Microsoft project work

MS Project and Alternative Software for Assignment

Microsoft Project is the most widely used project management planning tool within industry so was used as the basis of support for this section. With its inclusion in Microsoft’s office suite of programmes it has plenty of exposure however is quite expensive for a licence (currently £599) as are other popular industry programmes such as Primavera and Safran.

RGU has a site licence for MS Project where any computer within the university will be able to access MS Project through the MyApps collection of programmes. Because this licence is for academic purposes it is restricted for ‘on campus’ use only. This is so that we can comply with licence regulations that students will not use the software for commercial purposes.

For the requirements of this assignment you are tasked to construct a Gantt chart that will display your WBS with a scheduled timeline (with indicated task relationships and resources). To accomplish this there are many free project planning software alternatives that you could use. A search on Google will present a variety of options that you can download for PC, Mac or even iPad specific.

Make sure you take the time to learn the basics of your chosen programme, most will have the functionality to fulfil the assignment brief but usability might be quite different to the steps outlined in the support materials on Moodle for MS Project.

I have put below a list that I know that some colleagues and industry figures have mentioned that they use. Please note that I do not personally use these programmes so cannot individually recommend them or give advise about their usage, so if you are looking to use a MS Project alternative please review them carefully to see if they are suitable for your needs and working preferences.

ProjectLibre: http://www.projectlibre.org/

ProjectLibre labels itself as a ‘MS Project replacement’. It is an open source project management software tool that is compatible with MS Project 2003, 2007, and 2010. It can be installed on Linux, MacOS, as well as Windows.

GanttProject: http://www.ganttproject.biz/download

A simple programme that will open MS Project files. It supports versions for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.

Teamgantt: (Free 30 day trial): https://teamgantt.com/

A well-used and popular industry planning programme. Has quite extensive features and allows for a 30 day free trial (without a credit card required) but after that point the lowest licence is $29.00 a month.

2-plan Project Management Software: http://2-plan.com/

Better suited for larger organisations and multiple projects. You can download a desktop version for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Please note that Windows systems also need a Java Runtime Environment.

Open Workbench: http://sourceforge.net/projects/openworkbench/

Open Workbench is a Windows app only. You can create milestones, and assign tasks, resources, and dependencies but not as user friendly as maybe some of the other programmes listed.

Gantter: http://gantter.com/

Gantter is a free web-based project management tool. It has a very similar layout and feel to MS Project and you can create Gantt charts with dependencies and resources assigned, import and export .mpp files, and export the project plans.

Microsoft Excel: Available as part of the Microsoft Office suite.

For experienced Excel users there is the ability to create a Gantt chart using the programmes features. There are many Excel Gantt templates available online or see the following link to take a step-by-step guide to walk you through how to create a Gantt in Excel.

https://www.smartsheet.com/gantt-chart-excel-blog2