Xen

Xen — «паравиртуальный» монитор виртуальных машин (VMM), другое его название, распространённое в основном на архитектуре x86 — «гипервизор». Xen способен поддерживать одновременную работу большого числа виртуальных машин на одной физической, при этом не тратя значительных вычислительных ресурсов.

http://xen.xensource.com/


Области применения
Технология виртуальных машин позволяет расширить функциональность оборудования следующими способами:
Виртуальная машина обладает производительностью, сравнимой с реальной.
Возможность миграции запущенной виртуальной машины между физическими машинами.
Превосходная поддержка оборудования (поддерживается большинство драйверов устройств Linux)
Возможность создания песочницы, перезагружаемые драйверы устройств.


Аналогичные технологии
Другие реализации технологии виртуализации на уровне операционной системы: Linux-VServer, FreeBSD Jails, Solaris Containers, VDSmanager


http://xgu.ru/wiki/Xen



Технология

Паравиртуализация позволяет достичь очень высокой производительности даже на таких, очень тяжёлых для виртуализации, платформах, как x86. Недостатком такого подхода является необходимость адаптации операционной системы перед помещением в Xen. Процесс адаптации к Xen очень похож на портирование для новой платформы, однако значительно проще ввиду похожести виртуального оборудования на реальное. Даже с учетом того, что ядро операционной системы явно должно поддерживать Xen, пользовательские приложения и библиотеки остаются без изменения.

list of alt soft 2

Desktop Applications
Communication


Email Client = [WWW] Thunderbird
Compare to: Microsoft Outlook
IRC Client = [WWW] X-Chat 2, [WWW] Bersirc, [WWW] HydraIRC
Compare to: Unknown

Universal Instant Messaging Client = [WWW] Pidgin (formerly Gaim), [WWW] Miranda IM
Compare to: Trillian

Web browser = [WWW] FireFox
Compare to: Microsoft Internet Explorer

Voice Over IP = [WWW] OpenWengo
Compare to: Skype

Engineering
EDA = [WWW] KiCad
Compare to: Eagle

Educational
Learning Games = [WWW] Childsplay
Compare to: Unknown

Planetarium = [WWW] Stellarium
Compare to: Unknown

Space Simulator = [WWW] Celestia
Compare to: Unknown

Flight Simulator = [WWW] FlightGear
Compare to: MS Flight Simulator

Typing Tutor = [WWW] Tux Typing
Compare to: Unknown

Beginner Drawing Program = [WWW] Tux Paint
Compare to: KidPix

Financial
Personal Accounting = [WWW] HomeBank, [WWW] Grisbi, [WWW] jGnash
Compare to: Quicken, Microsoft Money

Accounting: [WWW] TurboCash
Compare to: Intuit Quickbooks

Monitoraggio Finanziario = [WWW] MFbyAS
Compare to: Unknown
Productivity
Database (Desktop) = [WWW] OpenOffice (Base)
Compare to: Microsoft Office (Access)

Desktop Publishing = [WWW] Scribus
Compare to: Microsoft Publisher

Mind Mapping = [WWW] FreeMind
Compare to: Mindjet MindManager, Inspiration

PDF creator = [WWW] PDF Creator
Compare to: Adobe Acrobat

Presentation = [WWW] OpenOffice (Impress)
Compare to: Microsoft Office (Powerpoint)

Spreadsheet = [WWW] OpenOffice (Calc)
Compare to: Microsoft Office (Excel)

Word Processor = [WWW] OpenOffice (Writer), [WWW] AbiWord
Compare to: Microsoft Office (Word)

Scientific Word Processor = [WWW] Lyx (Latex gui frontend)
Compare to: Scientific Word

Notepad Replacement = [WWW] Notepad2, [WWW] Notepad++, [WWW] SciTE
Compare to: Notepad

Management
Gantt chart = [WWW] GanttProject
Compare to: Microsoft Project

Project management = [WWW] Planner, [WWW] OpenWorkbench
Compare to: Microsoft Project

Report Creator = [WWW] JasperReports
Compare to: Crystal Reports Analisi dei processi = [WWW] APbyAS
Compare to Unknown

