projectpdf

Johannes Kepler Universität Linz Institut für Bioinformatik Arbeitsgruppe Informationssysteme (IFS)

Seminar Projektorganisation Comparison of Projectmanagement-Software Leitung: Mag. Dr. Elisabeth Kapsammer

Rudolf Mühlbauer Thomas Klambauer Walter Ruprechtsberger Josef Schaitl

Linz, 5. Dezember 2007

1

Contents 0

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2

1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

2

Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

2.1

Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

3

Evaluated Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

3.1

Microsoft Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

3.2

Trac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

3.3

Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

3.4

GanttProject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19

3.5

dotproject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22

3.6

Merlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

3.7

FastTrack Schedule 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

32

3.8

Omni Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

37

3.9

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

A

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

42

0 Preface

0

2

Preface

This work was originally published at http://klambauer.info/pms.pdf. Also see http://klambauer.info for updates and translations. The authors may be contacted at:

This is version 1.3 of this document.

1 Introduction

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3

Introduction “A badly planned project will take three times longer than expected - a well planned project only twice as long as expected.” [Wik07c]

The complex discipline of Project Management requires a structured approach to the scheduling and tracking of tasks and progress. Project-Management-Software promises assistance for these processes and a broad field of tools ranging from Open Source to proprietary software is available to Project Managers. We have selected eight tools, namely Microsoft Project, Trac, Planner, GanttChart, dotproject, Merlin, FastTrack Schedule and OmniPlan for evaluation and comparison in regards of a set of specific criteria. A special look is taken on the management of Software Development Projects wherefore some tools from that area have been chosen. Furthermore we are trying to find an Open Source match for the top market-share holder Microsoft Project.

2 Criteria

2

4

Criteria

Following, we present the criteria which have been selected and grouped into categories to form the basis of our product evaluation. This section defines them in detail, respectively clarifies their meaning in the context of Project-Management-Software and software quality metrics. Each product will be rated for each criterion, ranging from −− (worst) over ∼ (medium) to ++ (best) (n/a for not applicable) based on a subjective rating resulting from the evaluation.

2.1 2.1.1

Categories Graphical interface

Input adequacy Project-Management-Software requires a certain amount of data to be able to the aid the user. This includes Task Information like Name, Start, End, Work, . . . , Ressource Information: Name, Availability, Cost and relations between them, like assignments and dependencies. Thus an adequate method to input (mass-)data should be available to minimize the effort of entering data. Web support As digital integration of data grows, online information retrieval or full feature support through a web interface becomes more relevant. Pluses in this criteria may be an export functionality to web formats, an web-server interface or a fully web-based Project-Management-Software. Internationalization Cross culture project management may benefit from localized software through an ease of understanding when exchanging information. Intuitive handling A clearly structured user interface as well as predictable behavior, when icons or symbols are heavily used, results in improved productivity and lowers the learning curve. Aesthetics Clean and presentable reports are a requirement for subsequent submission to upper management or to the customer.

2.1.2

Economical

Cost The return on investment depends on a fair and justifiable license model respectively a performance gain through free software. Market share De facto standards through a monopoly drop storage format and other barriers, thus creating short- and medium term advantages for the monopolist’s clients, but in the long term may hinder competition and as a result general progress. We will define a higher market share as an overall plus, putting the focus on the short-term effects for the customer. Open source software implies cost-free usage, which is covered by the Cost criterion, but furthermore enables the user to develop custom extensions to the software specific to their environment or need. The full disclosure of the source code may also help integrating the Project-ManagementSoftware into other company software, like centralized calendar- or email-systems. Especially for Project-Management-Software that focuses on software development projects, integration with bug reporting/tracking tools, mailing lists, source code versioning systems and the like may be sought and help adoption.

2 Criteria

5

Platform independence Though virtualization technology is beginning to reduce the impact of platformfixed software: performance overhead, licensing issues and preparation time still do matter. The use of platform independent software also reduces product dependencies at the clients side and may avoid disruptive work experiences, when required to switch platforms, use a terminal server or virtualization products.

2.1.3

Interoperability

Standardized formats enable seamless exchange of information between different products. This may not be restricted to Project-Management-Software, for instance the iCalender RFC[Net98] defines a calendar data format which is supported by a large software base, ranging from mail applications to mobile telephone calendars. Automation is supported through application programming interfaces (APIs) or a scripting/macro functionality. Integration into a company’s software landscape through synchronization of project data with other applications thus are possible. Of course to be effective, an automation interface requires some minimum of helpful documentation. For instance employees vacations, and local holidays could automatically be introduced into the project plan from a centralized point, saving planning time. Cooperation Collaborative project plan creation, management and information sharing support teamwork and reduce communication overhead through other channels. Linking or centralizing different project plans also contributes to this idea. Exports and Reports Graphical and table-structured overviews make up the main outputs of ProjectManagement-Software so basic exporting functionality to an image or table format (comma separated values, MS Excel™ sheets, etc) and intelligent printing layout greatly contribute to the software’s value.

2.1.4

Data handling

Versioning is weighed in terms of the ability of Change Management. This includes recovering previous document states, relating changes to users, viewing differences between versions, backing up to versions and similar features. The storage format of the Project-Management-Software’s data file is also relevant for this criterion, as binary formats cannot be reasonably versioned by other specialized versioning software, what would be the case for text-only, xml-based or similar formats. Furthermore, proprietary formats may be hard to inspect by the user if not properly documented. Sophisticated applications in other areas even support the integrated viewing and backtracking of changes made to the working document, which greatly enhances trace-ability for long-term projects or massive amounts of project data. Synchronization can occur by some intelligent Merging facility, where single differences are accepted or rejected, based on an algorithm or an user decision. This may be a client feature or part of a bigger server system managing the project data. It’s importance arises in an environment, where customer and supplier or managers of multiple projects actively coordinate project plans or work together on their creation. A product capable of synchronization thus might also indirectly support the management of multiple scenarios.

2 Criteria

2.1.5

6

Project management

Resources This criterion represents the handling of resources. Facets include initial automatic assignment and partial assignment. Indication of over-assignment, detailed listing of assigned tasks, handling of sudden resource unavailability are also credited here. Tasks are the building blocks of the project, thus their grouping and arranging into the work breakdown structure is critical and a minimum requirement. Different visual representations besides the widespread Gantt Chart are a plus, giving a different view on the situation. Critical path The critical path concept helps to identify project-critical tasks. The availability of network plans like MPM, CPM and PERT allows the user to choose a method he is accustomed to or that is used in the user’s company. Multi-scenario management The ability to branch from a standard project plan or to “test” it against various interference cases is a common technique to get an overview of the impact of changes in the plan, for instance delayed delivery from a supplier. When properly supported by the software, the analysis of such multiple scenarios can aid in risk analysis and help planning buffers or indicate the requirement of tighter follow-up mechanisms. Copy and paste in general does not work out very good due to various reason, therefore direct support by the Project-Management-Software is desirable. Multi-project management [Wik07a] Allow the coordination between different projects and an overview of the states of the projects. Assists in managing projects company-wide and may help to detail the global load on resources.

2.1.6

Miscellaneous

Documentation As with any software, clear and structured documentation should be at hand when needed and requested by the user, both online and offline. Introductions and specific task wizards contribute to the same idea. One may differentiate between context sensitive help systems and pure textual documentation, but mainly relevant is the overall worthiness to the user. Good software systems don’t require too much of those due to intuitive handling and transparent actions. Support Professional support for software products may exist both for commercial products as well as for open source systems. However, demand for such a service will only matter when the ProjectManagement-Software is in heavy use and is not relevant for infrequent users. Performance Project-Management-Software typically does not require a lot of processing power and all its tasks should be accomplishable on standard computer systems without too much of a delay or other resource usage. Stability Much time and data can potentially be lost over software crashes or file corruption. Mature products do not show such problems, but often open source and other free software show a lack of quality assurance and elaborate testing. Of course this is critical. Transparency The reasoning for each decision taken by the Project-Management-Software should be either obvious or explained. Various algorithms will be working in the background for arranging tasks, calculating costs, etc. Understanding those algorithms and the reasoning that goes on behind the scenes is the main issue on the way to using the product effectively and important to reduce frustration.

