A lot of software is available on the internet to help you run your projects. On this page we will provide some pointers on where to get applications for free. And let me start by saying: free is as good as any kind available.

There are three types in existence:

• desktop applications,
• webbased services
• webbased systems.

Free desktop software for project management

This type of applications are installed on your PC. Think in the line of MS Office and MSProject. A nice free software package in this category is GanttProject. This actually looks like an MS Project knock off.

Webbased services

By this I mean websites that offer an on-line internet application that supports project management. You don't have to install anything, you just signup for a service that is running on someone else's server.

An example is iTeamWork, which is kind of a collaboration tool, where you can define projects and tasks, assign people to them, track and trace them, view to-do lists, etc.

Webbased systems

The difference between webbased services and systems is that with the latter you do have to install software on your own hardware. As open source development is taking more and more ground, some of these applications are quite powerful.

The are all more collaboration tools the just plain project management tools. So, if you just need something to create a nice Gantt chart, don't use this category, as it would be overkill.

Examples in this category are:

dotProject

dotProject is a PHP web-based project management framework that includes modules for companies, projects, tasks (with Gantt charts), forums, files, calendar, contacts, tickets/helpdesk, multi-language support, user/module permissions and themes.

php-collab
phpCollab is an open-source internet-enabled collaboration workspace for project teams.

phProjekt
PHProjekt is a modular application for the coordination of group activities and to share informations and document via intranet and internet. Components of PHProjekt: Group calendar, project management, time card system, file management, contact manager, mail client and 9 other modules …

Consultant Communicator
Consultant Communicator is focused upon the time keeping aspect of project management. Unlike the majority of other tools, it does not use a graphical task time line, it instead uses a hierarchal system.

f2w Helpdesk
f2w Helpdesk isn't actually a pure project management tool; it was actually developed to be a help desk solution. However, it can also be used to manage people.

Taskjuggler
Taskjuggler calls itself a "Project Managers Delight" and to be fair, they're not far from the truth.

TeamSCOPE
TeamSCOPE is developed by a team at the Michigan State University. It is designed to run on Linux. It was designed and developed with communication in mind and as such it focuses on giving every member of the team access to all the files, deadlines and information.

Relevant links

Agile Or Plan-Driven Project Management: One Size Doesn't Fit All

Web Timesheet Software Directory. Web-based software for time tracking, payroll, billing, expense, cost and invoicing.
Standard Time - Timesheet and Project Management Software

http://projects.edgewall.com/trac/
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

Trac is an enhanced wiki and problem solving system, that was developed as a stripped down web based project management tool specifically targeted at software development companies. Trac sets its self apart from other companies by offering one of the best documented help and support sites available, especially since Trac is an open source free project management tool, and doesn't generate any direct income.

Wiki if you were wondering is a database of pages that can be collaboratively edited using a web browser. In the end it just leads towards a project management tool that allows ultimate use ability with the minimum of time, energy and effort.

Trac has several key features such as its cross platform compatibility, being able to run on Windows, several versions of Linux and Unix as well as Mac. It runs on an SQL back end, where the data is stored, and this can be published to the web allowing access from anyone, anywhere, allowing a global team of project members. Trac is a project management tool that will provide several outputs in the form of reports that contain countless facts, figures and estimates as well as analysis of what these mean, providing up to date information for even the most discerning client.

Trac has an intuitive lay out and design, and a style that is gentle on the eyes. It is amazingly easy to use after it has been installed, and it allows a shallow learning curve so that every project team member will be up to speed on Trac in just a few hours. This ease of use means that even your clients will be able to use the system to find out how far along you are, and that saves times in meetings, phone calls and emails, increasing productivity and efficiency easily and with minimum fuss.

http://projects.edgewall.com/trac/

http://tobedone.sourceforge.net/
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

To be done is a web based free project management tool, developed using Java and utilizing a MySQL database. It is an open source product, which means that its source code is available, and anyone can change and improve it. It is also distributed under a normal GNU General Public License, this means that anyone can download and distribute it, as long as they don't charge any money for it.

Because To be done is a web based system, it is accessible from anywhere in the world. This capability allows your project team to consist of members from all over the world, in different locations and time zones. It also allows clients a unique insider look into how the project is coming, and what is left to be done.

To be done sorts projects by name, and then it sorts tasks, tasks can be prioritized by either date, or rank, where you can assign a rank to each task. It also allows the project administrator to assign edit and read rights on files, this allows people to get the job done, whilst minimizing the potential security risks. As it is web based To be done has a mainly graphical user interface, it has a simple layout in the Mac style, and an intuitive learning process. Even the most basic beginners will be up and running using To be done in a matter of minutes.

