Tech watch

Each quarter, we highlight the top products to look out for in the fast-moving world of project software.

Open-source tools

Open-source software offers an alternative to traditional types of software, in that the coding is published openly, free to all.  This means that anyone can modify, improve or adapt the software – instead of the code being held exclusively by the company  that created it, such as with ‘proprietary’  or ‘closed-source’ software. 

In the spirit of open source, this ‘community’ software is usually free to use, with fewer licensing restrictions. Open-source project management software is available to all, and is a viable alternative to the more popular closed-source tools. Here, we review the top five free open-source project management tools.

Platform: ProjectLibre Open Source
Cost: Free
Available at: www.projectlibre.org 
More information: ProjectLibre is an award-winning tool that has been downloaded more than two million times in 200 countries. Its tagline explains its purpose clearly: ‘ProjectLibre does to Microsoft Project what Google Docs did to Microsoft Word’. The tool is multiplatform and multi-user, is able to open Microsoft Project documents and works  on Linux, Mac and Windows.
Key features: Support for task management, resource allocation, tracking, Gantt charts, network diagrams, earned value costing.

Platform: MyCollab
Cost: Free
Available at: community.mycollab.com 
Key information: MyCollab comes in three editions, including a free, open-source community edition. The platform supports agile development models through a  Kanban board.
Key features: Gantt charts and milestones, time tracking, task and issue management, mobile readiness. 

Platform: LibrePlan
Cost: Free
Available at: www.libreplan.com 
Key information: LibrePlan is an open-source, web-based application for project planning, monitoring and control. The tool can also make projects available to the entire project team, as well as to clients. It provides a modern design and balanced user interface, as well as complete documentation, built-in reporting and professional support.
Key features: Web based, resource allocation, Gantt charts, time and progress tracking, financials, mobile apps for Android.

Platform: Project-Open
Cost: Free
Available at: www.project-open.com 
More information: Project-Open is an enterprise project management tool  that has been downloaded more than  one million times over the past 10 years.  The core of the software – which includes project planning, portfolio management,  CRM and financial controlling as standard  – is open source, but there are additional modules available under a commercial licence. It runs on Windows and Linux.
Key features: Agile, Gantt editor, portfolio planner, timesheet tasks and management, HTML5 charts.

Platform: OpenProject
Cost: Free
Available at: www.openproject.org 
More information: OpenProject is designed to support project teams through the whole project life cycle. Aspects of the tool that make it stand out are its user interface, extensive documentation and rich feature set.
Key features: Collaborative project planning, timeline reports, task management, time and cost reporting, scrum, synchronisation with Microsoft Project.

Which products and gadgets are you using? Get in touch and let us know which project management tools you have tried and tested. Email editor@project-journal.co.uk.