3 Evaluated Programs

3

7

Evaluated Programs

3.1

Microsoft Project

Product name

Microsoft Project Professional 2007 Microsoft Project Server 2007

Vendor

Microsoft Corp.

Homepage

http://office.microsoft.com/project http://www.microsoft.com/office/projectserver

3.1.1

General

Microsoft Project is the top dog in Project-Management-Software in regards of market share ([Man03]), having sold 20 million user licenses as of 2006 [Tec06]. Like many other Microsoft products, it benefits1 from the broad installation base of their operating system - Windows - throughout all industries and the integration with other widely spread products, such as Microsoft Outlook and Excel. Thus expanding their monopoly from the current position. Microsoft Project 2007 is the product’s recent version and it is available as client-standalone software or with an optional server product - Microsoft Project Server 2007 - to centralize data and integrate with other server systems, such as a Microsoft Sharepoint portal.

Fig. 1: Client Overview

1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_effect

3 Evaluated Programs

Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project management

Miscellaneous

8

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Aesthetics Cost Market Share Open Source Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

+ ++ ∼ + -++ -n/a + ∼ + ∼ + + ++ + ++ + + ++ -

Major problems in basic usage Web-Export and Access, no online-editing Software and Documentation, but extra cost Windows surface but missing clarity beyond that Good design and coherence with Office A thousand dollars for one client license No, but free SDK and macro support Complete lockout unless using virtualization HTML, XML export Through integration and macros When used with Microsoft software Web export and reports, but many require Excel Comparison and Server-based, not fully-fledged With Comparison or Server Check-in, manual Client and Server based pooling available Missing clarity in many cases Network and Gantt chart views Mostly manual Through Web Access and Portfolio Server Not too well structured Available, but costly Server version require too much resources Web access system caused some hangs Client needs improvement

Tab. 1: Criteria Table for Microsoft Project 2007 3.1.2

Graphical interface

The classic Gantt Chart - Task view ( see Figure 1) presents itself as shiny and clean as one would expect from a professional software vendors product. While marveling at the task bars’ rounded edges the user gets the feeling that designers specifically worked on this view to make a very good first impression. However, after working through the various views and input dialogs, one recognizes the fact, that Project is one of the stepchildren of the Office suite, with major usability problems and inefficiencies. For instance, the accidental loss of input data2 is not taken care of in many situations. Mass input of data is furthermore effectively hindered by the disallowance of invalid data in fields - typos. You are tacked on that invalid field startled by pop up message boxes until you correct or cancel the whole field. Another general problem is opacity: no information is presented, why some task cannot be moved. Counterintuitive symbols require extensive searching of the documentation to learn their meaning. This guarantees a learning curve with frustration points. On the other side of the coin the mostly coherent Windows and Office user interfaces with standardized toolbars and icons, provides some familiarity for the operation of software. Comprehensive Web access to projects stored on a Microsoft Project Server is available, without the client’s full functionality, but providing a higher level overview of projects, such as risk overview, links between projects and status report management. Localized versions for 35 languages are available, as well as specific language packs, that can be pur2

Hitting Escape disposes of dialog input data in many cases, no questions asked

3 Evaluated Programs

9

Fig. 2: Project Server Web Access

chased to allow for multiple localizations.

3.1.3

Economical

One license for the current client version - Project 2007 Professional is priced $999, the language packs for additional localization cost $25 each. Server licenses are sold as Client Access Licenses, which are available on a per-user or per-device license [Mic07a]. The actual price was not available to the authors. Obviously this makes a tremendous initial cost difference compared to the Open Source products in this document. For individual non-professionals or sparse usage of the software, it will very likely not return their investment and free spreadsheet applications should suffice in those cases. About platform independence or rather dependence: As with nearly all Microsoft products, Project as well is not released on other Operating Systems, furthermore, Project Server requires to be run on the Windows Server system.

3.1.4

Interoperability

As expected, the product integrates into a Microsoft software environment: Microsoft Exchange for calendar and human resource synchronization, Sharepoint for combining web access with a project web portal, SQL Server as server back end and so on. On the client side, export for Excel and Access are among the features. Vendor independent integration features include exporting to plain text, HTML (web page) and XML, where XML schemata and documentation are available. For programmers and more sophisticated automation or integration into other systems, a Software Development Kit (SDK) [Mic07c] with support for the client and the server version can be downloaded for free. A special note to mention: there exists a connector for synchronizing Project with Microsoft’s development environment - Visual Studio Team System, see [Mic07f] for details. This might of interest for Software project managers.

3 Evaluated Programs

3.1.5

10

Data handling

Fig. 3: Microsoft Project Comparison

While a fully functional versioning system could not be made out, an elaborate functionality to compare two project files is implemented, that should be able to handle all issues that come up when synchronizing a project plan (see Figure 3 ). Furthermore on the client side, links between different project plans can be established, though that feature did not work as expected during the tries that have been performed. Also, resource pools can be created, by keeping those in one project file and referring to them from other files. Together with the Server version, possibilities expand: The server can be used for centralized storage of global project plans with a simple locking (check-out and check-in) system. Through backups of the server back end, implicit versioning could be performed too, as there exist tools to restore single projects from backups [Mic07e]. Furthermore it can act as centralization point for resources, documents, links between projects on the server, etc. In regards of data handling, it has to be mentioned, that Project Server supports the generation of a so called OLAP cube[Wik07b] to be stored in an backing Microsoft SQL Server and to be processed by its accompanying Analysis Services, to quote Microsoft3 : Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services delivers online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality for business intelligence applications. Analysis Services supports OLAP by letting you design, create, and manage multidimensional structures that contain data aggregated from other data sources, such as relational databases. Project Server integrates that feature through web access to the generated reports and spreadsheets. 3

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/aa336310.aspx

3 Evaluated Programs

3.1.6

11

Project management

Besides the resource handling mechanisms, that have already been mentioned all the other essential building blocks are present, like the possibility for a work breakdown structure through grouping tasks together. Dependencies and Links can be created in all combinations and can be managed through files or a central server. The Critical Path can be highlighted and the view can be changed to a network diagram style that can be customized to many looks. Though an explicit Multi-scenario management functionality does not seem to be present, Multi-projectmanagement is supported by the server-based high-level project view given through the Web Access feature, that allows to watch and track the state of all centralized projects. For coordination at an even higher level, Microsoft delivers Project Portfolio Server for Project portfolio management. This product was not available to the authors and has thus not been evaluated, but further information can be found at [Mic07d].

3.1.7

Miscellaneous

Documentation is integrated into Project and provides offline and online information. This helps keeping it up to date, but also rises privacy issues, realizing that Microsoft is able to collect personalized usage data (through the license) and that the software has an integrated connection to Microsoft, where it cannot determined, what is being transmitted. Thus one has to trust the vendor for not retrieving internal project information or lock-down the software with firewall systems.

Fig. 4: Project Help System

The documentation itself seems sufficient, not too well structured, but covers most topics and is also localized. The German online version for instance provides all entries that are available in the English version and the translation has of course been done professionally.

3 Evaluated Programs

12

Some webcasts are available, that can be watched and found again through the help system, as well as general web resources like the homepage of Project-related products. So the integration of online and offline resources has been done nicely and collects the information into one help center at the client side. What’s missing, but important is some more context sensitive help, especially on the Gantt chart. If facing worse problems, Professional Support can be contacted, which is available[Mic07b] from the form of a hotline to Software Development support and full Enterprise deployment assistance. To address Performance and Stability, there were no problems during the evaluation with the products. The only thing, that can be noted is, that the Project Server version together with Windows Server requires a lot of resources to run smoothly. Transparency has already been partly discussed during the Graphical interface evaluation, where it is not often clear, why something happened or cannot be done that way. The non-disclosure of the source code adds up to this fact, as one cannot determine the under-working mechanisms if needed or wanted; this is an advantage of Open Source products.