Gestione Attività = [WWW] PMbyAS
Compare to Microsoft Project

Team Collaboration = [WWW] Mindquarry
Compare to Microsoft Sharepoint

Misc

Animal Shelter Manager = [WWW] Animal Shelter Manager
Compare to: Unknown

Virtual PC emulator = [WWW] Bochs, [WWW] Qemu
Compare to: VMware, Microsoft Virtual PC
Linux environment = [WWW] Cygwin
Compare to: Unknown

Recipe Manager = [WWW] Gourmet Recipe Manager
Compare to: Unknown

Screen Saver = [WWW] Really Slick Screensavers
Compare to: Unknown

Language Translation tool = [WWW] OmegaT
Compare to: Unknown

Countdown Timer = [WWW] CookTimer
Compare to: Unknown

Application Launcher = [WWW] Launchy
Compare to: Unknown

Multimedia
3D
*
3D Animation = [WWW] Blender, [WWW] Wings 3D
Compare to: Alias Maya

3D Graphics = [WWW] POV-Ray
Compare to: Unknown

3D Game Development Kit = [WWW] Crystal Space, [WWW] Ogre3d
Compare to: Unknown

Audio


Audio Editing = [WWW] Audacity
Compare to: Adobe Audition

Audio Player = [WWW] Coolplayer, [WWW] Zinf
Compare to: WinAMP, Windows Media Player

Drum Machine = [WWW] Hydrogen
Compare to: Unknown

MP3 Ripper = [WWW] CDex
Compare to: Exact Audio Copy

Volume normalizer = [WWW] MP3Gain
Compare to: Unknown

Drawing
Diagram Editor = [WWW] Dia
Compare to: Microsoft Visio Image Editing = [WWW] Gimp, [WWW] Paint.NET

Compare to: Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop

Vector Drawing = [WWW] Inkscape, [WWW] Sodipodi
Other

*

HTPC/PVR Media Centre = [WWW] MediaPortal
Compare to: Microsoft Media Centre Edition (MCE), Showshifter, SageTV

Media Player = [WWW] VLC media player
Compare to: Windows Media Player, PowerLink PowerDVD, Intervideo WinDVD

Web Design = [WWW] Nvu
Compare to: Microsoft Frontpage, Macromedia Dreamweaver

Video


Internet TV platform = [WWW] Democracy Player
Compare to: iTunes, FireAnt

Video Capture = [WWW] VirtualDub
Compare to: Sorenson Squeeze

Video MPEG-4 codec = [WWW] ffdshow, [WWW] XviD
Compare to: DivX

Video Editing = [WWW] Jashaka, [WWW] Avidemux,
Compare to: Adobe After Effects, Pinnacle Studio, Apple Final Cut

Security

802.1x client (EAP-TTLS) = [WWW] SecureW2
Compare to: Unknown

Anti-Spyware = [WWW] Winpooch, [WWW] Spybot Search&Destroy (not OpenSource, but FreeWare)
Compare to: Unknown

Anti-Virus = [WWW] ClamWin
Compare to: Unknown

Encryption = [WWW] Truecrypt
Compare to: Win Zip?

Network protocol analyzer = [WWW] Wireshark
Compare to: Sniffer

Password strength testing = [WWW] Ophcrack 2

Compare to: LOphtCrack
Password safe = [WWW] KeePass Password Safe, [WWW] Password Safe
Compare to: Unknown

VPN client = [WWW] OpenVPN client GUI for Windows
Compare to: Cisco VPN client, Nortel VPN client

Software Development
Framework/Platform = [WWW] Mono
Compare to: Microsoft .NET Framework, Java Integrated Development Environment = [WWW] Eclipse, [WWW] SharpDevelop, [WWW] Code::Blocks, [WWW] Lazarus IDE, Free Pascal
Compare to: Microsoft Visual Studio, Borland IDE

Windows Installer = [WWW] Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, [WWW] Inno Setup
Compare to: InstallShield, Microsoft Installer
Utilities
BitTorrent client = [WWW] Azureus, [WWW] BitTorrent Client