Over all To be done is probably a system that should be used as an introduction to project management tools. It lacks some features that many companies will require, and is ideally suited for small businesses, possibly run from home, with small project teams, no larger than 10 people. Still, this free project management program will be popular with many people, not least for its ease of use and centralized data storage.

http://tobedone.sourceforge.net/

http://www.projectengine.nu/
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

Project Engine is a free project management tool available for download over the internet. Project Engine installs quickly and easily onto a desktop computer, and allows its user to schedule, plan and project times and tasks for projects of any size.

What makes Project Engine different to the vast majority of both free and commercial project management tools, it offers an almost unique system in which Project Engine is run on both a desktop, but also has the ability to be published, and accessible, from the internet. This allows project team members world wide to connect to Project Engine and find out what they need to do, whilst the administrator doesn't have to be connected to the internet the whole time to manage changes. It now comes with an extra feature that allows access via a cellular phone, giving the ultimate in mobile control.

Project Engine allows you to create and manage tasks, as well as letting individual project team members have both private and public to do lists. Project Engine also features project tracking, an excellent feature for clients, as well as a bug and defect tracking system. Project Engine will dramatically increase the productivity in your project by supporting all project members in all stages of the project life-cycle.

Project Engine can be used for project planning and tracking work down to the smallest activity. This means that you'll have increased productivity and efficiency with in your company as well as giving your clients total peace of mind as they can always find out where the project is.

Project Engine has a shallow learning curve, and the web part of the system was designed so that everything is intuitively placed, and just a few minutes of playing with it will enable the user to know exactly what is going on.

http://www.projectengine.nu/

http://www.jxproject.com/
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

Jx Project is a free web based project management tool, allowing project team members and clients worldwide connect to it. Although Jx Project is a free project management tool, it is worth mentioning that it has an advert that changes regularly, and is displayed in the top right hand corner of the window, however this is not a problem and after a while you won't even notice it. Jx Project is a Java application, and any computer that will be using it must have the necessary programs, however these are normally already on most computers.

Jx Project is feature packed, from the normal and expected features, such as Gantt chart production, fulltime resource leveling, and also fixed time or fixed work tasks. On the other hand they also have several features you wouldn't expect, these include the ability to overlay Gantt charts with work schedules of resources, as well as being able to produce a calendar for every single resource, and support for over a million tasks and resources. Jx Project is an amazing tool, especially since it is free! It has a relatively steep learning curve, but after a day or two, everyone should have got the hang of it, and it doesn't take too long to master all of Jx Project's features.

Jx Project is web based, and has a graphical user interface, it has a basic and intuitive layout and style, so even the most techno phobic of clients will know what's going on. Jx Project is probably one of the best free project management tools available, and it supports itself from the adverts, and doesn't ask for any donations, it is feature packed and is ideal, not just for a small company, but a large multi national business as well. From small thousand dollar budget projects, to large multi million dollar projects Jx Project can deal with them all, quickly, easily and efficiently.

http://www.jxproject.com/

http://www.targetprocess.com
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

Target Process: Planning is a free project management tool, it was developed using ASP and as such is a web based tool. It was developed with a focus on project planning and tracking practices. Although Target Process: Planning can be used for all types of planning, although it works best if you use an Extreme Programming style. Although Target Process: Planning was developed with software companies in mind, it is suitable for all small to medium businesses, but large corporations may prefer alternate tools, meant for larger projects.

As Target Process: Planning was developed with software companies in mind, it is ideal for any company which employs team members from all over the globe, and brings them together using this resource. The developers suggest that any project team using this free project management tool should be no bigger than 2 to 10 people, obviously this may be a problem. Target Process: Planning uses a very simple and intuitive layout on its graphical user interface.

If you're worried about losing time whilst introducing this product to your company, fear not, after just a few hours of playing around with it, everyone will know what they have to and how to do it. Its simplicity means that you are unlikely to get any problems with running it, such as crashes or data losses, although you may need a technician to install it for you.

Since Target Process: Planning is a web based project management tool, it means that your clients or project team members can be located anywhere globally and still have access, although this raises some minor security issues, it is still an excellent feature that allows client to see what you are up to. Overall I would suggest that Target Process: Planning is an excellent tool for a small business that simply needs to keep everything going, but once you have larger projects and project teams this tool may fall apart on you.

http://www.targetprocess.com

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pmtool
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

PMtool is a web based free online project management tool, developed to be distributed as free software for both business and personal uses. PMtool is based on the coding language PHP and the database language of MySQL, and requires only basic and free software to be installed on a server for it to run properly. It is distributed under the GNU General Public License, this means it is open source, and the code can be changed and improved by any one any where.

