(VI.2) PMI oriented Descriptions of Open Source Project Management Software

(VI.2.A) Still Actively Developed Applications

myPmpsFactory

... should be read as mind your Project management process Software package. It's a set of directories following the PMI knowledge structure and prefilled with templates of the most important documents which are generated / updated by the PMI project management processes. Hence the package supports namely the project initialization. (homepage, classification)

openProject

... is "a free, open source project management solution" designed as a "replacement of Microsoft Project and other commercial project solutions" and "providing Gantt Charts, Network Diagrams (PERT Charts), WBS and RBS charts, Earned Value costing and more". An impressing piece of software using his own open source licence, but hosted at sourceforge (homepage, classification)

phpCollab

... seems to become an application concerning the time management, although an elder release promised to offer something like a Scope Creeping Tracker: an "automatic display of difference between project estimates and recorded actuals". But for the moment only elder release are reachable and the new release 2.5 is only announced (homepage,  classification)

PHProject

... itself specifies itself as "Open Source Groupware Suite". But if one reads the feature list it promises to be more than a "simple" tool for project communication:

  • PHProject allows to fill activity lists and to establish activity sequences for estimating activity durances and resources and generating the project schedule (Project Time Management). 
  • Human resources can be managed by PHProject
  • And last but not least the communcation management can be organized by PHProject

Nevertheless PHProject seems to support predominantly the execution and the monitoring and controlling of the project work. The work of planning the project needs some additional software (homepage, classification).

Planner

... - formerly known as MrProject - is specified as GNOME based general project management software like Microsoft Project. In the core it's a piece of software to imbibe the WBS, to generate the corresponding activity lists, to integrate the duration estimates and the logical sequencing. Hence it's well prepared piece of software for acting in the MS style [but a PMP should naturally answer, that using MS Project or Planner does not automatically mean to work as a project manager.]  (homepage, wikipedia, classification)

Redmine

... is specified as "a flexible project management web application" and is often mentioned as complete project management software. Although Redmine has a rich set of features, it's nevertheless mostly a software for tracking tasks and resources in the sense of agile programming (scrum etc.). Hence the software doesn't bridge the lack between 'global idea' or project charter on the one side and activity list on the other. We assume therefore, that Redmine is of software for scope and time monitoring and controlling. (homepage, classification)

TaskJuggler

... - in its own words - wants to be a "project management software for serious project managers" because it tries "to cover the complete spectrum of project management tasks from the first idea to the completion of the project " and wants "to assist you during project scoping, resource assignment, cost and revenue planing, risk and communication management". The screenshots and the documentation signal that it is basically designed to combine and track tasks and human resources. Hence - from the point of PMI - there still seems to be some lacks although this piece of software is on a good way. (homepage, classification)

TUTOS

...wants to manage the organizational needs of small groups, teams, departments" and includes therefore a task management with activity duration estimatings (homepage, classification)

Virtual Project

...wants to be an "innovative web based project management software": you can define a project and the time baseline, you can maintain lists of tasks, issues and changes, and you can report the degree of the fulfillment of the items. But still unsolved seems to be the task that in the sense of PMI the tasklist itself is the result of process which should be supported by the project managment software. (homepage, classification)

web2project

... wants to be (or at least: to become) a complete project management system which joins projects, tasklists and (human and material) resource lists for monitoring and controlling the status of tasks. It's a fork of  fork of dotproject and offers a formidable user interface: "web2Project is an Free Open Source business oriented Project Management System (PMS) built for the future. Following the concept of a Rich Internet Application (RIA) we will be providing an interactive and effective way of managing projects."

From the viewpoint of PMI web2project it is (still) not a complete project management tool: It doesn't integrate Scope Statements and WBS and it doesn't allow to deviate the activities and estimate their durance and costs. Hence the project management planning work is not supported by web2project: it must be externally done, only the results of the pm planning work can be monitored and controlled by web2project.

Nevertheless web2project seems to be the best tool for managing (externally developed) activitylists! (homepage, classification)

WebCollab

... describes itself as "collaborative web-based system for projects and project management" that "encourages users to work together". The screenshots and the demo show that a project is nothing more than a list of tasks. Hence you need a lot of additional software to use WebCollab in the sense of PMI. (homepage, classification)

(VI.2.B) Probably Still Not Usable Or No Longer Maintained Applications

  • dotProject :- want's to be "not another CMS, groupware environment or all things to all people collaboration tool, but a project management environment". Therefore dotProject promises to offer a Ticket System (Quality Control), a Client/Company Management (Procurement Managemet), Project listings and hierarchical task lists (Time Management) and so on. Last update (release 2.1.2) was published in july 2008. At least for the moment dotProject seems not to be heavily evolved. (classification)
  • FUTURe :- java application that wants to deal with time management by offering todo lists, gantt charts, diaries and pert charts
  • proManager :- a php based project manager/todo list with recursive tasks, task-related foruns, messages and notes
  • webpm :- platform for project team management software on web (pm in the sense of developing a software package, probably not in the sense of PMI)

(VI.2.C) Explicitely not integrated (open source) software

  • chaRMe :- open source risk management software in the sense of financial and market risk analysis. Risk management as part of project management seems not to be target of this software
  • pillar :- open source risk management software in the sense of financial and market risk analysis. Risk management as part of project management isn't target of this software
  • RiskTrak :- although declared a "Browser-based Risk Management software tool with features that totally support a complete risk management" it's not open source software

(VI.2.D) General Useful Open Source Software not intended to be project management software

  • calc :- spreadsheet application of the open office suite. In myPmps used to maintain the WBS, activity lists and so on
  • freemind :- java base mindmap application. In myPmps used to maintain a preform of the WBS or the RBS or anything else
  • impress :- presentation application of the open office suite. In myPmps used to maintain management plans and particular documents like scope statement or report templates
  • xMind :- more sophisticated mindmap tool which also can import freemind files