jxProject

http://www.jxproject.com

Rating 3.5/5

jxProject is a Java application that comes with an adverstisement supported free version and a commercial version. It is a simple project / gantt chart tool. This software requires the latest JRE from Sun Microsystems.

Main features include:

• Supported task link types: Finish to Start, Finish to Finish, Start to Finish, Start to Start,
• Resource User with positive/negative lag.
• Arbitrary constraints: Start After, Finish After, Start Before, Finish Before.
• Full Undo/Redo and Cut/Copy/Paste functionality.
• Full time resource leveling with user ability to enable/disable.
• A resource optimizer which automatically identifies gaps in resource schedules and moves tasks into those gaps.
• Tasks may be of fixed work, fixed duration, or fixed span. Task schedule driver is clearly indicated in the table.
• Familiar hierarchical parent/child task structure: summary task/task
  No limit to the number of links per task.
• Resource Assignments: Any combination from none, one, multiple or partial resources.
  Clear and traceable circular constraint violation messages allows user to locate dependency problems.
• Drag and Drop to move/copy tasks in the table/chart.
• Drag and Drop resources onto assigned tasks. [Multiple resources to multiple tasks in a single operation]
• Fully supports shift work scheduling such as first, second, third and/or swing shifts. Four day, ten hour days 4x10s.
• Resources inherit schedules from their parent calendars, overriding of parent schedules is fully supported.
• Each calendar has a timezone which is used consistently throughout all scheduling calculations.
• Supports scheduling of work time, time off, or paid time off.
• The user can define Full Time Equivalent (FTE) work hours for display/edit of actual work of resources.

Concept Draw Project 3

http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/products/project/ap-gantt-charts.php

Concept Draw is a beautifully designed project management application that can run both on the Windows and Mac platform and make use of Microsoft Project XML for data interchange between Concept Draw and Microsoft Project. The user interface is intuitive and very appealing.

The latest UI features include Smart Multi Selection, Task Link with Drag and Drop, Colour and Filtering, Information Sorting, Filter Toolset, Network Diagram and Critical Path Management.
(read more at http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/products/project/whats_new.php)

The application is designed to allow for easy management of multiple projects with the Multi Project Workspace. Advance Editing and Powerful Reporting System makes it a good project worth looking at. (read more at http://www.conceptdraw.com/en/products/project/overview.php)

We give it a colourful rating of 4/5.

AccuPlan

It seems that the developer has discontinued the software. However, you can still download a copy from

http://download.cnet.com/AccuPlan/3000-2076_4-10338223.html

Accuplan is a straight forward project planner that provides standard features like tasks, resources, budgets and timelines. It also allows you to view graphs, calendars, WBS view and reports.

It is a commercial product but quite affordable. However, as a commercial project, probably Accuplan should include more unique features to make it stand out from the rest.

We rate it 3.5/5

Accuplan is quite easy to learn and it is useful for experienced and new project managers.
Some features:

• Share project data among all stakeholders on any network.
• Build your project in Gantt view or as a spread sheet like grid.
• Free WBS (Work breakdown structure) view lets you visually create Task Hierarchies
• New Free integration with Ms Outlook mail and Reminder/Calendar
• Visually track of budgets and costs.
• Drag and drop to easily create task dependencies in any direction
• Automatically reschedule dependent tasks.
• See on-screen constraints, milestones, and deadlines that give a clear picture at a glance.
• Automatically calculate task and project durations based on number and availability of associated resources.
• Automatically adjust to skip holidays, weekends, and other downtime.
• View graphs of your resource allocations to identify under- and over-allocations.
• Resolve allocation conflicts with a "Resource Gantt View."
• Get up to speed fast with an intuitive interface that makes Accu Plan quick and easy to learn.
• Exchange data with other Windows applications.
• Import schedule data generated by other project management software, including MS Project.
• Print out presentation-quality reports to any Widows-supported printer or plotter.
• Output to a large selection of formats, including XML, Excel, MS Access, MS. Word, and HTML.

You can read more of the feature comparison at their web site:
http://download.cnet.com/AccuPlan/3000-2076_4-10338223.html

Basecamp

Basecamp (http://www.basecamphq.com/tour) comes with some common but really useful features like Colors & Logos, Dashboard, To-dos, Files, Messages, Milestones, Time tracking, Overview and Comments. It is simple yet addresses the collaboration needs of many projects.

Thus we are giving it a rating of 4.5/5.0 for the hosted application category.

Basecamp is a hosted project collaboration platform with different pricing packages that cater to different organisation needs. The tools that it provides help to solve communication problems by allowing the project teams to work effectively through the web. One thing that we really like is the simple and clean user interface that we believe users would be able to use fairly easily without much help.

If you are looking for a web collaboration projection management software and do not wish to spend too much time in maintaining a system, Basecamp is a product that we think is suitable.

Project in a Box

Project in a Box (http://www.projectinabox.org.uk/default.asp) community edition is a free standalone application that can be useful for PMs who follow the PRINCE 2 methods. Commercial editions for P2 Guidance Module and Professional versions for both PRINCE2 and customer methods are available.

We rate it 4/5.

The community edition has an easy user interface and you can naviate the processes in a tree structure. Based on authentic material licensed from the OGC (the owners of the PRINCE2™ manual) the applications provides easy navigation and understanding of the processes.

Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project (www.microsoft.com/project) seems to to be the de facto tool that both new and experienced project managers will use for their project planning activities.

MSP creates critical path schedules, and third-party add-ons are available for critical chain and event chain methodology . Schedules can be resource levelled, and chains are visualized in a Gantt chart.

Serious project based companies may further implement Project Server for better collaborations among the team members and for better resource management.

Most project managers love this product. Unfortunately, its strong points may also be its weakness as it is a heavy application that requires some learning. There is no simple ways of distributing the project plans created using MSP especially to the high level management, project sponsors or staff members who are not very computer savvy. Though MSP does provide a few ways of exporting the schedules like web access, export as html or capture as image; they are not very ideal, and though there are some MSP viewers out there, it still requires the users to download and install some applications which often is a hassle. In addition, the license cost of MSP is not cheap.

Open Workbench

A free open source alternative to Microsoft Project.
Allows you to connect to a database for central management.

We give it a cool category rating of 5/5

Open Workbench (www.openworkbench.org) can be used and distributed free of charge. It is a stand-alone desktop application that provides robust project scheduling functionality. Thus it requires installation.

Open Workbench provides the unique ability to generate project schedules based on resource constraints. It can also be used in a fully integrated fashion with CA's Clarity solution.

This tool is good for project managers but a new user would require some form of training to fully appreciate the product.