Compare to: Unknown

File compression = [WWW] 7-Zip
Compare to: WinZip

FTP Client = [WWW] Filezilla FTP client
Compare to: SmartFTP, BulletProof FTP

Statistics on Disk usage = [WWW] WinDirStat
Compare to: Unknown

P2P file-sharing = [WWW] Shareaza, [WWW] Ares
Compare to: Napster

Remote Administration = [WWW] UltraVNC
Compare to: PCAnywhere, GoToMyPC.com, Windows Remote Desktop

Process Usage Analysis = [WWW] Process History
Compare to: Unknown

Daphne, process list & manager = [WWW] Daphne
Compare to: Windows task manager

Server ApplicationsDatabase


Database server = [WWW] Firebird, [WWW] MySQL, [WWW] PostgreSQL
Compare to: Microsoft SQL server, Oracle database
File Server

FTP server = [WWW] Filezilla FTP server
Compare to: Unknown

Messaging

Email server = [WWW] hMailServer
Compare to: Microsoft Exchange server, Novell GroupWise server Instant messaging server = [WWW] Jive Messenger
Compare to: Novell GroupWise Messenger

Security

Intrusion Detection System (IDS) = [WWW] Snort
Compare to: Unknown

VPN server = [WWW] OpenVPN
Compare to: Cisco VPN

Web

Application server = [WWW] JBoss
Compare to: BEA Weblogic, IBM Websphere

Rich Internet Application Server = [WWW] OpenLaszlo
Compare to: Macromedia Flex

Statistics Generator = [WWW] AWStats
Compare to: Unknown

Web server = [WWW] Apache
Compare to: Microsoft Internet Information Services (ISS)

+ http://www.linuxrsp.ru/win-lin-soft/table-eng.html

list of alternative software

Audio

Audio Player

Winamp; Windows Media Player

* Audacious* amaroK* BMPx* Banshee* Jinzora* Rhythmbox* Mesk* XMMS* Zinf* Exaile!


Audio Editor

SoundForge; Adobe Audition
* Audacity * LMMS* Rosegarden * Sweep* Glume* ReZound * Wired * Ardour

Stream Browser * Streamtuner * last.fm

CD Ripper
* Goobox * Rubyripper * Arson * GRip * Sound Juicer


Video

Video Player

BSplayer; Windows Media Player; VLC
* Xine * MPlayer * Kaffeine * VLC * Totem

Video Editor

Adobe Premiere
* Kino * Cinelerra * Jahshaka * LiVES * Diva * Avidemux * Iriverter


DVD Ripper
* AcidRip * dvd::rip * Handbrake * k9copy

Screen Capture
* Istanbul * Xvidcap


Graphics & Design

Image viewer
* digiKam * gThumb * Gwenview * XnView * GQview
* Goby* Quick Image Viewer

Image organizer

Picasa
* F-Spot


Image editor

Adobe Photoshop

* GIMP * Krita * Tux Paint * mtPaint * XPaint


Vectorgraphics editor

CorelDraw
* Inkscape * Synfig

3D Modeler

3D Max; Maya
* Blender3D * Wings 3D* Equinox-3D * Misfit Model 3D * Sharp 3D


Computer Aided Design

AutoCAD; MathCAD
* qCAD * BRL-CAD * gCAD3D * FreeCAD

Internet & Network

Internet Browser

Internet Explorer
* Firefox aka Iceweasel* Opera * SeaMonkey * Konqueror * Galeon* Dillo * Lynx - Text browser for the World Wide Web


E-mail

Outlook Express, Outlook
* Evolution * Thunderbird * KMail


Usenet/Newsreader

Outlook Express, Forte Agent
* Pan

RSS Feed Reader

* Liferea * aKregator * Straw * BottomFeeder * RSSOwl

FTP Clent

FileZilla * gFTP

Instant messenger

AIM; ICQ; MSN; Yahoo!; Jabber

* Pidgin (Formerly GAIM) * Kopete * BitlBee * aMSN * GYachI - enables Yahoo! webcam

Internet Relay Chat

mIRC

* XChat * Irssi * BitchX * Konversation * KVirc Direct Connect DC++

* Valknut * Linux DC++



Torrents

µTorrent, BitComet

* Deluge * BitTornado * aria2* Azureus* Transmission* KTorrent* Gnome rrent
* GnomeBT


