ProjectLibre vs. RationalPlan

As a project management tool, especially with more straightforward timelines and components, ProjectLibre is a great alternative to some of the costly PM software tools. I have managed many projects with both MS Project and ProjectLibre, and I think ProjectLibre is a great alternative, especially when I've worked in regions of the world where users cannot afford other PM tools.

Incentivized

Appropriate as a great alternative to MS Project. RationalPlan provides most of the features needed to develop and maintain mid-level complex schedules. Less Appropriate for large complex schedules of long duration. These can be a challenge due to Duration at top-level. It is also a challenge to generate reports for management - reporting feature is limited.

• ProjectLibre is great for project management. It allows us to establish milestones and timeline planning for projects.
• It allows us to stay organized among multiple projects.
• It is extremely simple to use with a simple interface. It takes little time to plan out a project with key dates and provides a nice graphic.

Incentivized

• Portfolio view is great to get a feel for how your programme is running at a glance and which areas possibly might require attention. The fact that you can customise your view by adding your own columns is another plus.
• All project information in one tool is a big plus for me considering the amount of projects we run with. This really improves efficiency and saves me time. You have the ability to add documents to tasks, manage risks, email resources tasks due for projects they are assigned to(might need some refinement depending on your requirements), material db with costing etc.

• Customer service is not there - I understand that the product is open source but some kind of forum with FAQs, etc. can come in handy
• App crashes at time for no reason. There have been instances where you try to create a new task and all the diagrams and other items get messed up

Incentivized

• Milestones should be a primary option instead of 0h to create one.

Incentivized

There are a lot of discussions online about it, and a customer addition based manual. While that can lead to some confusion, I am not the kind of person who likes talking on the phone. So it is easier to go online with ProjectLibre!

Incentivized

I had to ask for support once and got a response immediately.

We decided to go with ProjectLibre because it is a free tool and there is a great community that supports us in case there are any questions or concerns about the software. This has allowed us to be able to invest time without having to worry about licensing costs or anything else.

Incentivized

RationalPlan is cost-effective and allows most users to prepare and manage their schedule. The software lacks comprehensive reporting and duration changes at the top level of a project.

• ProjectLibre is free so it has allowed us to collaborate on MS Project files for users that run a Mac or Linux machine
• Learning curve is minimal since it so closely resembles MS Project
• Not all MS Project features (especially the newer editions) are present but it's best for users that are not the primary PM to user ProjectLibre.

Incentivized

• Helps explain the target schedule and resource estimates for cost of the project

Incentivized