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Screenshot
Demonstration of the OpenProj GUI |
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| Developer(s) | Serena Software |
|---|---|
| Initial release | August 6, 2007 |
| Stable release | OpenProj 1.4 / September 30, 2008 |
| Development status | Active |
| Written in | Java |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Project management software |
| License | Common Public Attribution License |
| Website | OpenProj |
OpenProj is an open source project management software intended as a complete desktop replacement for Microsoft Project, being able to open existing native Project files. It was developed by Projity in 2007. OpenProj runs on the Java Platform, allowing it to run on a variety of different operating systems.[1]
OpenProj moved out of beta with the release of Version 1.0, on January 10, 2008.[2]
In late 2008 Projity was acquired by Serena Software.[3] As of early 2009 support for OpenProj and communication about development of OpenProj seem to have been suspended.[4] However, there were active commits continuing to the CVS, indicating that a member of the open source community was improving the program and/or correcting technical issues.[5] Whether or not the software remains open-source under these commercial conditions remains to be seen.
The current version includes:
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It has been downloaded over 2,000,000 times in over 142 countries. Three months after the beta version release, on SourceForge an average of 60,000 copies a month were downloaded. With a SourceForge activity percentile of 99.964, at number 15 it was listed just ahead of the popular messaging application Pidgin (software).[6] In May 2008 the total number of downloads on SourceForge reached 500,000.[7]
Compared to MS Project, which it closely emulates, OpenProj has a similar user interface (UI), and a similar approach to construction of a project plan: create an indented task list or work breakdown structure (WBS), set durations, create links (either by (a) mouse drag, (b) selection and then button-down, or (c) manually type in the 'predecessor' column), assign resources. The columns (fields) are the same as for MS Project. Users of the one software should be broadly comfortable using the other. Costs are the same: labour, hourly rate, material usage, and fixed costs: these are all provided.
However, there are small differences in the UI (comments apply to version 1.4), which take some adaptation for those familiar with MS Project, i.e. OpenProj can't link upwards with method (c), inserting tasks is more difficult than in MSProject, and OpenProj can't create resources on the fly (have to create them first in the resource sheet). There are also several more serious limitations with OpenProj, the chief of these being the unavailability of more detailed views and reports typical of MS Project. For example, though the fields exist for cost, there is no quick way to show them other than to manually insert them. This requires a relatively advanced user: someone who knows what the fields might be called and how to use them.
As of version 1.4, bugs in the software generally only manifest for users who are attempting more advanced features. For example, tasks may mysteriously start at a certain time (they behave as if they have a 'Start no earlier than' constraint even though none exists, and the project start date is not a constraint), links show gaps, fixed cost for summary tasks neither sums nor is editable, etc. Sometimes these errors are solved by restarting the software, but others are persistent.