3.1.8

Summary

To sum up all the results, Microsoft Project 2007 is a professional, but expensive project management tool with various possibilities for extension and integration with other Microsoft products. Together with Project Server 2007 and Project Portfolio Server it provides a qualified enterprise solution. This full scale solution however seems to have dragged the focus a bit too much away from the client software that is central to all the project management. It suggests some stepchild-image in comparison to the other Office products in terms of basic usability and clarity. Major arguments for and against purchase decisions include cost, a Microsoft products environment in the company and the need for professional software.

Fig. 5: Firefox Browser locked out

3 Evaluated Programs

3.2

13

Trac

trac is an open source project located at http://trac.edgewall.org/. It is written in Python and thus runs on every system supported by it. This includes most Unix and Linux systems as well as MacOS X and MS Windows. It is a highly specialized project management software made specifically fore software projects of any size. It is a fast developing open source application in a server client model suited for developing software in a team. It’s main advantage is the combination of a subversion repository with a ticketing system and a wiki page. Tickets are assigned to people, milestones and tasks. Through this, trac automatically updates time schedules, gantt charts and tickets when the subversion repository is updated via commits of the working developers. All information in the wiki is linked. So through browsing the project page on the server, one can follow links to the specific tickets, tasks and people. Also it provides a web interface to the version control system. trac requires a project administrator who adds users and assigns permissions to them. All users are automatically users in the wiki and the SVN. Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project-management

Miscellaneous

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Aesthetics Cost Market Share Open Source Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

+ ++ n/a ∼ + ++ + ++ ++ + ++ ++ + ++ + + ∼ + n/a ++ ++ + ++ ++ ++

administration over command line Integrated wiki needs getting used to Good information display free highly used for sw projects uses Python output is mainly HTML and XML trac is MADE for multiple users cooperating plugins required integrated SVN svnsync needed trac users are automatically the resources managed through tickets

Through Wiki, IRC, mailing list

Tab. 2: Criteria Table for Trac

3.2.1

Graphical User Interface

The initial setup of a project in trac is made through a commandline interface and config files. This takes a lot of time getting used to in the first project. But once the initial setup is done, milestones and tickets can be edited through the wiki based web interface. Currently there is nothing in the like of gantt charts available in trac, but since trac supports a module

3 Evaluated Programs

14

system and is open source, additional features like that are developed by the community. Namely a Gantt module is currently developed by freshports.org (see http://www.freshports.org/ www/trac-gantt/ for details). The Wiki is easy and intuitive to navigate through. Due to the linking of information in trac, milestones and tickets are connected through hyperlinks. So browsing through a project is easy and fast. In overviews over milestones and tickets it takes only one look to see the priority/severity of tickets and their impact on the project as a whole. The wiki of your project can also be linked to your SMTP server, allowing users to let themselves be notified of changes automatically via email. This can be made by the project administrator to ensure people get the information they need and by the users themselves, so they can get the information that interests them. If preferred, the change information about tickets and milestones can also be received via RSS feed. Through the link to the projects SVN repository, the progress of the project doesn’t have to be edited by hand. Trac automatically updates milestones and tickets linked to the source code that is committed. This makes supervising a project in work pretty easy and may be the main advantage of trac over other project management tools. However trac lacks the feature of standardized reports used to satisfy a management. It is a tool made by software developers for software developers. The usage of Trac requires some time to get used to. But once it is established in a developing team it can save a lot of work through automation of information exchange and schedule updates.

3.2.2

Economical

Trac is licensed under the modified BSD license you can view at http://trac.edgewall.org/ wiki/TracLicense. Basically this means that it can be obtained and used freely. However modification and redistribution of Trac needs to meet the specified conditions. Trac needs a running web server like Apache and MySQL as well as Python. But since those products are free as well the only costs arise from the server machine and the network. This architecture means that the web server must be up and running in order for the users to view and edit the wiki. So downtime of the server means effective downtime of work. But the advantages of the centralized data outweighs this risk by far.

3.2.3

Interoperability

Through several open interfaces Trac is able to interoperate with RSS feeds and email services. The so called Roadmap, a view on the ticket system for managing and planning the "road" the project takes also supports the iCalendar format. This allows you to keep track of milestones and related tickets from any calendar software supporting this format (like Apple iCal, Evolution, Mozilla Calendar, MS Exchange and so on). These features allow a development team to integrate Trac into many means of communication and organization. This also means that a development team does not have to agree upon a common communication software. Everyone uses his or her preferred browser, email client, rss feeder and calendar and is still compatible to Trac.

3 Evaluated Programs

15

It should also be noted that there are hundreds of community built plugins available for Trac to enable it to create Reports in many different output formats (Excel files for instance). Through other modules Trac is also able to link with development environments like Eclipse. Many community created plugins, modules and integration tools can be found at http://trac-hacks.org/

3.2.4

Data Handling

Trac stores the project data in a MySQL database and the source code in an svn repository. Versioning happens automatically and can be finetuned through config files (or a web interface with the right plugin). Changes to the wiki and to milestones made by users or the administrator are versioned as well, allowing you to keep track of changes and revert to a previous version of the data. This is a major advantage over other project management software because every change made is documented and notified to everyone who needs to know about it.

3.2.5

Project-management

Trac is missing some tools of traditional project managements like gantt charts and resource overviews. But this is intentional. To quote one of the developers of Trac: http://lists.edgewall.com/archive/trac/2005January/001607.html "If any project management features are made a core part of trac, then someone who doesn’t use that specific project management system will end up have all these extra confusing fields that they don’t need and to them just serve as screen clutter." Thus all project management features like gantt charts or iteration management (used in extreme programming) will be modules mainly produced by the community. But as mentioned above, there are already tons of modules and plugins available, including several of the "missing" tools for conventional project management.

3.2.6

Miscellaneous

Trac is very hard to use in the beginning and takes a lot of time to configure to your needs. However it is exceptionally well documented, allowing pretty fast "learning by doing". It’s main use lies in the running of a software project and not in the planning. But if one takes the time to look through the hundreds of community modules and plugins it can be linked with other project management software. Like automatically generating Trac tickets from XML based output of pm software. Even missing basic project management features, Trac is probably the best tool for managing software projects of any size. -> Highly Recommended!

3 Evaluated Programs

3.3

16

Planner

Product name

Planner

Vendor

Gnome Project

Homepage

http://live.gnome.org/planner

Planner is a lightweight, easy to use project-management software which meets the very basic requirements for doing a project successfully. The first version of Planner was released in 2003, the current version is v0.14.2. The development of Planner is continued by its developers. Further versions will offer new features corresponding to the demand of the user-base. Planner works with Linux, MS Windows, MacOS X and Free/Open BSD. Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project-management

Miscellaneous

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Aesthetics Cost Market Share Open Source Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

-++ + + ++ -++ ++ n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a + + + ∼ n/a ++ ∼ ++ ++ +

no web support at all covers 135 languages depending on desktop settings GPL Part of GNOME Desktop, GPL Linux & MAC & Windows & Free/Open BSD .xml

Gantt-Chart 20 undo/ redo steps GNOME help system bulletin boards, mailing lists

Tab. 3: Criteria Table for Planner v0.14.2

3.3.1

Graphical interface

At the first glance the user interface seems to be minimalistic and well structured. The screen layout resembles the basic screen design of MS Project which makes it easy to use. The input of data (resources and tasks) is straightforward. When using Planner for the first time the user might miss all those fancy wizards well known from other tools. User data (e-mail address and name) can be imported from the LDAP back end of Evolution2.0, project data can be imported from MS project XML files. Planner offers no import function for public holidays. The Gantt chart, the task overview and the resources overview can be exported to a HTML file which can be published. This is the only possibility to exchange information via web. The usage of Planner is intuitive and the behavior is predictable for every user equipped with basic knowledge of project management. The Linux version of Planner is part of the desktop environment GNOME - when the language settings of GNOME are changed the settings

3 Evaluated Programs

17

of Planner will change too. Currently GNOME is available for 135 languages. For MS Windows and MacOS X no language packs are available. Planner provides no reporting functions.

