past - this was really easy to set up, you can run on most web servers without much hassle requirements wise.

Now I use "FengOffice" or "OpenGoo" - it has a really awesome office type set-up, its easy to configure and has support for multiple projects obviously. I like it, although I did find it a bit feature-packed at first.. i.e difficult to get used too. Allows file uploads though, you can write documents and presentations, leave notes, set milestones etc too.

It sounds like "Trac" would really suit your needs though, I have never used it but it does have most of the features you requested - interfacing with a "bug database", revision control and wiki content. Interfaces with git, SVN and more. Note; I've never used this personally - but have looked at it in the past. You can find it in the article at the bottom.

As a non-free option, I've used Basecamp HQ at a previous job - and I didn't rate it that much at all. Not compared with the above (open-source) options I've tried anyway, but maybe thats personal preference.

Theres a useful "Top 10 Open Source Web-based Project Mana..." article [here] that has information on all of these, and a few more! Good luck in finding one, a lot of its personal preference in my opinion.

P.S this is my first post so I haven't been able to post links to all the projects, sorry! I'm only allowed to post one.

Answer 4

If you're okay with a commercial solution, you might like either basecamp or backpack: http://37signals.com/

Answer 5

We are working with VisionProject (www.visionproject.se) and are really satisfied with that. I think they have all features you are looking for. I know that you can test it for a while before purchasing. The other good thing is that they are really well priced as well :), and of course that helps sometimes....