What Project Management Software should I use?

Question

I am looking for either an MS tool like project or an open source equivalent. Yes I could google it, but I am looking for some insight from some people who work with the end of the software I would as a programmer.

The tool has to run using IIS as the webserver or it's own custom webserver that can run on Windows Server.

It would be nice if the end user interface is very easy to use by non technical people.

This software will be used by 15 people in house and possibly clients.

What are some of the best features of your suggestion?

Answer 1

FogBugz?

Answer 2

fossil

• multiplatform
• a single executable
• runs as commandline and as cgi
• integrated version control, wiki and ticket system
• totally distributed
• same authors as SQLite
• fast, lean
• simple & ugly web UI

Answer 3

If you're in a large corporate / enterprise environment you might consider MS Project Server. It runs on top of Microsoft's SharePoint platform and integrates directly with MS Project on the desktop as a client application. However, this definitely falls into the "enterprise software" class of application (in both cost and complexity) and your needs might not warrant it. If your project managers are all using MS Project and you need to be able to track a shared pool of resources, do project portfolio reporting, track time on project line items, etc. it's great.

If you're looking for a purely web-based, "lightweight" project site you could always opt for something hosted, e.g. Basecamp, a hosted SharePoint site, etc.

Answer 4

For a good Agile project management system, that runs on IIS, I would recommend Target Process. This is highly customizable, handles bugs and test cases, and runs strong.

Answer 5

try Genius Project http://www.geniusinside.com

Answer 6

Team Foundation Server (you can evaluate TFS 2010 as it is currently in Release Candidate) combined with Microsoft Project is a pretty enticing combination IMHO. TFS has support for some project management aspects separately, but I think combined with MS Project gives you the widest possible range of functionality and planning.

TFS provides the metrics (via work items), reports and the day-to-day framework for development and QA, Project ((i.e. MS Project Server) and TFS come with a Web accessible interface (TFS Web, or if you prefer, the SharePoint portals).

Answer 7

redmine

Answer 8

Axosoft OnTime

Quality bit of software. Very flexible/customisable, ticks all your boxes, free for a single user so you can evaluate it without pressure.

Answer 9

Unless you have a project with more than about 20 people and a budget exceeding 2 million USD or GBP or EUR and a duration in excess of 9 months you should steer well clear of MS Project and all its ilk. Stick to Word (or another word-processor), and Excel (if you must, use another spreadsheet).

Unless your project is big enough to support a full-time person looking after 'THE PLAN' don't touch project-management software. If you do, you'll spend far more time being the servant of the software than you should be if you are also supposed to be managing the project. You'll soon find that the plan is driving you not you the plan. And everyone else on the project will hate it, and pretty soon hate you too.

One serious question: what proportion of your time on the project (or projects) is allocated to implementing a new PM software and setting it all up ? And how much time do you plan to spend each week on keeping the tool fed ?

Well, that's my opinion based on my experiences.

Answer 10

ActiveCollab is quite nice: http://www.activecollab.com/

Answer 11

Web-based project management, The Trac Project from http://trac.edgewall.org/ would be a nice suggestion.

Answer 12

EasyProjects.

http://www.easyprojects.net/

Not Free, Not Open Source

I've used this one and for simple to learn project management it works great. It is easy to setup and has a low learning curve for non-technical people or people with limited project management backgrounds. In addition, it can scale well for those do have this experience. It provides for quite a bit of customization, good request control and management, decent billing information, and good time and resource management features and extensive security and permission control. It would end up costing a little over $2000 out of the box for the hosted version for all 15 users and can be hosted in IIS since the entire app is browser based.

Project Engine

http://www.projectengine.nu/

I haven't used this one but I did take a look at it. Runs both as a desktop app and is accessible from a browser. The project manager can control what people need to do and they can review it from a browser. It has a simple interface and should be easy for everyone to pickup.

dotProject.net

http://www.dotproject.net/

http://docs.dotproject.net/index.php?title=Main_Page

Free, Open Source

This one is entirely web based and open source. The layout is clean and simple. This one is built using PHP and MySQL but you can download and host it yourself.

Achievo

http://www.achievo.org/product/

Free, Open Source

Documentation is sparse although there is support through the forums. It includes some interesting features such as the ability to track time spent in meetings. I have not used this in production but did evaluate it. Seemed Ok, but my biggest beef was the lack of documentation.

Answer 13

Depending on the process you use etc, I would recommend taking a look at http://agilezen.com. It is simple to get into, looks great, and there is immense satisfaction in moving tasks to the right on the board. :)

Answer 14

I'm a big fan of MS Project, but to echo much of the sentiment in other responses, it can quickly become overkill, especially on smaller projects.

