Top 11 project management tools for 2016

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Editor's note: Looking for newer information? An updated version of this article for 2018, focusing on open source project management tools for agile teams, is also available.

For the last three years, I have rounded up the most popular open source project management tools for Opensource.com readers. As there continues to be major reader interest in this area, I decided to take a look back at the tools we covered in 2014 and 2015, and give you updates on all of these projects. I looked to see which projects had new releases, notable new and improved features, and more.

Let's take a look at each of these projects and try to answer some of the questions readers have had in the comments of last year's edition, including which are still in active development, provide hosting options, offer a mobile solution, and more.

MyCollab

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MyCollab is a multi-purpose solution which features tools for customer relationship management, document management, and project management. In this case, let's 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 comes in three editions, of which the community edition is the free and open source option.

The current MyCollab version is 5.2.9 released on March 14, 2016. With a previous release, 5.2.6, mobile readiness has been greatly improved.

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

Odoo

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Odoo is a full suite of business applications, of which project management is just one. Odoo is a multiplatform solution, supporting Windows, several Linux distributions, and other operating systems as well.

The community edition is, of course, free and open source, but limited in features compared to the enterprise version. Odoo project management has some interesting features, such as Gantt charts, a Kanban view, tasks and issues, graphs, and more. Notable 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.

Taiga

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

Notable pros 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 is licensed under GNU Affero GPLv3, and requires a stack which includes Nginx, Python and PostgreSQL. The latest release, 1.10.0 Dryas Octopetala, is available on GitHub.

OrangeScrum

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

Notable for OrangeScrum are its new skin, based on the Google Material Design. Android and iOS mobile appications are expected for version 2.0, in June 2016.

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

Tuleap Open ALM

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With a focus 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.

Pros for Tuleap are support for agile, traditional, hybrid, or custom processes for project management. It supports planning, sprints, tasks, reports, and more. This tool is very suitable 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

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Agilefant has focuses on agile approaches involving Kanban and Scrum, but also can be bent to support traditional approaches to project management such as the waterfall method.

Agilefant offers a free and open source product that can be downloaded and deployed into your own private cloud. Called a solo plan, you can also sign up for a free cloud offering.

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

Redmine

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Redmine is a web-based project management tool. Where it lacks some of the enterprise features, it makes up for that with strong features such as a wiki, repository, and issue tracker.

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[

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]project-open[ is an enterprise project management tool with many features, including support for agile methods. The software is released under a mixed source model, or a "dual license," meaning that at its core it is open source (GPL), with additional modules released under a commercial license. ]project-open[ runs as client software on both Windows and Linux, depending on a stack of open source packages.

]po[ is currently working on version 5.0, which includes a Gantt editor, a portfolio Pplanner 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

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With its feature set, OpenProject is designed to support your project teams throughout the whole project lifecycle and offers collaborative project planning, timeline reports, task management, time and cost reporting, Scrum, and much more. Some aspects of OpenProject, which makes this tool stand out, are its user interface, extensive documentation, API, and rich feature set, which makes it a good choice for enterprise needs.

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

OpenProject is licensed under GPLv3. Its current version 5.0.16 is available for download.

LibrePlan

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LibrePlan is a web-based application, making project management available to not just the project manager, but the entire project team, and if necessary across organizations. This is another full featured tool supporting resource allocation, Gantt charts, financials, and more. These features coupled with a web based application make LibrePlan a great collaboration platform.

LibrePlan provides a modern design and balanced user interface, as well as, good and complete documentation, built in reporting, and professional support. A mobile application is available for Android, Windows phone, and other platforms.

LibrePlan is licensed under GPLv3. It requires components a Java runtime environment, PostgreSQL, and Tomcat. Its available for download, and the source code can be found on GitHub.

ProjectLibre

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ProjectLibre is an award winning tool, which has been downloaded over two million times in 200 countries. 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 more robust engine.

ProjectLibre is licensed under a Common Public Attribution License Version 1.0. It's based on Java, and available for download.


This is by no means an exhaustive list. Are you using a tool we did not cover that you think should have been mentioned? Leave a comment below. Or, feel free to share your experience with one of the tools we did cover.

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19 Comments

Over.io is project management tool I am using. Its recommended integration by Github itself. I think it deserves to hookup on your list.

Check out:

http://overv.io/

Good article :)

Excuse me, LibrePlan is not GPL but the Much worse and restricted AGPL. Please correct this.

Critical Path Analysis and Arrow Diagrams are iconic features of Project Management and have been since the fifties and should not be airbrushed from the project environment to be replaced with eye candy. There is clearly a need for transparency on whether CPA is included in the package of tools for project management. Glossing over this matter is not acceptable and I would be concerned if it was.

Thank you so much for introducing great project management tools! I have tried MyCollab and found that it suits our project's needs very well! Great tool!

Hi, Web2project is other interesting project, write in PHP and very easy for your use.

Thank you so much for this helpful information! We use Redmine, but I will be exploring other options.

Thanks for the article. I'd have like to have seen a summary chart of features for comparison. Also why not rank/rate the products? This is a bit like a big ToDo list right now, but if you could rank them or categorise them a bit at least I could start testing in priority order.

Can you please suggest Free PMS/ Task Management Tool that we can setup in LAN and provide some reports about daily tasks and project related details as well as developers

Hey Robin Muilwijk, You can also try out Brightpod (www.brightpod.com), a project management software designed for marketing teams. Helps marketers get clarity and visibility when working on multiple campaigns, projects, tasks, due dates etc.

Great job man!
Nice article on project management tool.
I like Orangescrum the most. The UI makes much easier to use the tool.
Having some awesome features, this tools should be on top of the list.
Please have a look closely. You will love it and I am sure you will end of moving Orangescrum to top of the list. :)

Interested

Thanks for this awesome list of project management soft. It would be wonderful if you try another project management tool GanttPRO https://ganttpro.com/.
GanttPRO is a Gantt chart maker with easy intutuve interface with such key features as exporting from MS Project, critical path making, milestones. Also you can save you templates in CSV or PDF and show it to decision makers.
Gantt chart GanttPRO is the easiest way to define project deadlines and resourses.

I have made my own management tool if you are interested you can use it for free, its secure and super easy to use (link : https://freelancermt.herokuapp.com).

And you can contact me if you want to use it locally ;-)

See you,

Does anyone know an interesting open source PM tool that has following features ?
- tree structure of new projects
- users in different levels so company a does not see company b
- time sheet / schedule from all the employers
- task dependency (mix): one time you can connect, one time you can disconnect
- mobile
- approval feature: decline or accept a task

Thank you!

Hi alba, you may try http://freelancermt.herokuapp.com, there is :

- a simple tree structure (client / projects) for each projects
- user / client / tasks / ...in a different level so only you can see what you are working on
- task dependency
- mobile
- notes and credentials

Have a nice day,

In reply to by alba (not verified)

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