P2P

eMule, LimeWire

* aMule * LimeWire* GTK-Gnutella


VoIP

Skype

* Skype* Gizmo* Ekiga* Wengo


Graphical User Interface

Desktop Environment

Explorer, Aston, GeoShell

* KDE* Gnome* Xfce* Enlightenment* ROX* XPde


Window Manager

Explorer, WindowsBlind, bb4win

* FluxBox* Waimea* OpenBox* IceWM* Integrity* FVWM* AfterStep* Matchbox - for


Development

Web

Dreamweaver

* Aptana* Nvu* Bluefish* cssed - CSS Editor* Quanta Plus* Screem* KompoZer


IDE

MS Visual studio

* KDevelop * NetBeans* Anjuta - Anjuta is a versatile IDE for C and C++, written for GTK/GNOME
* Eclipse - An extensible frameworks, tools and runtimes for building, deploying and managing software across the lifecycle* Eric - Python IDE* SPE - Stani's Python Editor


Education

* Stellarium - Virtual Palanetarium* The KDE Edutainment Project* FreeMind - Mind Mapping* Maxima - Mathematica and Maple equivalent


Games

only free or opensource games listed


Office

Office Suite

MS Office

* OpenOffice.org * KOffice* GNOME Office* Siag Office


Calendar

Ms Outlook

* Evolution* Mozilla Sunbird* Mozilla Calendar Extension for Thunderbird and Firefox


Desktop Publishing

Microsoft Publisher

* Scribus

Diagram Creation

Microsoft Visio

* Dia* Kivio (part of KOffice)* Umbrello UML* Visual Paradigm for UML (Community edition)* ArgoUML* Graphviz


System tools

File managers

Total Commander; FAR

* Krusader* GNU Midnight Commander* GNOME Commander* vifm


Windows Explorer

* Konqueror* Nautilus* Evidence* ROX-Filer* Thunar* Dolphin


CD Burners

Nero

* K3B* Grab&Burn* AcetoneISO* GnomeBaker* NeroLINUX* Brasero


Partition Managers

Partition Magic

* Gparted* QtParted


GUI Program installers

none

* Synaptic* Yumex* Kyum


Commercial Applications

* Cedega - Can help play Windows games on Linux* CrossOver Office - Run Windows software on Linux* AC3D - 3D modeling software


Commercial Games

* Tux Games - The online store for Linux Games


Other

* KBPublisher - knowledge base software* GRAMPS - Genealogy database recording software

что такое оценка проекта?

http://blogs.technet.com/eldar/archive/2007/11/13/2427453.aspx

1. Оценка – это не то, когда проект будет сделан. Это время в которое он уложится с заданной вероятностью. Даже если менеджер или инженер этого не знают, она все равно есть и зависит от оптимизма инженера и агрессивности менеджера к отстающим.
2. Менеджмент вносит на порядок большие ошибки в оценки проекта, складывая оценки отдельных шагов, нежели инженеры, оценивая эти индивидуальные шаги.
3. Даже небольшие ошибки в оценках индивидуальных шагов могут значительно снизить надежность оценки всего проекта.
4. И как обычно, калькулятор не заменяет мозгов, а Microsoft Project – искусства менеджмента.
5. О, да, еще одно: Не сотвори себе кумира. В том числе и из модных методик.

Project management software

Tasks of project management software

Scheduling

* Events which depend on one another in different ways or dependencies
* Scheduling people to work on, and resources required by, the various tasks commonly termed resource scheduling
* Dealing with uncertainties in the estimates of the duration of each task
* Arranging tasks to meet various deadlines
* Juggling multiple projects simultaneously to meet a variety of requirements

Calculating critical path
In many complex schedules, there will be a critical path, or series of events that depend on each other, and whose durations directly determine the length of the whole project (see also critical chain). Some software applications (for example, Dependency Structure Matrix solutions) can highlight these tasks, which are often a good candidate for any optimization effort.

Providing information
* Tasks lists for people, and allocation schedules for resources
* Overview information on how long tasks will take to complete
* Early warning of any risks to the project
* Information on workload, for planning holidays
* Evidence
* Historical information on how projects have progressed, and in particular, how actual and planned performance are related

Approaches to project management software

Desktop
Project management software can be implemented as a program that runs on the desktop of each user. This typically gives the most responsive and graphically-intense style of interface.

