Last updated on February 20th, 2013 at 12:58 pm

There are numerous free project management software that can be used as a replacement of Microsoft project. Project management software helps you undertake a project with so much ease. This is because it helps you in scheduling, controlling of costs , management of the budget, allocation of resources, communication, undertaking of documentation or administrative services and a number other project related tasks. In essence it helps you run a project in a smooth way with so much ease.

There are numerous examples of these free project management software that can be used to replace Microsoft Project. Meanwhile, these free project management software provide robust project scheduling and management functionality that too free of cost.

Free project management software list:

Open WorkBench – Free Project Management Software

Open Workbench is open source software that is loaded with numerous features. It is considered to be very powerful and one should always consider using it before opting for commercial project management software like Microsoft Project. To a very large extent Open Workbench is a resource driven software as opposed to being driven by tasks. Developers are keen to point out that Open Workbench is built from estimates or tasks that one expects to perform. The estimates are linked to the resource that have been assigned for that particular task, then the duration is driven by the total number of hours that each of the resource allocated is bound to work so that the total amount of hours allocated for the project is covered.

This project management software is best suited for individuals or even corporate that base their estimates on the total work for the task and then go ahead to create a schedule for their staff based on these estimates. The key features of Open Workbench is its capability of planning for the project, scheduling, management of resources and one can also be able to review the project among other features. It is also suited for large scale projects

GanttProject – Java Project Management Software

GanttProject is software for project management that is also loaded with numerous features and accessories. This is a program that is based on Java. The fact that it is Java based implies that you do not need to download the software if you want to make use of it. GanttProject is very useful making charts of Gantt (a type of chart illustrating the schedule of project they provide an easy and logical way of understanding development plans).

It also has the ability putting percentages complete bars in the bar also indicating the timeline of that particular stage. With these one is able to visualize with ease for the project has gone without much hassle.  With the downloadable version of the program you can add as many tasks as possible, but you need to assign the tasks to a particular personnel and resources for each task. Features of the personnel section are very good. One can add team members and assign them a task as a group; you can also add the email addresses and phone numbers do the personnel so that you can be able to contact them with so much ease.

It also has a milestone feature, a very good tool for setting goals and timeline especially when you are dealing with a large scale project. Technically, GranttProject has the capacity of saving files in the form of .xml. This implies that you can view them on the internet and you can also transfer it to other programs such as Microsoft Project. The program is very small in size and thus its installation is quick.

OpenProj – Open Source Windows Project Management Software

OpenProj is yet open source Windows-based desktop project management software, an alternative to Microsoft Project. The application is ideal desktop application to handle your projects efficiently and equipped with most advanced scheduling engine. Truly speaking, there is literally no time or effort involved in switching to OpenProj, and your teams can manage projects on any platform for free. OpenProj is ideal for desktop project management and is available on Linux, Unix, Mac or Windows.

OpenProj by Serena Software is a desktop replacement of Microsoft Project. OpenProj has equivalent functionality, a familiar user interface and even opens existing MSProject files. The application provides most advanced tool to manage, schedule and up to date cost algorithms to serve you with best project management solution. The application supports all the major core project management features- Project scheduling, management, resource management, task handling, work bench approach.

The program also provides detail analysis of the project value, network diagrams like PERT and critical path analysis, WBS and RBS charts, Earned Value costing and more. The OpenProj solution has been translated into French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Swedish, Finnish, Galician, Persian, Russian, Korean and Chinese.

TaskJuggler – Open Source Project Management Tool

TaskJuggler is a free software project management tool for serious project managers. It covers the complete spectrum of project management tasks from the first idea to the completion of the project. This free project management tool assists you during project scoping, resource assignment, cost and revenue planing, risk and communication management.

Meanwhile, TaskJuggler provides an optimizing scheduler that computes your project time lines and resource assignments based on the project outline and the constraints that you have provided. The built-in resource balancer and consistency checker offload you from having to worry about irrelevant details and ring the alarm if the project gets out of hand. The flexible “as many details as necessary”-approach allows you to still plan your project as you go, making it also ideal for new management strategies such as Extreme Programming and Agile Project Management.

So, do you use project management software to plan your project schedule? Have you used any of the project management tools above, or do you use other tools that we haven’t mentioned here?

Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.