3.3.2

Economical

Planner is released under GPL 4 . This means that Planner can be obtained, used and modified freely. The optional database back ends which are supported by Planner are PostgreSQL and MySQL. Both of the mentioned back ends are available freely under the same or a compatible license. It is not possible to determine the market share of Planner. It is save to assume that Planner is not widely spread because it is part of a Linux desktop environment and the usage of Linux desktops at companies is still limited.

3.3.3

Interoperability

XML files generated by MS Project can be imported into Planner. The used file format is plain XML which offers the possibility to re-use the data produced by Planner. This also gives the opportunity to check in the XML file at a versioning system. Another feature is the use of PostgreSQL or MySQL for storing projects. The license ensures full disclosure - the source code is available - so there is no limit for customization by the user. Planner does not provide any scripting functionality right now but the next release is expected to support mono 5 . Collaboration is not supported.

3.3.4

Data handling

As already mentioned above Planner stores the data as XML files either on the client PC or on a database server. The versioning must be done by hand or discarded. Also a problem for usage by multiple project members may be that it is possible for everyone at anytime to edit everything. Thus inconsistencies may occur when several persons edit the data at the same time. Planner offers no way to ensure data integrity, making it difficult to use for larger projects.

3.3.5

Project management

The resource handling of Planner works excellent. The import of resource data from Evolution’s LDAP back end eases the initial setup. For each resource a separate calendar is offered which makes the administration of working capacities easy especially in very dynamic environments (sunday=working day, freelancers). The resource view outlines the assigned tasks per project and displays available capacity. The resource view can handle both - human and non-human resources. The taskview provides all necessary information and the creation and assignment of tasks is convenient. For editing no mouse activity is needed which increases the working speed. Planner offers a detailed scheduling for the tasks and takes predecessors into account. Certain tasks can be classified as milestones. Planner is capable of determining the critical path, network plans are not supported. There is no multi project management and no multi scenario management although a multi scenario planning can be simulated by using the 20 undo and redo steps. All calculated values (costs, duration and capacity) are transparent. The Gantt vie provides the expected professional presentation of the project data. 4 5

http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl.html http://www.mono-project.com

3 Evaluated Programs

3.3.6

18

Miscellaneous

The documentation meets the standard of open source projects. For beginners and users there is plenty of information available. Experts and heavy users have the possibility to get further information via mailing lists and bulletin boards. Being an official part of the GNOME 6 there is official support available via distributors like Novell. During the test no stability and performance issues occurred. 6

http://www.gnome.org

3 Evaluated Programs

3.4

19

GanttProject

GanttProject is a project management software that focuses on time and resource management. It is (like most open source projects) evolving based on the needs of its users and thus lacking many features. But due to its nature it is constantly expanded, giving new features with every release. It is hosted at http://www.ganttproject.biz/ and has a community wiki called hive at http: //ganttproject.biz/hive/index.php/Main_Page. GanttProject is implemented in Java. So it can be installed on any system that provides a running Java VM. It has an intuitive interface and provides a useful help function. The main advantage of GanttProject is it’s import/export functionality. It can export to XML, MS Project files, html and pdf reports and csv. Vice versa it can import XML, MS Project and csv. XML files can also be imported from and exported to a specified web server. Thus GanttProject provides an easy way to exchange data. The main disadvantage is the current lack of features. Though it’s functionality is constantly improved, there are still some important features missing. As a stand alone application it is hardly any use for managing bigger projects at the moment. But if combined with other means to manage costs it provides an easy modifiable visual help and handy means of presentation. Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project-management

Miscellaneous

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Aesthetics Cost Market Share Open Source Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

++ + ++ + ++ ++ n/a ++ ++ ++ ∼ + ++ n/a + + ++ n/a n/a n/a ++ + + ++ n/a

import/export through web servers interface language change on the fly

free

uses Java VM uses XML still lacks many automation features stand alone but easy data exchange customizable html and pdf

Community Forum, Wiki java vm

Tab. 4: Criteria Table for GanttProject

3 Evaluated Programs

3.4.1

20

Graphical User Interface

Like many other open source products, GanttProject has a customizable look and feel. It comes with a few possibilities to choose from, but allows you to create your own style. This however requires knowledge of java and java awt. Though the possibility is nice, i found no need for it myself, as the default theme works with appealing colors and is easy to use. Internationalization is well supported, as the language can be changed on the fly. There are already many languages available and there are new ones added every once in a while by the community. The standard view on the project is the gantt chart, which (like in MS Project) also shows the details of the task. The shown fields of the tasks are customizable via a context menu, when rightclicking a column head. Nearly everything can be accessed through a rightclick context menu. Thus GanttProject provides a very intuitive handling of detail data for tasks and resources. Dependencies between tasks can be added without the properties dialog of a task by simply dragging a line from the preceding task to the successing. However only FS dependencies can be added this was. Other forms of dependencies have to be entered through the dialog. A nice touch is the possibility of entering default roles through the edit/settings menu. Through this the role of a resource can be added through a dropdown menu. Very useful when adding a lot of coders to a project for example. Also very useful is the possibility of entering http urls and email addresses to resources. When entered you can send an email to a chosen team member and view the entered web page from the program. GanttProject uses the systems default browser and mail client for that task. Free days and overassignment of resources is pretty clearly shown in the resource view, as are the assigned tasks. The view of the single tasks assigned to a resource can be hidden, allowing a better overview. However you are not alerted when overassigning or assigning to tasks in their free time.

3.4.2

Economical

Most parts of GanttProject are released under the General Public Licence. Only the core of the program will be released under the Lesser General Public Licence with the next release. This means that GanttProject is free to obtain and use. It also means that it is extendable if there are features missing, but needed. Because GanttProject uses the Java VM which is freely available on almost all operating system, it can be obtained and used without raising costs. It also means that it is possible to use GanttProject on all operating systems the team members may be working with.

3.4.3

Interoperability

Because GanttProject uses XML as data format and can render reports as png, jpeg, pdf and html, it is easy to exchange data between clients and even different PM applications. The usage of XML also gives an easy way to store the project files in a centralized SQL database. Thus providing means for synchronization and easy data exchange. However GanttProject does not provide this as a program feature, and it is completely up to the users to implement something like that. But through setting a default ftp server in the edit/settings menu it is possible to import from and export to the specified server. So if such a server is in use, GanttProject can synchronize data with other clients through ftp.

3 Evaluated Programs

21

Exporting to a HTML report generates several html files. One showing the gantt-chart, one for the tasks in detail, one for the resources and one with the general project information. Through this GanttProject provides a way to show only what is needed. The pdf report however is a full report of all project information. Exporting to a png or jpeg simply gives a picture of the gantt view.

3.4.4

Data Handling

GanttProject stores its data as XML either on the client pc or a ftp server. Thus versioning must be done by hand or discarded. Also a problem for usage by multiple project members may be that it is possible for everyone to edit everything. So inconsistencies may occur when several people edit the data at the same time. GanttProject offers no way to ensure data integrity, making it difficult to use for larger projects.