Desktop applications typically store their data in a file, although some have the ability to collaborate with other users (see below), or to store their data in a central database. Even a file-based project plan can be shared between users if it's on a networked drive, and no two people want to access it at once.

Web-based
* Can be accessed from any type of computer without installing software
* Ease of access-control
* Naturally multi-user
* Only one software version and installation to maintain
* Typically slower to respond than desktop applications
* Project information not available when the user (or server) is offline.
* Some packages do allow the user to "go-offline"


Personal

A personal project management application is one used at home, typically to manage lifestyle or home projects. There is considerable overlap with single user systems, although personal project management software typically involves simpler interfaces. See also non-specialised tools below.


 Single user

A single-user system is programmed with the assumption that only one person will ever need to edit the project plan at once. This may be used in small companies, or ones where only a few people are involved in top-down project planning. Desktop applications generally fall into this category.

Collaborative


A collaborative system is designed to support multiple users modifying different sections of the plan at once, for example, updating the areas they personally are responsible for such that those estimates get integrated into the overall plan. Web-based tools, including extranets, generally fall into this category, but have the limitation that they can only be used when the user has live Internet access. To address this limitation, client-server-based software tools exist that provide a Rich Client that runs on users' desktop computer and replicate project and task information to other project team members through a central server when users connect periodically to the network and other tasks


Integrated
Non-specialised tools

Criticisms of project management software

* May not be derived from a sound project management method. For example, displaying the Gantt chart view by default encourages users to focus on task scheduling too early, rather than identifying objectives and deliverables.
* May be inconsistent with the type of project management method. For example, traditional (say Waterfall) vs. agile (say Scrum).
* Focuses primarily on the planning phase and does not offer enough functionality for project tracking, control and in particular plan-adjustment. There may be excessive dependency on the first paper print-out of a project plan, which is simply a snapshot at one moment in time. The plan is dynamic; as the project progresses the plan must change to accommodate tasks that are completed early, late, re-sequenced, etc. Good management software should not only facilitate this, but assist with impact assessment and communication of plan changes.
* Does not make a clear distinction between the planning phase and post planning phase, leading to user confusion and frustration when the software does not behave as expected. For example, shortening the duration of a task when an additional human resource is assigned to it while the project is still being planned.
* Offer complicated features to meet the needs of project management professionals, which must be understood in order to effectively use the product. Additional features may be so complicated as to be of no use to anyone. Complex task prioritization and resource leveling algorithms for example can produce results that make no intuitive sense, and overallocation is often more simply resolved manually.
* Some people may achieve better results using simpler technique, (e.g. pen and paper), yet feel pressured into using project management software by company policy (discussion).
* Similar to PowerPoint, project management software might shield the manager from important interpersonal contact.
* New types of software are challenging the traditional definition of Project Management. Frequently, users of project management software are not actually managing a discrete project. For instance, managing the ongoing marketing for an already-released product is not a "project" in the traditional sense of the term; it does not involve management of discrete resources working on a something with a discrete beginning/end. Groupware applications now add "project management" features that directly support this type of workflow-oriented project management. Classically-trained Project Managers may argue whether this is "sound project management." However, the end-users of such tools will refer to it as such, and the de-facto definition of the term Project Management may change.
* When there are multiple larger projects, project management software can be very useful. Nevertheless, one should probably not use management software if only a single small project is involved, as management software incurs a larger time-overhead than is worthwhile.

Resource management

The required data are: the demands for various resources, forecasted by time period into the future as far as is reasonable, as well as the resources' configurations required in those demands, and the supply of the resources, again forecasted by time period into the future as far as is reasonable.

HR (Human Resource) Management - The science of allocating human resources among various projects or business units, maximizing the utilization of available personnel resources to achieve business goals; and performing the activities that are necessary in the maintenance of that workforce through identification of staffing requirements, planning and oversight of payroll and benefits, education and professional development, and administering their work-life needs. The efficient and effective deployment of an organization's personnel resources where and when they are needed, and in possession of the tools, training and skills required by the work.

