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Please advice on Project Management Software

Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2005 5:56 pm
by myleow
I have been wanting to put up a Project Management Suite that allow me and a couple of friends to throw ideas securely around in WIKI (so we can edit each other) and also have SVN, with Task and all those goodies so when we actually start coding we don't have to install another suite.

I have been looking around and found a few interesting ones.

trac : Integrated SCM & Project Management http://www.edgewall.com/trac/

PHProjekt - an open source groupware suite http://www.phprojekt.com/

dotProject - Open Source Project and Task Management software http://www.dotproject.net/

I was also thinking of using CMS but those lack the software management utilities.

What have you all used? I am all ears for suggestions and comments. There are definitely something that someone used which suit my need better than anything i have found. :lol:

Regards
Mian

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 7:56 am
by protokol
Our company tried a couple of these, but none were anywhere near as good as the one we wrote in-house 8)

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:05 pm
by myleow
In-House developed tools are always the best because they are built around the requirement of your company.

Could you list the items that your company consider important that are in and not in these OSS?

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:19 pm
by alvinphp
I don't use an all in one system to manage a project. I use various tools together. This is what is important for me though

1. Project timeline and milestone tracking
2. Bug tracking
3. Change Control tracking
4. Version control system (Subversion). Also used to archive documents
5. Application to create/modify UML

Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:19 pm
by myleow
alvinphp,

Would you mind listing the application you used for each of those, please?

I am interested in knowing more about UML too.

Sorry i haven't worked in a big company that requires all these in place, all my Programming position only require 1 person. (Graduated in a bad time).

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:27 pm
by alvinphp
myleow wrote:Would you mind listing the application you used for each of those, please?
This is what works for me...

What I use depends on the size of the project. If it is large with more then one project manager then I will use specific tools for each task. If it is smaller, or low budget, then I will create a project plan document in word where I keep the user requirements, track the milestones, track change control, paste in Visio UML diagrams, and paste in workflow diagrams. This way everything is in one document that I put into subversion. For Bug tracking I have used Test Director and custom built bug programs. If the project is large I will use MS Project for the tracking of milestones, resources, and costs.

And I use UML extensively as it lets me build the application on paper before any coding. This way I will find a lot of problems early on which saves me a whole lot of time later on. I can also go over some of the workflows with the client first to make sure what I am thinking is what they are thinking.

I am actually more of a Project Manager / Business Analyst that just happens to know how to code in a few languages.

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:38 pm
by CDilla4Rilla
I am with Alvinphp. I actually am not a full-fledged scripter. I am more of a Web Producer who knows how to design & program some php. I am also looking for a solid solution to coordinate my various project teams.

Out of all you've listed, I've only used dotProject. After a year of use, I find that dotProject is quite robust and easy to use. Its' something that many of my team members, who are completely non-programmers, have been able to pick up how to use it rather quickly. Plus I like the fact that it's a solution that I can host on my own servers.

I stick with dotProject version 1.0.2. I find that the latest version, version 2.0 is extremely buggy. It caused a lot of problems.

My only complaint about dotProject is that I wish the interface looked better. It was a challenge getting my designers to get in the habit of using the app because the interface wasn't "pretty".

I am open to other solutions, and have tried a few others, but I am content with dotProject. I would recommend that.

My ideal solution would encompass everything alvinphp listed above, plus I would want:

1. MS Outlook Integration of some sort
2. A Plaxo updater for updating contacts. Would work similar to the way Outlook and Plaxo work together. If you change your contact's info in either Plaxo or Outlook, they update each other so all your contact lists are coordinated.
3. A cleaner interface. The color choices are kind of drab.


And that's about it. dotProject 1.0.2 is pretty stable. 2.0 needs work though.