3.4.5

Project-management

GanttProject is a small tool providing basic functions for managing and visualizing projects. Unfortunately only basic functions at the moment. What it does: • manage tasks in a very detailed way without information overload • show project relevant information in every view • provide time management through editable calendars • provide the possibility of assigning a resource as coordinator to a task • provide a way to assign roles to resources and display them what it doesn’t: • no cost management • no automatic impact of resources on the time schedule • no way of granulating working hours... only works with days

3.4.6

Miscellaneous

The current lack of features seems like a great disadvantage. However it also means GanttProject is an easy to use application for managing smaller projects where cost control is not an issue. Also due to it’s open source nature, new features are constantly added. The next release (2.1) will include: • basic cost control • fine granulation of time through adding time units • automatic change of task duration when changing assigned resources

3 Evaluated Programs

22

• and some more For details visit http://ganttproject.biz/hive/index.php/Requirements:GanttProject_ 2.1 I found GanttProject to be easy to install and use. The task dialog took some time to get used to, but after two tasks it went in a flow. The lack of automation for the task duration was a little disappointing, but the possibility to assign roles and coordinators was a nice surprise. All in all it is currently not suited to manage larger projects, but with the next release it should be. Looking at the speed of development and well thought out implementation of features, i expect GanttProject to become a very valuable tool for project management in the near future.

3.5

dotproject

Product name

dotproject (version 2.1.1)

Vendor

Community owned

Homepage

http://dotproject.net

3.5.1

General

dotproject is a project management software that chooses a server/client architecture. By being licensed as Open Software, it is available free of charge. Also, it is free to modify what makes it possible to adapt the software to personal needs. It is hosted at http://www.dotproject.net/. There is a demo version online allowing an evaluation without installation. dotproject is implemented in PHP. So it can be installed on any system that provides a working Apache, MySQL and PHP (details are addressed in section Economical). It has a aesthetic, minimal and easy to use interface. It provides extensive user management, an email based trouble ticket system, client/company management, project listings, a hierarchical task list, a file repository, a contact list, a calendar, a discussion forum and resource based permissions. Although missing many features of MS Project dotproject is a central, easy to learn, use and collaborate on product.

3.5.2

Graphical User Interface

The entire program is used over a web-browser. There is no rich client available. This fact has several implications on the usability. Directing the browser to the address of the dotproject-Server brings up a login window. After suppling the user’s credentials, a nice and minimal interface shows up. Nice colors, easy-to-find controls define the view. A list of the current day’s tasks is shown, next to a calendar-like view of todays events. The use of HTML as renderer always provides a nicely scalable, printable, customizable, copy-n-paste-able view on the project. Themes can be chosen to define the look of the software, and allows visual adoption to a corporate design. All main views are in reach of a single click. That makes navigating through the project very easy.

3 Evaluated Programs

Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project-management

Miscellaneous

23

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Aesthetics Cost Market Share Open Source Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

+ ++ ++ + + ++ n/a ++ ++ ∼ ++ ++ ∼ ∼ ++ + + n/a n/a ++ + + n/a n/a n/a

Cannot edit Gantt-Chart Is Web-Based Many Languages available

OSI Approved Uses Apache, MySQL and PHP No Import/Export .mpp Fully script-able since source available Web based with extensive user management

Only FS-dependencies

Online Wiki, Tutorials, Course ware Through Forum, IRC

Tab. 5: Criteria Table for dot project All data shown is easy to edit by having an ubiquitous edit this-button, also the data is heavily crossreferenced making it easy browse through the project. That removes the necessity of difficult-to-find properties-dialogs. Internationalization is well supported through community-created Language Packs, which are available in many languages for download. A drawback may be that Language Packs can only be selected sitewide not per-user basis. Through the nature of being a web application, the use of keyboard shortcuts is rather difficult, what may hamper professional usage. Since every user in the system directly maps to a human resource, each users relevant information is displayed upon login, providing a nice way to enable daily use of the system and its continuous maintenance, resulting in an valuable companion on the way through a project, not only in the initial planning phase. Another big advantage is the ability to copy any current page’s URL. This can be seen as a convenience for a collaborative work, employee A mails a link to employee B commenting: “Have a look at that!”. Through the nicely designed work-flow learning the usage is really easy. Everything is arranged in a clear, visually appealing style and context-related functionality is presented as such so searching for a specific property-pane is not needed. Gantt-charts can only be viewed, but the actual projects modifications are done through dialogs. On user request a chart is created for the selected data. Though, reports can also contain Gantt charts. This might be a downside for users used to MS Project, used to use the mouse for data manipulation.

3 Evaluated Programs

24

Fig. 6: Screenshot of dotproject

3.5.3

Economical

dotproject is released under GPL7 . That implies that it is free to obtain (usually through a download) and free to use. GPL also ensures the right to modify. This can be a great benefit if a specific feature is not available but needed. Furthermore, dotproject provides a mechanism for writing modules to enhance or modify the behavior of the software. And foremost, GPL ensures that the project stays free (by all means of free) as opposed to other free licensing models, where the license holder can decide to charge money for using his software. dotproject only requires a working installation of a web-server like Apache8 , PHP9 and MySQL10 . Since all these products are also freely available and have been ported to every relevant operating system, dotproject provides several benefits: • Easy, well documented installation • Easy migration between systems • Free choice of Operating System for server • No Costs in any way • Community support and many contributed HowTo’s and Installation Manuals. • Fast release cycles, allowing quick bug fixes • A system transparent at any level 7 8 9 10

http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php http://apache.org http://php.net http://mysql.com

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25

Since dotproject is a server-centric system and users connect through a web-interface, profits arise: • Free choice of Operating System for clients • Free choice of Browser software • No synchronization or share management needed (rids the need of MS SharePoint11 or equivalent) • Since there is only one working copy of the data, no merging has to be done while still supporting easy multi-user usage. • Security measures of the Server apply to all clients • Easy access to up-to-date data for users in the field through VPN’s or direct web access • Access from everywhere, especially applicable for tele-work and truly enabling distributed development and organization. Though the Server/Client architecture can have some drawbacks. Either increased cost in the organizations’ network infrastructure or in the disability of working off line. Working offline is an important feature for users traveling a lot where an Internet connection is not always available. This is unfortunately not available at all. Also notable is the reduction of maintenance and service costs: • Only the server needs administration • No client software to install / update / fix • Remote support easy • Data loss preventable by regular, central backups • Workstation independence for the user The obvious drawback with the server architecture is the fact that downtime of the server means downtime for all users, inhibiting work at all.

3.5.4

Interoperability

dotproject, through its open and well-designed architecture offers good interfaces to every part of the software. All data is stored in a MySQL12 database which allows direct access to the information, which can be used by an arbitrary program. Concentrating data in a database makes it therefore easy to distill content to match every users need. In addition to this somehow raw access, a specialized module exists handling exportation of data to standard formats like XML, CSV or SQL. Since this is an open software it can be fully modified to match any projects need. Reports can be generated either as HTML or PDF format. There is no way to modify the reports in an easy way and no tool support as a report creator, though there exist plenty of predefined reports, covering the basic. 11 12

http://www.microsoft.com/sharepoint http://mysql.com

3 Evaluated Programs

3.5.5

26

Data Handling

dotproject stores the data in a database. This fact makes it rather hard to provide good versioning, but still dotproject keeps a history of all changes made to the project as also which user makes a change. Versioning can still be done by using database backups or data dumps. Furthermore, a undo/redo mechanism is missing completely. This makes it hard to try something. Luckily every action must be confirmed by saving a change. In this view, traditional rich-clients clearly supersede dotproject. A strict and full-fledged user management allows to distinct between 6 levels of user rights and easy resource management. The connection between the actual system user and the human resources makes it really easy to use the system on a daily, interactive basis.

3.5.6

Project-management

dotproject adds a new level of hierarchy, the Company, giving a project layout like this: • Companies – Projects ∗ Tasks This means that dotproject is fully multi-project enabled, and adds an additional grouping level. Task creation and modification is rather inconvenient. Adding a task involves several steps and it is impossible to insert tasks in list like it is possible in MS Project. The command new task directs the user to a form showing all relevant inputs.

