The top 10 project management tools for 2016

The Best top 10 project management tools for 2016

Project management is one of the high-responsibility tasks in modern organizations. Project management is used in several types of projects ranging from software development to developing the next generation fighter aircrafts.


In order to accomplish a project successfully, the project manager or the project management team should be supported by a set of tools. These tools can be specifically designed tools or regular productivity tools that can be adopted for project management work.

Usually, the use of such tools makes the project managers work easy as well as it regulates the work and the routine of a project manager.

With the introduction of computer technology, there has been a number of software tools specifically developed for project management purpose.

Let’s take a look at each of these projects that are used in active development, hosting options, mobile solution, and much more.

MyCollab

MyCollab is a multi-purpose solution, which features tools for customer relationship management, project management, and document management. In this case, we have a look at MyCollab-Project.

MyCollab-Project includes many features, like a Gantt chart and milestones, time tracking, and issue management. It also supports agile development models with its Kanban board. MyCollab-Project is available in three editions, of which the community edition is the free and open source option.

Released on March 14, 2016, the current MyCollab version is 5.2.9. Also, mobile readiness has been significantly enhanced with a previous release, 5.2.6. MyCollab does work well on both desktop and mobile devices.

MyCollab is licensed under AGPLv3, requires a Java runtime and MySQL stack, and the source code is available on GitHub.

OrangeScrum

OrangeScrum is a project management tool for freelancers, agencies, and small to medium businesses. It includes features such as a scrum task board, Kanban and Gantt chart views, resource planning, and progress tracking.



The new skin of OrangeScrum based on the Google Material Design is noteworthy. Android and iOS mobile applications are expected for version 2.0, in June 2016.

Based on the CakePHP framework, OrangeScrum is licensed under GPLv3. Its latest release 1.5.9. is available for download, and the source code can be found on GitHub.

Taiga

Taiga is an open source project management platform for startups, agile developers, and designers. It concentrates on agile development methods, and has all of the essential features such as a backlog, Kanban board, sprints, tasks, and issues.

Distinguished features are the integration with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, making it an interesting project management tool for developers. Taiga can also be extended through plugins, and has a REST API. Taiga integrates video conferencing functions with the use of third party services from Talky.io and Appear.in. Group and private chat is done via HipChat.

Taiga is released under GNU Affero General Public License GPLv3, and requires a stack which includes Nginx, Python and PostgreSQL. The latest release, 1.10.0 Dryas Octopetala, is available on GitHub.

Odoo

Odoo is a multi-platform solution, supporting Windows, several Linux distributions, and other operating systems as well. Targeting companies of all sizes, the application suite includes billing, accounting, manufacturing, purchasing, warehouse management, and project management.

While the community edition is free and open source, the features are limited compared to the enterprise version. Odoo project management has some interesting features, such as Gantt charts, graphs, a Kanban view, tasks and issues, and more. Prominent assets are the community resources, and its official Docker image.

Odoo is licensed under GPLv3, and requires Python and PostgreSQL. Its latest release, 9.0, is available for download and as source on GitHub.

Tuleap Open ALM

Tuleap is a project management system for managing application lifecycles, Agile development and design projects, V-model, Requirement Management, IT Services Management, and so on. With emphasis on software development projects, Tuleap provides a feature rich platform which includes project management features like Scrum and Kanban support, tracking, document management, and other collaborative tools.

Tuleap is a software platform for project management that enables managers and developers to utilize diverse development methodologies including Agile, traditional, or hybrid or custom processes. It supports planning, sprints, tasks, reports and more. Tuleap has a built-in risk management system. It features site-wide trackers and real-time reports on risks, requirements, tasks, bugs, change requests, support requests, user stories.

This tool is very appropriate for open source development companies, as the tool also integrates with Git, SVN, Jenkins, and more. Tuleap also provides an appliance installation (virtual machine), or installation through Ansible.

Tuleap is licensed under GPLv2. Its latest release Tuleap 8.12 can be downloaded from the site.

Agilefant

Agilefant is a free and open source, electronic web-based backlog management tool. It concentrates on agile approaches involving Kanban and Scrum, but also can be twisted to support traditional approaches to project management such as the waterfall method.

Agilefant is suitable not only for organizations with software development or product, project and iteration management needs, but also for organizations with needs to time tracking and reporting, planning and organizing daily work with other team members.

Agilefant can be downloaded and deployed into your own private cloud. You can also sign up for a free cloud offering called a solo plan.

Agilefant runs on Java, Tomcat, and MySQL. The source code and license can be found on GitHub.

Redmine

Redmine is a free and open source, web-based project management and issue tracking tool. It allows users to manage multiple projects and associated subprojects. It features per project wikis and forums, time tracking, and flexible role based access control. It includes a calendar and Gantt charts to aid visual representation of projects and their deadlines. Redmine integrates with various version control systems and includes a repository browser and diff viewer.

Redmine also has an advantage in access: it is available to project managers, other team members, as well as, the clients.

Redmine is licensed under GPLv2, and requires Ruby and Rails and a database platform like MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite. Its latest release 3.2.1 is available as a download.

Project-open

]project-open[ is an enterprise project and portfolio management system and ERP. It includes modules for resource management, timesheet management, HR, CRM, ITSM, collaboration and financials. ]po[ is built on top of OpenACS.org, an open-source Web platform featuring role-base permissions, workflows, dynamically extensible objects and full-text search.

The software is released under a mixed source model, or a “dual license,” which means that at its central it is open source (GPL), with additional modules released under a commercial license. Depending on a stack of open source packages,]project-open[ runs as client software on both Windows and Linux.

]po[ is currently working on version 5.0, which includes a Gantt editor, a portfolio Planner and several charts rendered in HTML5.

]po[ is available in many forms, as installers for both Linux and Windows, but also in cloud images, and as virtual appliance.

OpenProject

OpenProject is a web-based project management system for location-independent team collaboration. With its feature set, OpenProject is designed to support your project teams throughout the entire project lifecycle and offers collaborative project planning, task management, timeline reports, time and cost reporting, Scrum, and much more. Some features of OpenProject, which makes this tool noticeable, are its user interface, API, extensive documentation, and rich feature set, which makes it a good selection for enterprise needs.

Currently, OpenProject is working on version 5.1, which will bring aligned work package creation, accessibility enhancements, design and usability improvements, and more.

OpenProject is released under the GNU General Public License Version 3 and is continuously developed by an active open source community. OpenProject is licensed under GPLv3. Its current version 5.0.16 is available for download.

ProjectLibre

ProjectLibre is an award winning project management tool, which has been downloaded over two million times in 200 countries. It is a project management software system. It intends to be a complete desktop replacement for Microsoft Project. ProjectLibre runs on the Java Platform, allowing it to run on the Linux, Mac OS or MS Windows operating systems. It holds features such as support for task management, resource allocation, tracking, Gantt charts, and much more.

The ProjectLibre team is completely rewriting the code, giving it a new modular architecture, which in turn allows for a stronger engine.

ProjectLibre is licensed under a Common Public Attribution License Version 1.0 and thus qualifies as Free Software, according to the Free Software Foundation. It’s based on Java, and available for download.