Resource management

The required data are: the demands for various resources, forecasted by time period into the future as far as is reasonable, as well as the resources' configurations required in those demands, and the supply of the resources, again forecasted by time period into the future as far as is reasonable.

HR (Human Resource) Management - The science of allocating human resources among various projects or business units, maximizing the utilization of available personnel resources to achieve business goals; and performing the activities that are necessary in the maintenance of that workforce through identification of staffing requirements, planning and oversight of payroll and benefits, education and professional development, and administering their work-life needs. The efficient and effective deployment of an organization's personnel resources where and when they are needed, and in possession of the tools, training and skills required by the work.

Collaborative software

is software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve their goals. Collaborative software is the basis for computer supported cooperative work.

Such software systems as email, calendaring, text chat, wiki belong in this category. It has been suggested that Metcalfe's law — the more people who use something, the more valuable it becomes — applies to such software.

is software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve their goals. Collaborative software is the basis for computer supported cooperative work.

Such software systems as email, calendaring, text chat, wiki belong in this category. It has been suggested that Metcalfe's law — the more people who use something, the more valuable it becomes — applies to such software.

* Web-based collaborative tools
* Software collaborative tools




Electronic communication tools

Electronic communication tools send messages, files, data, or documents between people and hence facilitate the sharing of information. Examples include:

* synchronous conferencing
* e-mail
* faxing
* voice mail
* Wikis
* Web publishing
* revision control

 Electronic conferencing tools


Electronic conferencing tools facilitate the sharing of information, but in a more interactive way. Examples include:

* Internet forums (also known as message boards or discussion boards) — a virtual discussion platform to facilitate and manage online text messages
* Online chat — a virtual discussion platform to facilitate and manage real-time text messages
* Instant Messaging
* Telephony — telephones allow users to interact
* Video conferencing — networked PCs share video and audio signals
* Data conferencing — networked PCs share a common whiteboard that each user can modify
* Application sharing — users can access a shared document or application from their respective computers simultaneously in real time
* Electronic meeting systems (EMS) — a conferencing system built into a room. The special purpose room will usually contain a large video projector interlinked with numerous PCs..

 Collaborative management tools

Collaborative management tools facilitate and manage group activities. Examples include:

* electronic calendars (also called time management software) — schedule events and automatically notify and remind group members
* project management systems — schedule, track, and chart the steps in a project as it is being completed
* workflow systems — collaborative management of tasks and documents within a knowledge-based business process
* knowledge management systems — collect, organize, manage, and share various forms of information
* prediction markets — let a group of people predict together the outcome of future events
* extranet systems (sometimes also known as 'project extranets') — collect, organize, manage and share information associated with the delivery of a project (eg: the construction of a building)
* hosted intranet systems (such as Hyperoffice,Hotoffice or Intranets.com) — collect, organize, manage and share information associated with the delivery of a project (eg: the construction of a building)
* social software systems — organize social relations of groups
* online spreadsheets — collaborate and share structured data and information

Collaborative software can be either web based (such as Cool Conference Live, UseModWiki, Scoop or Commonware), , or desktop systems (such as CVS or RCS).

GanttProject

-licensed (open-source) Java based, project management software that runs under the Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems.

It features a Gantt chart for project scheduling of tasks, and doing resource management using resource load charts. It has a number of reporting options (MS Project, HTML, PDF, spreadsheets).

The major features include:

* Task hierarchy and dependencies
* Gantt chart
* Resource load chart
* Generation of PERT chart
* PDF and HTML reports
* MS Project import/export
* Exchange data with spreadsheet applications
* WebDAV based groupwork


http://ganttproject.biz/

Project management software

Tasks of project management software

 Scheduling

One of the most common tasks is to schedule a series of events, and the complexity of this task can vary considerably depending on how the tool is used. Some common challenges include:

* Events which depend on one another in different ways or dependencies
* Scheduling people to work on, and resources required by, the various tasks commonly termed resource scheduling
* Dealing with uncertainties in the estimates of the duration of each task
* Arranging tasks to meet various deadlines
* Juggling multiple projects simultaneously to meet a variety of requirements

Calculating critical path

In many complex schedules, there will be a critical path, or series of events that depend on each other, and whose durations directly determine the length of the whole project (see also critical chain). Some software applications (for example, Dependency Structure Matrix solutions) can highlight these tasks, which are often a good candidate for any optimization effort.