Fig. 7: Creating a new Task

3 Evaluated Programs

27

The dependency control is poor; it is only possible to define Start-End dependencies, as well as there is no way to define a Fixed Time-Fixed Work-Fixed Duration distinction. However, it is possible to define hierarchical dependencies. Resource allocation is rather simple, since the system’s users are mapped to resources automatically. The system uses the user’s calendar, and can send emails at various events. Non-human resources can be managed as easy, providing a simple interface to create / remove resources and assign them to tasks.

3.5.7

Miscellaneous

The software is really well documented, all information is collected in an online wiki13 . Also, there exists a big collection of course-ware providing step-by-step tutorials and introductions. As typical for those Open Source projects support is community-based forum support which gives a vivid and active impression. dotproject also maintains an IRC14 channel at irc.freenode.net#dotproject. The working performance depends on the network you use, and will not outperform a rich client. Using it over the Internet may be cumbersome. 13 14

http://docs.dotproject.net http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRC

3 Evaluated Programs

3.6

28

Merlin

Product name

Merlin 2 (version 2.5b3 (build 5178))

Vendor

ProjectWizards

Homepage

http://www.projectwizards.net/de/merlin & http://www.merlin2.net

3.6.1

Introduction

Merlin is a Project-Management-Software especially designed for MacOS X. It integrates well into the MAC environment and uses many MAC specific system features such as integration in .Mac15 or support for AppleScript16 . The vendor calls Merlin "Project Management with a bit of magic" [Pro07] Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project Management

Miscellaneous

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Esthetics Cost Market Share Open Source

+ + + ∼ --

Platform Independence Standardized Formats

∼ ∼

Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

+ n/a ∼ n/a n/a + ∼ + -+ + ++ ++ ++ +

only available in German and English

e149 Software is closed source, no access to source code or API MAC only .ics, .mpx, .xml, .opml, .csv, div. picture formats AppleScript support

Gantt-Chart and Network Plan view

Support of merging projects well integrated help feature FAQ, online forums and expert support

Tab. 6: Criteria Table for Merlin

3.6.2

Graphical interface

The input of tasks and resources can easily be done using either the mouse or shortcuts. Entering larger amount of data can be done fast and efficiently in Merlin. The program has no special web features, but an export to XML is naturally provided. Merlin is available in English and in German. The software chooses the language it uses according to the system language settings (a setting that can’t be overridden, so this test, including the screenshots, was done with the German edition of Merlin). The interface is 15 16

http://www.apple.com/de/dotmac/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applescript

3 Evaluated Programs

29

neither overcrowded nor slender, it shows the tasks and resources in a very clear and structured way. The tidy workspace that is highly customizable enables the user to present projects directly within Merlin. A remarkable little feature is the ability to get an overview over the whole Gantt-Chart by simply [Command] + click or by clicking the corresponding symbol beneath the main view (see Fig. 9).

Fig. 8: Merlin in the "tasks" view

3.6.3

Economical

The price for a single license is e 145 and there is a quantity discount of up to e 45 per license. As Merlin is only available for MacOS X, the market share will be quite limited. It will most likely only be used in companies that mainly use MACs.

3.6.4

Interoperability

Merlin can import and export a variety of standardized file formats. Besides the, for Project-ManagementSoftware, familiar formats like iCalendar, CSV, or MS Project, Merlin supports a diversity of other formats that might come across less often, including the standardized XML derivate OPML17 , XML itself and some picture formats (both vector- and pixel-based). Different mindmap formats are supported as well. Merlin has full support for the scripting engine that is integrated in MacOS X, named AppleScript. It helps the project planner to execute routine jobs in a comfortable and automated way. Assuming you have it installed, Merlin works together with Billings 2 18 , an easy to use billing software for MAC.

3.6.5

Data handling

Merlin offers either special versioning features nor any synchronization of projects. So versioning has to be done manually by copying the project file(s). 17 18

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPML http://www.billings2.com/

3 Evaluated Programs

30

Fig. 9: The "overview" feature for fast access to certain areas of the Gantt-Chart

3.6.6

Project Management

Resources in Merlin are divided into "Person", "Company", "Equipment" and "Material". Especially for "Person" resources it is useful to assign roles to the different employees, so that one can get a quick overview of the personnel. Standard and overtime rates are as understood as a cost-per-use field or the ability to edit the work time of every resource. A special facet is to enable a resource as a user in order to grant him access to password protected project files. The utilization view (see Fig 11) enables the project manager to get a good impression of who is under- or over-employed. Here again a fast overview feature speeds up navigation. The changing level of detail while zooming in and out is worth mentioning.

Fig. 10: Merlin in the "resources" view

Task handling in Merlin is straight forward. Grouping and connecting tasks can be done as expected.

3 Evaluated Programs

31

Fig. 11: Merlin in the "utilization" view

When assigning resources to tasks, Merlin splits the task into subtasks, as seen in Fig. 12, one for each resource assigned. This enables the user to simply change the amount of work a resource does on one specific task. Of course the split is undone, when a resource is deleted from a task. A very creditable thing about Merlin is, that besides the standard Gantt-Chart view it offers a network plan view as well.

Fig. 12: The split-up tasks for assigned resources

Merlin displays the critical path as a pre-set working environment. Merlin offers a feature to merge projects and thus enables the users, especially the upper management to get a global view of the status of all running projects. It also helps the staff department to detect double/over-assignment of certain employees, or to find conflicts and bottle-necks. Of course this feature can also be used to simply merge two part projects to one.

3.6.7

Miscellaneous

Besides a well integrated program documentation, the vendor offers a (still growing) Q&A section on their web site. Of course ProjectWizards offer professional technical support in both German and English. Additionally there are forums in the form of GoogleGroups, as well in German

19

and in

20

English . Both performance and stability are no issue, the beta version of Merlin 2.5 ran stable and fast during the tests. One annoying little detail shortens the elsewise very transparent interface: if you click on a cell in one of the input tables that can’t be edited, as it is calculated automatically, the program gives an error message instead of just doing nothing. Hopefully this annoyance will be corrected in the final versions. 19 20

http://groups.google.com/group/merlin2nutzer http://groups.google.com/group/merlin2users

3 Evaluated Programs

3.7

32

FastTrack Schedule 9

Product name

FastTrack Schedule (version 9.2.0)

Vendor

AEC Software

Homepage

http://www.aecsoftware.com/products/fasttrack/

3.7.1

Introduction

The Product Homepage describes FastTrack Schedule as "FastTrack Schedule is the leading easy-to-use project management software for planning, tracking, and visualizing project goals. Ideal for both experienced and first-time project managers, FastTrack Schedule helps teams to effectively and successfully manage projects." [Sof07] Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project Management

Miscellaneous

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Esthetics Cost Market Share Open Source

∼ + + + + --

Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

∼ ∼ + n/a ∼ -n/a + + + -+ ∼ + ++ ++ +

input quite mouse-oriented thus slow covers the most important languages

$ 349 Software is closed source, no access to source code or API MAC & Windows .ics, .mpx, .xml, .mmap point and click scripting

Gantt-Chart with different layouts only one undo-redo step consolidation of different projects badly integrated HTML help

Tab. 7: Criteria Table for FastTrack Schedule 9

3.7.2

Graphical interface

The input of mass data in FastTrack Schedule is simple and fast, as it uses an Excel-style table for both tasks and resources. The linking of the tasks on the other hand is not easy to manage; it requires a mouse and the user not always knows what the program will do. FastTrack Scheduleis available in English, German, Japanese, French, Italian, Dutch and Swedish, so it covers most of the world’s important languages used in business. Additionally region-specific formats for time, date and numbering can be customized to meet the standard of one’s country (the program chooses the system-wide standard as default). An export feature to HTML-Reports is only rudimentary, other web-based features are

3 Evaluated Programs

33

missing. The interface itself looks tidy, but the schedule-view (Gantt-Chart and data) is very small and it is impossible to zoom in (you can only change the resolution of the time line in the Gantt-Chart). A small detail that can be quite annoying in everyday use is the fact that scrolling through a table or a view with the mouse wheel is extremely slow; the wheel speed of the system is overridden by a one line per turn setting. The printing abilities of FastTrack Schedule offer to print a Wall Chart that can be used for presentation. Other forms of presenting the project plan or status to a larger group of people are not provided.