If you don't know much about web servers or computers in general it would probably be best to get a technician to install this, but after that's accomplished PMtool really is amazingly easy to use.

As it is web based, it uses a largely graphical user interface, this makes it simple for anyone to use, from the experienced programmer to the most techno phobic client. The learning curve when you start to use PMtool as an online project management tool is very shallow, and after just a few hours of using the tool, most people will know everything they will ever need to know about it. It will also export to an XML file, common to many free project management tools, however it doesn't require a specific file to be the input, this means the input can be changed from anywhere by anyone.

As PMtool is a free online web based project management tool, it means anyone connected to the internet can use it. This means you can use project members from across the globe with out any worries, as well as letting clients see exactly what you're up to. This global access may pose some minor security issues but over all PMtool is an excellent free project management tool, that can be used for any sized company over any time period and any project.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pmtool

http://opensched.sourceforge.net/
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

OpenSched is a largely text based free project management tool available over the internet. On the technical side, the tool only accepts HTML and TeX files as inputs, and only outputs to EPS files, although it has features to turn these into both GIF and PNG files. To use the program you have to manually create an input file using the parameters set out in a file that OpenSched provides, this can be quite long and tedious however, and it takes a bit of time to get used to.

The outputs are worth the effort however, the tables and analysis that this program provides can increase productivity and efficiency on your project for all team members, all of the time.

OpenSched is available under the common GNU General Public License; this means that anyone can download both it and its source code for free, as long as you don't intend to sell it to anyone. The open source code means that it can always be improved on and developed further with minimum cost and effort. OpenSched is used to automatically schedule resources for a project. For instance, if 5 programmers cooperate on a software development project, and 100 tasks must be done, OpenSched can capture information about who can do what, what tasks depend on which, etc.

It is an excellent tool to introduce a company into the world of project management tools, although it may be a bit basic and dated to be used as a main tools, but as a beginners version or an occasional use item its excellent. Its simplicity underlies its entire system, and this leads to a simplified workplace allowing everyone to get the job done with minimum fuss, and allowing even the most techno phobic clients to see what's happening and when.

http://opensched.sourceforge.net/

http://maven.apache.org/
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

Maven is a project founded and run by the Apache open source project, this produced the world's most popular web server, and it's easy to see that Maven could become their next big hit. Unlike many other free project management tools, Maven is a Java based system, your project is based on a "Model Project" that is defined my Maven. Maven makes your project stick to this model, and they call this the "Project Object Model".

Maven only allows you to store and export data and files in an XML format, however the good people at the Apache foundation are trying to change this, and this is one of many reasons why Maven is open source. All the projects you will build up using Maven are controlled using a fixed method, unlike many other free project management tools which allow users to create projects in different ways, in this way Maven stops compatibility issues as well as issues in understanding and development.

One of the biggest features that Maven offers and which Apache are keen to show off is its publishing ability. Once you have made a full and accurate Project Object Model, you can export the data and quickly turn it into a full website allowing developers and clients to find out what you're doing and when. This site enables project members to see project sources, log files, mailing and developer lists as well as test reports and any article or files collected on the way.

Maven, like most Apache tools, is a modular system and allows plug ins, this means that as long as you have capable programmers at hand you will be able to turn the powerful Maven engine to do what ever you want or need to meet every whim of your clients requests.

http://maven.apache.org/

http://netoffice.sourceforge.net/modules/news/
Submitted by Jean-Claude Cutter

netOffice is a web based project management tools written in PHP and utilizing MySQL. It has a surprisingly easy to use user interface, and it really is self explanatory, even for first time users. It has the same features as most other free web based project management tools but is set apart from the pack by its simple layout and amazing ease of use.

It has four different user settings, for project managers, project administrators, project members as well as a setting for clients. The option to let the clients see what you're doing is what really makes this tool stand out, this means a client can see if you're on schedule, what you're doing and when. This will give your clients a greater sense of security, and may even persuade them to work with you again.

netOffice has demo projects and client setups on its site for you to look at, but to do it justice you really do need to download it, install it and spend a few hours playing around with it and getting to know its features, surprises and style. Although its layout may not suit every taste, and its color scheme may be a touch bland, this free project management tool will certainly get the job done quickly and easily.

Many would use netOffice as an introductory free project management tool, and then move onto more graphical and more complicated tools, but this may not be necessary if you're a small business, looking for a no thrills package. netOffice exports data into HTML files and this is the primary choice out of very few export options. It is also distributed under the GNU / GPL or the general public license, this means it can be used commercially and distributed freely as well as changed, altered and improved and it is an open source free management tool.

http://netoffice.sourceforge.net/modules/news/