[Closed] Microsoft Project alternatives?

Project Libre is free and will open and edit Project files but the formatting is terrible, especially when it comes to printing.

Evil.

Just evil.

Never seen a Gant chart that wasn't complete and total bollocks and was more effort to maintain than the work it was meant to be tracking. It gives PMs a completely wrong-headed idea about how work in IT actually gets done... maybe if you are in some other industry I dunno.

Molgrips - I completely agree. Give me excel or even, dare I suggest, PowerPoint for an overview, and put the task detail somewhere else.

It might work in something like construction. Brickies lay X bricks a day, walls contain Y bricks; a window takes Z time to install and there are A windows and so on.

otal bollocks and was more effort to maintain than the work it was meant to be tracking. It gives PMs a completely wrong-headed idea about how work in IT actually gets done... maybe if you are in some other industry I dunno.

Then it hasn't been planned well. A good plan is totally illustrative.

Yes but that kind of Gant chart is only suitable for some projects, not ALL of them.

that kind of Gant chart is only suitable for some projects, not ALL of them

Last time I checked, IT projects used 'time' and 'start date' and 'end date' and 'dependencies' and 'resources' in their lexicon.

I've seen Project used brilliantly with regard to IT projects. I've also seen it used incredibly badly in any number of different projects.

Just to add - it's GANTT, not GANT!

IT projects used 'time' and 'start date' and 'end date' and 'dependencies' and 'resources' in their lexicon.

Yeah, but when you start breaking it down and assuming that every task is a neat little activity that you start then finish in a well ordered fashion... and the tasks aren't supposed to change or anything... an assumption generally held by people who wish to manage you but have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about what you actually do.

Just to add - it's GANTT, not GANT!

At least I capitalised it 🙂

Ah. It's your understanding of project management that's at fault. Now I understand.

My understanding of how project management SHOULD be done you mean?

Cos how it frequently IS done is shit. As my career is progressing I'm now exposed to most of the layers of management and they seem keen to strip out the details as the information progresses up the chain, but they don't realise that they are stripping out crucial details that give the data meaning. So the management have no idea what's going on and they don't know they don't have any idea what's going on.

I'm sure it happens well somewhere, but I've yet to work there. Actually - I tell a lie - management works well when it's a small team and the managers understand things.

Yes but that kind of Gant chart is only suitable for some projects, not ALL of them

A plan and a Gantt chart are not the same things.

Cos how it frequently IS done is shit. As my career is progressing I'm now exposed to most of the layers of management and they seem keen to strip out the details as the information progresses up the chain, but they don't realise that they are stripping out crucial details that give the data meaning. So the management have no idea what's going on and they don't know they don't have any idea what's going on.

A plan should contain all the [b][u]relevant detail[/u][/b]. How and what detail is presented depends on your audience and their role in the project or programme (Note: A programme is not just a big **** off project!).

I've managed projects but my role is most often concerned with making sure project, programme and portfolio management work well and fit the organisation. I also often manage teams of project and programme managers.

I'm sure it happens well somewhere, but I've yet to work there. Actually - I tell a lie - management works well when it's a small team and the managers understand things.

In my experience PM's need to be able to understand and appreciate what you are doing and how but don't need the level of understanding to be able to do it themselves. This means they can understand challenges, issues and the technical approach enough to manage and communicate effectively but don't try to 'meddle' too much. I also put a lot of emphasis on the details of plans being provided by the people who are delivering the solution - including duration, effort and dependencies - as well as the task definition. This means planning isn't 'done to you' you are part of how the plan is identified and then managed.

I'm with Molgrips and jamj1974 on this one for IT projects. I hate dealing with project managers who think everything should be in MS Project. In my opinion they spend more time adjusting things in Project than actually doing any meaningful management.

The best run projects I've worked on are where MS Project is only used as a light touch at the start, or perhaps only by the PMO, and then for the actual detail we crack on with SCRUM or Kanban depending on the type of project and teams involved. Once a team have gone through a few sprints or have a decent CFD running the PMO can then adjust their master plan accordingly.

touch at the start, or perhaps only by the PMO, and then for the actual detail we crack on with SCRUM or Kanban depending on the type of project and teams involved. Once a team have gone through a few sprints or have a decent CFD running the PMO can then adjust their master plan accordingly.

It can be used well across an entire lifecycle but certainly it does in my experience align much better to waterfall rather than Agile delivery approaches. I would rather use Jira or similar for Agile delivery.

For project management and control to work in any discipline you need an approriately skilled PM who understands the toolset is only part of an approach. Having a plan in MS Project is not the be all and end all - it's a tool, that used appropriately assists in controlled delivery. You need many other capabilities and tools that meet your needs too!

I don't know how many hours of my life I've lost adjusting bloody Project files - too many, that's for certain. They're fine as a starting point, in fact they're great for helping you identify project dependencies, things that need to be done before something else, and get a rough idea of how long each task should take.

But once you've started? Programmer 'A' decides to take two weeks off to get married, 'B' is only available 50% of the time, and HR sends you 'C' but she'll need at least two weeks to get up to speed... It's worse than useless.

But once you've started? Programmer 'A' decides to take two weeks off to get married, 'B' is only available 50% of the time, and HR sends you 'C' but she'll need at least two weeks to get up to speed... It's worse than useless.

MS Project is a tool and planning is the discipline and capability. If you have the type of mind which turns easily to planning and planning concepts MS Project (And other tools like OWB, Primavera etc...) are easy to use once you begin to get the hang of them. If you don't have the planning capability - in can be a PITA. It's a bit like me saying development tool x is rubbish - it probably isn't, but I can't code to save my life so it's useless to me.