Fig. 13: The interface of FastTrack Schedule in the "Schedule" view

3.7.3

Economical

A single license of FastTrack Schedule costs $349. For larger business partners AEC Software offers special concurrent-user versions, where up to 25 people can work on one project at once. (This worktogether feature could not be tested, as the tested demo version has no concurrent-user features.) As FastTrack Schedule is available for Windows and MacOS X systems, and as a variety of languages is supported, one can presume that the software has not only a small market share. A feature that has to be emphasized is the support for Palm OS; it enables the user to put his/her project file onto a Palm handheld and to edit a project on-site or to update its status.

3 Evaluated Programs

34

Fig. 14: FastTrack Schedule’s "Calendar" view

3.7.4

Interoperability

To ensure compatibility with the seeming de facto standard in Project-Management-Software MS Project, FastTrack Schedule has the opportunity to export a project file to a MPX-file or to a Microsoft Project XML file. Furthermore the data can be exported to the standardized iCalendar format and a port to Mindjet’s MindManager is provided as well. Additionally FastTrack Schedule can export its project data to CSV files. As the cooperation feature of the software could not be tested, no statement about coop abilities of the software can be made. The program has a built in scripting feature called "FastSteps". It has pre built scripts and the user can easily create new ones just by point and click. The scripts created do everyday work for you and once created speed up your work-flow a lot.

3.7.5

Data handling

FastTrack Schedule does not implement any versioning features, but it has synchronization capabilities. Again, these could not be tested, as the used version for this test is no "concurrent-user" version.

3.7.6

Project Management

In FastTrack Schedule when you create a new resource, the program instantly lists the usage of this resource. It is structured as "Percent Usage", "Hourly Usage" and "Assignments" each of which can be

3 Evaluated Programs

35

viewed as a little graph (see Fig. 15).

Fig. 15: The "Resources" view

Handling of tasks is pretty much straight forward in FastTrack Schedule. The user can choose between different layouts of the table next to the Gantt-chart, depending on what he/she wants to edit or present. The "Budget layout" for example is useful to present the whole project to the upper management so that they can assess the costs of the whole project or the different tasks. The "Advanced Layout" on the other hand enables the project director to get a good overview over the whole project including dependencies and assignments (see Fig. 16). Of course the program offers to display the critical path of a project, so that optimization can be done easily. A very interesting and useful feature (especially for larger companies) is a consolidation feature. This enables the program user to merge different projects to one large "master" project, so that the management can keep an eye on which employee is busy with which project at any time. Merging is very simple, you just have to add up FastTrack Schedule files (*.fts) to one global project file. Every time a (sub)project changes you just hit the Update button and the new data is integrated or updated in the master project. If you want to simulate various scenarios in FastTrack Schedule you have to do this manually. The undo/redo feature offers only one step, so one has to copy the base scenario and try the different scenarios on their own.

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36

Fig. 16: Comparison of the advanced and the budget layout in the Schedule view

3.7.7

Miscellaneous

FastTrack Schedule’s documentation and help features are a bit poor; the help is not integrated into MacOS X, but instead the program offers a browser-based help feature. The search feature (which from experience is by far the most used one) is no interactive function but only offers a pre indexed list of keywords. Positive about the documentation is that there is a tutorial PDF-document together with loads of example projects. Additionally AEC Software offers a web-based Q&A knowledge base 21 and a FAQ web page 22 . If you can’t get any help there the web page offers an email form to contact the experts at AEC Software. During the tests no performance or stability issues occurred, although the used version is only in beta status. 21 22

http://www.aecsoftware.com/support/knowledgebase/ http://www.aecsoftware.com/support/faq/

3 Evaluated Programs

3.8

37

Omni Plan

Product name

OmniPlan 1.5 beta 2 (v135)

Vendor

The Omni Group

Homepage

http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniplan

3.8.1

Introduction

OmniPlan is a small, but smart Project-Management-Software that addresses users who do not have much experience in work with Project-Management-Software. Its main aim is to enable such a user to create a project plan without having to figure out, how Project-Management-Software works. The target customers are companies that do not want to spend too much time, money and effort in project management, but want to create neat plans for mid-size projects. Graphical Interface

Economical

Interoperability

Data Handling Project Management

Miscellaneous

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Esthetics Cost Market Share Open Source

∼ + -+ + + --

Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports, Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

-∼ -∼ --+ + + n/a ++ + ++ ++ +

input quite mouse-oriented thus slow generates nice HTML-Reports English version only

$ 150 assumed quite low Software is closed source, no access to source-code or API MAC only .ics, .mpx, .xml, .html

.html reports

only Gantt-Chart and HTML-Report full undo-redo support well integrated help feature online forums and mail support

Tab. 8: Criteria Table for OmniPlan 1.5

3.8.2

Graphical interface

The user interface of OmniPlan 1.5 looks very tidy, but the input of mass data is very slow, as it is highly mouse-oriented. Things like assigning resources to a task or creating dependencies between tasks can only be done using your mouse, a fact that slows down the input of a greater mass of data. OmniPlan 1.5, which is only available in English, can export the whole project to a clean and full featured web site (including iCalendar-downloads for the different resources). The user interface is well structured and uses lots of icons and symbols. The Gantt-Chart is easy to read and the tool bars are clear. The resource

3 Evaluated Programs

38

view gives a good overview about which resource is used when and for which task. The generated HTML-Reports (see Fig. 17 ) are configurable in design and layout and give a good overview even to people not involved in the project. It also helps the people working on the project to get a quick idea of the project status and what has to be done by whom.

3.8.3

Economical

The price and license model of The Omni Group is simple and effective. The basic price is $ 150 for one license and for every additional license you get a 5 % discount. The software can be used as a trial version which is limited to 20 tasks. One disadvantage of this software surely is an assumed small market share, as the software is bound to MacOS X 10.4.8 or later, which has by far not the market share MS Windows has.

Fig. 17: Front page of the HTML-Report

3.8.4

Interoperability

OmniPlan 1.5 uses a proprietary file format to store project plans but uses a variety of open standard and proprietary file formats for export as well as import. The Gantt-Chart can be exported to a variety of image formats and the project itself can be saved as and loaded from a MS Project file. Of course the project can be exported as iCalendar and CSV23 files. The software uses no programming interfaces, but the MAC OS built-in address book can be used to select resources and add their contact information. OmniPlan has no special Cooperation features implemented, as it is not especially intended to be used for huge projects. 23

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values

3 Evaluated Programs

39

Fig. 18: Resource Time line view of the HTML-Report

3.8.5

Data handling

Special data handling features such as versioning or synchronization of projects are not implemented, as the software is not designed to be used across a network or a similar cooperation feature.