Providing information

Project planning software needs to provide a lot of information to various people, to justify the time spent using it. Typical requirements might include:

* Tasks lists for people, and allocation schedules for resources
* Overview information on how long tasks will take to complete
* Early warning of any risks to the project
* Information on workload, for planning holidays
* Evidence
* Historical information on how projects have progressed, and in particular, how actual and planned performance are related

Approaches to project management software

 Desktop

Project management software can be implemented as a program that runs on the desktop of each user. This typically gives the most responsive and graphically-intense style of interface.

Desktop applications typically store their data in a file, although some have the ability to collaborate with other users (see below), or to store their data in a central database. Even a file-based project plan can be shared between users if it's on a networked drive, and no two people want to access it at once.

Desktop applications can be written to run in a heterogeneous environment of multiple operating systems, although it's unusual.

Web-based

Project management software can be implemented as a Web application, accessed through an intranet or extranet using a web browser.

This has all the usual advantages and disadvantages of web applications:

* Can be accessed from any type of computer without installing software
* Ease of access-control
* Naturally multi-user
* Only one software version and installation to maintain
* Typically slower to respond than desktop applications
* Project information not available when the user (or server) is offline.
* Some packages do allow the user to "go-offline"

 Personal

A personal project management application is one used at home, typically to manage lifestyle or home projects. There is considerable overlap with single user systems, although personal project management software typically involves simpler interfaces. See also non-specialised tools below.

Single user

A single-user system is programmed with the assumption that only one person will ever need to edit the project plan at once. This may be used in small companies, or ones where only a few people are involved in top-down project planning. Desktop applications generally fall into this category.

 Collaborative

A collaborative system is designed to support multiple users modifying different sections of the plan at once, for example, updating the areas they personally are responsible for such that those estimates get integrated into the overall plan. Web-based tools, including extranets, generally fall into this category, but have the limitation that they can only be used when the user has live Internet access. To address this limitation, client-server-based software tools exist that provide a Rich Client that runs on users' desktop computer and replicate project and task information to other project team members through a central server when users connect periodically to the network and other tasks. Some tools allow team members to check out their schedules (and others' as read only) to work on them while not on the network. When reconnecting to the database, any changes are synchronized with the other schedules.

 Integrated

An integrated system combines project management or project planning, with many other aspects of company life. For example, projects can have bug tracking issues assigned to each project, the list of project customers becomes a customer relationship management module, and each person on the project plan has their own task lists, calendars, and messaging functionality associated with their projects.

Similarly, specialised tools like SourceForge integrate project management software with source control (CVS) software and bug-tracking software, so that each piece of information can be integrated into the same system.

Non-specialised tools

While specialised software may be common, and heavily promoted by each vendor, there are a vast range of other software (and non-software) tools used to plan and schedule projects.

* Calendaring software can often handle scheduling as easily as dedicated software
* Spreadsheets are very versatile, and can be used to calculate things not anticipated by the designers.

 Criticisms of project management software

The following may apply in general, or only to specific products.

* May not be derived from a sound project management method. For example, displaying the Gantt chart view by default encourages users to focus on task scheduling too early, rather than identifying objectives and deliverables.
* May be inconsistent with the type of project management method. For example, traditional (say Waterfall) vs. agile (say Scrum).
* Focuses primarily on the planning phase and does not offer enough functionality for project tracking, control and in particular plan-adjustment. There may be excessive dependency on the first paper print-out of a project plan, which is simply a snapshot at one moment in time. The plan is dynamic; as the project progresses the plan must change to accommodate tasks that are completed early, late, re-sequenced, etc. Good management software should not only facilitate this, but assist with impact assessment and communication of plan changes.
* Does not make a clear distinction between the planning phase and post planning phase, leading to user confusion and frustration when the software does not behave as expected. For example, shortening the duration of a task when an additional human resource is assigned to it while the project is still being planned.
* Offer complicated features to meet the needs of project management professionals, which must be understood in order to effectively use the product. Additional features may be so complicated as to be of no use to anyone. Complex task prioritization and resource leveling algorithms for example can produce results that make no intuitive sense, and overallocation is often more simply resolved manually.
* Some people may achieve better results using simpler technique, (e.g. pen and paper), yet feel pressured into using project management software by company policy (discussion).
* Similar to PowerPoint, project management software might shield the manager from important interpersonal contact.
* New types of software are challenging the traditional definition of Project Management. Frequently, users of project management software are not actually managing a discrete project. For instance, managing the ongoing marketing for an already-released product is not a "project" in the traditional sense of the term; it does not involve management of discrete resources working on a something with a discrete beginning/end. Groupware applications now add "project management" features that directly support this type of workflow-oriented project management. Classically-trained Project Managers may argue whether this is "sound project management." However, the end-users of such tools will refer to it as such, and the de-facto definition of the term Project Management may change.
* When there are multiple larger projects, project management software can be very useful. Nevertheless, one should probably not use management software if only a single small project is involved, as management software incurs a larger time-overhead than is worthwhile.

