Which Project Management Software is adequate for Software & Non-Software Projects?

Question

PMS = (Project Management Software)

I used trac for software development some time ago. Right now I'm searching for a new more powerful (scheduling, gantt charts, ...) free solution (as in free beer ;-) and free to install on my server) for my current software project.

Besides the current software project, abstract project management features like issue-tracking & scheduling would be great for coordinating a group of volunteers for real-life projects as well. I would want one solution for both purposes, so that I have the hassle of installation, getting used to the system and administration only once.

So I tried redmine but the problem is it seems to be designed for software projects only. I can't suggest such a solution for the volunteer-group if tickets/issues would have to be of type bug, feature, ...

I shortlisted the following six PMS from the wikipedia comparison:

• Project.net
• Project-Open
• Redmine
• Trac
• Endeavour Software Project Management
• eGroupWare

I guess they are all more or less fine for software development but would you consider any of these to be good for the non-software project as well?

Cliff Notes:

I would want a start page situation like in trac. The start-page is a wiki presenting the project and not the PMS. But you can log into the PMS from there.

Feature-wish list: wiki, Issue tracking, revision control, scheduling & gantt charts, forums (least important) (Btw: I'm very aware that I can't expect everything to be perfect ;-)

1. Do you know a suitable solution for software and real-life projects or a highly customizable PMS where I can easily remove sth. like "browse source"(trac) and rename things like ticket/issue-types "bug", "feature"?

2. Any experience good/bad with the above mentioned six PMS? I would personally guess that "Redmine" and "Endeavour Software Project Management" are too focused on software projects.

Answer 1

You might want to try setting up different "trackers" and workflows in Redmine. You should be able to name these different processes in non-software language. If you're willing to edit a little code, you can also change the labels on a lot of things pretty easily. E.g., Version becomes Milestone.

Answer 2

I'm a core contributor to web2project and most of our users are not software people at all. In fact, it appears that law firms and contractors (as in the building construction type) are nearly 80% of our installed based on surveys.

In our case, everything revolves around the concept of a Project - tasks, files, forums, helpdesk tickets, even risks - and is treated that way.

Answer 3

Take a look at the IT derivative of our project management portal product (free open source version is available) http://yoxel.com/project-management-portal.html

For non-software projects I think email could work pretty well, and here is a new product we're working on that makes the email collaboration experience more suitable for project management: yoxel.com/personal-commitment-manager.html

Answer 4

Take a look at project kaiser (http://www.projectkaiser.com). It's a web-based project management and issue tracking software, with Gantt, wikis and forums included. Successfully used in both software and non-software projects.