3.8.6

Project Management

Resource management is clearly structured in OmniPlan. The resources can be one of the following: Staff, Material, Equipment; the available resources can be combined into groups. Special features that might come in quite handy are: Integration of the system wide address book to include further information on a (human) resource, setting the relative usefulness (efficiency) of a resource (e.g. if you have two machines doing the same, but one does a certain task in only half the time), a cost-per-use field (e.g. to integrate travel costs for an external employee), attach a file to the resource (e.g. a picture of an employee or a data sheet of a certain machine). A feature that is missing in the program is to bill overtime separately. The resource view shows over-assignments instantly and the program offers a feature called "level resources" to correct such over-assignments. Fig. 20 shows the detailed resource overview where resource-task-assignments are displayed clearly. Tasks, their grouping as well as milestones are displayed in a Gantt-chart that can be customized concerning size, color and font type. This makes it possible to present the tasks in a well-structured and clear way. There is a built-in function displaying the critical path of the project, enabling the user to instantly see the critical tasks and knows where optimization can be useful. Neither the management of more than one scenario nor the ability to assign resources to different projects to get a global, company-wide, overview is supported in OmniPlan. So in order to simulate

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Fig. 19: The interface of OmniPlan in the "Tasks" view

Fig. 20: OmniPlan’s "Resource" view

multiple scenarios, the user has to do copy & paste.

3.8.7

Miscellaneous

The documentation is well embedded into the program. It gives a short introduction to the interface, offers tutorials for the most important tasks and goes into detail for every function implemented. Additionally The Omni Group offers support via it’s Homepage 24 and a well looked after online forum 25 . Furthermore the user has the opportunity to send feedback via email together with (possibly corrupt) project files. The beta version of OmniPlan 1.5 that was used for testing ran stable and fast during the whole test, although a few (detailed) features seemed to be premature. The beta was tested instead of the stable version 1.1.2, as it is fully compatible with MacOS X 10.5 Leopard.

24 25

http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omniplan/support/ http://forums.omnigroup.com/forumdisplay.php?f=43

3 Evaluated Programs

3.9

41

Conclusion

The evaluation of those different products shows that counted in features and matureness, clearly MS Project is ahead. Still this is not an absolute measure - through its matureness it has grown big and static, there is no place for new concepts or new approaches to the task of planning a project. Therefore, a free alternative may present a good choice for users with small requirements and small budget.

Omniplan

Average:

Fasttrack 9

Miscellaneous

Merlin

Project-management

dotproject

Data Handling

Gantt Project

Interoperability

Planner

Economical

Input adequacy Web Support Internationalization Intuitive Handling Aesthetics Cost Market Share Open Source Platform Independence Standardized Formats Automation Cooperation Exports and Reports Versioning Synchronization Resources Tasks Critical Path Multi-scenario management Multi-project management Documentation Support Performance Stability Transparency

Trac

Graphical Interface

MS Project

For side-by-side comparison of all products also see Fig. 9.

+ ++ ∼ + -++ -n/a + ∼ + ∼ + + ++ + ++ + + ++ ∼

+ ++ n/a ∼ + ++ + ++ ++ + ++ ++ + ++ + + ∼ + n/a ++ ++ + ++ ++ ++ +

-++ + + ++ -++ ++ n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a + + + ∼ n/a ++ ∼ ++ ++ + ∼

++ + ++ + ++ ++ n/a ++ ++ ++ ∼ + ++ n/a + + ++ n/a n/a n/a ++ + + ++ n/a ∼

+ ++ ++ + + ++ n/a ++ ++ ∼ ++ ++ ∼ ∼ ++ + + n/a n/a ++ + + n/a n/a n/a ∼

+ + + ∼ -∼ ∼ + n/a ∼ n/a n/a + ∼ + -+ + ++ ++ ++ + ∼

∼ + + + + -∼ ∼ + n/a ∼ -n/a + + + -+ ∼ + ++ ++ + ∼

∼ + -+ + + --∼ -∼ --+ + + n/a ++ + ++ ++ + ∼

Tab. 9: Criteria Table Summary

A Appendix

A

42

Appendix

Copyrights Microsoft© and Microsoft Project© are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

List of Figures 1

Client Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

2

Project Server Web Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

3

Microsoft Project Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

4

Project Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

5

Firefox Browser locked out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

6

Screenshot of dotproject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24

7

Creating a new Task . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

8

Merlin in the "tasks" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29

9

The "overview" feature for fast access to certain areas of the Gantt-Chart . . . . . . . .

30

10

Merlin in the "resources" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

30

11

Merlin in the "utilization" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

31

12

The split-up tasks for assigned resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

31

13

The interface of FastTrack Schedule in the "Schedule" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33

14

FastTrack Schedule’s "Calendar" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

34

15

The "Resources" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

35

16

Comparison of the advanced and the budget layout in the Schedule view . . . . . . . .

36

17

Front page of the HTML-Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

38

18

Resource Time line view of the HTML-Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39

19

The interface of OmniPlan in the "Tasks" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40

20

OmniPlan’s "Resource" view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40

List of Tables 1

Criteria Table for Microsoft Project 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

2

Criteria Table for Trac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

3

Criteria Table for Planner v0.14.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

4

Criteria Table for GanttProject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19

A Appendix

43

5

Criteria Table for dot project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

6

Criteria Table for Merlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

7

Criteria Table for FastTrack Schedule 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

32

8

Criteria Table for OmniPlan 1.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

37

9

Criteria Table Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

Nomenclature Apache . . . . . . . . . . . . A free web server, widely used CPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Critical Path Method database . . . . . . . . . . . Software product to manage large data sets in a generalized and performant way GPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A free software license HTML . . . . . . . . . . . . Hypertext Markup Language, Format used to display web pages internationalization . Support for different languages and cultures MPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . Metra potential method MS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Microsoft Corp. MySQL . . . . . . . . . . . A free Database management system’s implementation OS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Operating System PERT . . . . . . . . . . . . . Program evaluation and Review Technique PHP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PHP Hypertext Processor, a scripting language for dynamic web page creation rich client . . . . . . . . . Application running locally on the user’s pc, as opposed to web client SDK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Software development kit, Toolset to assist with developing Software for a certain application or framework Storage format . . . . . Defines how information is represented on a storage medium. When lacking standards for this format, information exchange between different vendors/products are very likely to be hampered. VPN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virtual Private Network, a method to create private networks over public networks like the Internet. XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . eXtensible Markup Language, Standardized format for storing structured data

References [Man03] Portfolio Project Management.

Microsoft project 2003, 2003.

[Online; accessed 28-

November-2007] http://www.portfoliopm.com/Proj%202003_Soln.htm. [Mic07a] Microsoft. Cal guide, 2007. [Mic07b] Microsoft. Microsoft product support, 2007. http://support.microsoft.com/ gp/services. [Mic07c] Microsoft.

Office project 2007 sdk, 2007.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/

library/ms512767.aspx. [Mic07d] Microsoft. Project portfolio server, 2007. http://www.microsoft.com/office/ portfolioserver.

A Appendix

44

[Mic07e] Microsoft. Restore single project tool, 2007. http://office.microsoft.com/ en-us/projservadmin/HA011640541033.aspxp. [Mic07f] Microsoft. Software project management with visual studio team system, 2007. http: //msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa302181.aspx. [Net98]

NetworkWorkingGroup. Icalendar rfc, 1998. [Online; accessed 16-November-2007] http: //www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2445.txt.

[Pro07]

ProjectWizards. Merlin 2 homepage. 2007. [Online; accessed 04-December-2007] http: //www.merlin2.net.

[Sof07]

AEC Software. Fasttrack schedule 9 homepage. 2007. [Online; accessed 27-November2007] http://www.aecsoftware.com/products/fasttrack.

[Tec06]

Microsoft’s Project Management Technology.

Microsoft project 2003, 2006.

[On-

line; accessed 28-November-2007] http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ features/2006/oct06/10-20project2007.mspx. [Wik07a] Wikipedia. Multiprojektmanagement — wikipedia, die freie enzyklopaedie, 2007. [Online; Stand 17. November 2007] http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= Multiprojektmanagement&oldid=38918313. [Wik07b] Wikipedia.

Olap cube — wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2007.

[Online;

accessed 1-December-2007] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title= OLAP_cube&oldid=169727285. [Wik07c] Wikiquotes, 2007.

[Online; accessed 1-December-2007] http://en.wikiquote.

org/wiki/Project_management.