 See also

* List of project management software
* Project management
* Project planning
* Project accounting
* PERT
* Project Portfolio Management

External links

* Project & Portfolio management software overview
* Paper comparing Project Management Software (2.6 MB)

Books

* Eric Uyttewaal: Dynamic Scheduling With Microsoft(r) Project 2000: The Book By and For Professionals, ISBN 0-9708276-0-1
* George Suhanic: Computer-Aided Project Management, ISBN 0-19-511591-0
* Richard E. Westney: Computerized Management of Multiple Small Projects, ISBN 0-8247-8645-9

Software: Project Management: Open Source

* Achievo - A web-based project management tool, offering basic project and customer management. (PHP)
* Air Todo - Offers a project management tool with zero administration.
* Austin - C++ parser for which converts XML-based project files into Gantt charts.
* dotproject - BSD-licensed PHP-MySQL web-based project management application, with Gantt chart support.
* Double Choco Latte - Issue tracking and project management. Part of Gnu Enterprise project.
* Eberom - CRM and Project Management Tool developed with Java and running with MySQL and TomCat. [GPL]
* FUTURe Project Planner - A time management application written in Java including todo lists, Gantt charts, diaries, pert charts. Currently in early project stages.
* Gantt Project - Graphical Java program for editing Gantt charts. GPL
* Gforge Project Management Tool - This part of the GForge collaborative development environment allows fine-grained control over tasklists, bugtracking, and gantt charts, with account management integrated into the overall product.
* jToDoList - Provides a todolist application written in Java.
* PHProjekt - Web-based groupware tool which includes calendar, project-management, time-card management, PDA synchronization, email, voting system and personal to-do list management.
* Project Management Interface - Web-based project management application. Provides portal management to a large number of coarsely-managed projects.
* Project/Open - Web-based project resource planning system, with project rooms, and tools for managing clients, invoices, time, and cost. Designed for the advertizing, IT consulting, translation and knowledge management sectors.
* Projectory - Open source, platform-independent, web-enabled project management tool for software projects based on Perl and MySQL.
* PyGantt - Reads a project description from a XML formatted file and outputs an HTML Gantt diagram.
* ScrumWiki - Simple Wiki-based tool for applying Scrum project management techniques. Collaborative, open source, cross platform and with full version control.
* Taskjuggler - A tool to schedule and track complex projects. The textual project description is compiled into schedules, status reports and GANTT charts.
* ToutDoux - A project manager for GNOME part of the GNU project. French/English.
* Track+ Issue Tracking System - Web based tool for bug, issue, and task tracking. Offers Gantt charts, diagrams, configurable workflows, email reminders of due tasks and PDF reports.
* TUTOS Groupware Suite - Web-based groupware suite.
* WebCollab - A web-based system for projects and project management.
* WR Time Tracker - PHP-based work time tracking system, under X11-style "Liberal Freeware License".

List of project management software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_project_management_software

Open-Source desktop applications

OpenProj
GanttProject


Open-Source web-based application

dotProject
Project.net


Proprietary desktop applications

Microsoft Project
Collanos Workplace
Tracker Suite
Primavera Project Planner


Proprietary web-based applications

@task
Teamwork
Daptiv