One PM tool used these days that has gained tons of popularity (especially amongst small teams and management whose eye glaze over at the site of Gantt or WBS) is the One Page Project Manager (or commonly called "OPPM"). It uses one sheet only in Excel in a fairly predefined format, is easy enough to both track major milestones as well as report out. You can certainly host it on IIS for the shared XSL/XSLX (note the word "shared" - this feature allows for tracking, merging, etc. in Excel).

Answer 15

I use toodledo for task management. I find it really helpful. Tasks can be stored with context, tags, actions, proptities. you can implement collaboration by linking multiple accounts. It includes a calendar, automatic task creation via email, and has a pretty decent iPhone app too!

I've also looked at using google sites for project management. It has some very powerful project management tools! Here is a link to the example project management one.

Hope this helps -- Jonesy

Answer 16

If you decide to take a more "agile development" approach, and want to use user stories, etc. you can consider using Pivotal Tracker. It removes a lot of the busy work associated with sprints, letting you focus on the stories, and prioritizing them, etc.

Answer 17

You could try the Atlassian tools: there are trial versions in the download areas of their site I think.

JIRA

• http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/
• http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/tour/project-tracking.jsp

It is not like MS Project; in my limited experience, MS Project fits top-down management (focus on the schedule) whereas JIRA is more bottom-up (focus on the tasks). JIRA is used by many open-source projects, although usually more as an issue tracker than as a project management tool. For some small projects there is little difference ... work items are created, scheduled and then completed.

Does not use IIS but can run standalone.

GreenHopper

http://www.atlassian.com/software/greenhopper/

I haven't used GreenHopper yet, but it looks interesting and could be used standalone or with JIRA depending on your needs. More of an "Agile" focus ... if that matters to you.

http://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/pricing.jsp

http://www.atlassian.com/software/greenhopper/pricing.jsp

Answer 18

What do you want to do, i.e. your requirements, is it mainly about managing tasks of the project, or should there be bug handling, discussion forums, requirement management etc?

Well, anyhow we got to discussion of this at some point and there popped these web-based tools that haven't been yet mentioned:

• http://www.getharvest.com/ seems to focus more time-tracking
• collabtive.o-dyn.de/

Answer 19

With a 7 people team + customers we made really good expriences with Target-Process.

It supports IIS and is written with ASP.NET and MSSQL. We are very happy with the hosted Version.

Plus points

• Acitve Development with a steady stream of improvements
• It wont go away, since its reasonable big and has a steady revenue stream
• Users are heavily involved
• Supports Iteration/Release Based and Kanban Based Planing

Minus points

• with 25$ per user and month, it is not the cheapest solution.

In reply to the accepted answer:

Project management is essential. Even in small projects project management should be supported by an software solution, which supports at least feature specification and release scheduling.

Answer 20

Hi

Since you are working on windows server, I would suggest you to go for Microsoft's project 2007. It's the best option to handle many project simultaneously. It has features like calendar management, Gantt chart, tracking, planning and resource management tools for efficient project management.

Answer 21

There is one more worth mentioning here, because it's free and online: gantter.com

Answer 22

How about this de-centralized serverless solution that leverages your email?

http://yoxel.com/personal-commitment-manager.html

Answer 23

I have worked with quite a few Project Management Systems. In my opinion I believe VisionProject is a very good system. There are so many systems and it all depends for what you wish to use them. VisionProject includes a Helpdesk, Document Management System, Knowledgebase/Discussion Forum and Time Management. The thing about VisionProject you can actually use it for a very low amount of money. Since the price is counted per user, you could have a support division of 2 employees for a cost of around $60/month supporting an unlimited number of clients.

Answer 24

In case you haven't found a solution yet.. Why not try Xpert-Timer?

You could use the free MS-SQLExpress 2008 server to run Xpert-Timer for your team. It's worth a look!

Answer 25

[Urban Turtle][1] with Visual Studio Team System 2010. You will have all the great functionality of TFS for Agile development and a Real Scrum planning board and task board with the Turtle

  [1]: http://urbanturtle.com

Answer 26

VisionProject is definitely to recommend in your case. It is the best system I have found having a size of your department. We are around 100 people using it and it works brilliant for us.

Answer 27

If you really want to know which software solves your problem then I suggest ProofHub. It is a web based software and it can handle your projects fully and side by side control your team also like you want some kind of privacy. You can easily manage with the help of this software. Go through just once and I am sure you would love it just click here.

Answer 28

Project management is must in a company and it’s the toughest part to do. I have to control each and every team member work. It’s very hectic and time consuming. I am searching a tool for my problems and thanks to Proofhub for solving my problem. Now I can do online things and from where I want to continue I can. I really thankful to have this software.

Answer 29

You can also try Assembla's issue management tools. It's really easy to use, so you won't spend hours trying to figure out what it is. It has great email integration and is also used by many open source projects like Scala IDE. Their issue tracking - bug tracking tool is called ticketing

http://www.assembla.com/features/bug-tracking

For Open Source projects they have free offers of all these tools + free hosting

Hope it helps!