Time management is very important for everyone, especially for those who work in companies or develop a software product. For this we must be very demanding with our schedule or we can also have a computer application that measures and manages the time of projects and daily work.
Users of the Microsoft operating system have the option to Microsoft Project, a program embedded in Microsoft Office that manages, plans complex projects and tasks. This software is not found in Gnu / Linux but they do exist alternative programs just as good and totally free that we can install in our favorite distributions.
ProjectLibre
ProjectLibre is a fork of the OpenProject program, two applications that try to imitate or replace Microsoft Project. ProjectLibre is a application compatible with Microsoft Project 2003, 2007 and 2010 files. It also allows the use and insertion of Gantt Charts, histograms of resources, diary and planning of software projects or network diagrams among others.
ProjectLibre has a great difference compared to the rest of the programs and that is that there is great documentation about the application in several languages, documentation that we can consult and disseminate among the company if it is the area we want to reach. ProjectLibre we can get it from your Sourceforge page for free.
OpenProject
This application has two versions: one free and one paid. The free version covers basic needs including support for Microsoft Project files, gantt charts, software project planning, includes the scrum development system and a long list of functions. The paid version contains all the above functions but also incorporates features such as the insertion of a personalized logo in the program, a cloud application, services such as messaging, etc ... Attractive functions for companies and entrepreneurs that need a great performance. And for those who don't, they always have the free version. OpenProject can be achieved through your official page.
Planner
Planner is the oldest alternative to Microsoft Project out there and also the one that has not been updated the longest. Even so, its way of working keeps the program as one of the most used. Planner uses xml and PostreSQL files to work, allowing you to use or export Microsoft Project files.
In addition, Planner allows you to export the plans or parts of the tasks in pdf format, which further facilitates the dissemination of projects and planners. Planner integrates quite well with Gnome thanks to the GTK libraries, but it is true that Microsoft Project's new formats do not recognize it well. Even so, if we want to get or know more about Planner, in its official website we will find all the information available.
Calligra plan
The Calligra office suite has many alternatives to Microsoft Office programs. Plan is one of these alternatives. Calligra Plan is a program that tries to imitate or be the free alternative to Microsoft Project, but it really is not succeeding. Despite this, it offers interesting functions such as the comparison of projects or the breakdown of the activities and costs of each phase, something interesting for many companies and projects. Calligra can be installed on any Linux distribution as it is or is compatible with KDE Plasma.
Conclusion
Microsoft Project is not an easy application to replace since, unlike others, its number of users is not very large; However, if I have to choose an alternative, without a doubt I will choose OpenProject, a stable and robust program that offers functions and features equal to Microsoft Project and to other Free Software programs. But, I know that not everyone will like this program, hence I have presented you with four alternatives, four programs that we can try and use at no cost and even see how it works.
Hi Joaquin, any alternative for visio?
Hello, as an alternative to VISIO I can recommend DIA, DRAW from Libreoffice and XMIND.
A pity that there is no opensource software that surpasses MS Project, I have spent time looking for an alternative and none seems to be up to par.
In short, the best thing would be to contribute to the development of one of these SUITES.
Thank you very much for the info. I'm going to try projectlibre and I'll tell you
regards
Excellent contribution, thank you very much!
good article. specific and useful information.
upgrading to 2023 do you think there is any other good alternative? thinking about the cloud
How do you like the “GanttProject”? do you have any reference?