Project management question

[Alma J Wetzker]

Roger Oberholtzer wrote:
> I have been struggling with cross platform open source project
> management software. The situation is not pretty. All packages seems to
> be very far from usable. 'Little' things like task dependencies (as in,
> many do not support the notion). Or getting a simple list of the total
> hours that an individual will spend on the project.
> 
> I have been closest with
> 
> 	egroueware's project module (PHP-based) - But it does not
> 		do task dependencies. If a task slides, you must
> 		edit all effected tasks by hand. You must independently
> 		keep track of which tasks those are...
> 
> 	GanttProject (Java based) - No resource summaries. Just their
> 		names and addresses. Not time they are requiring.
> 
> I have tried a literal plethora of these things. But not a single one
> was usable. Which means that either I am expecting too much (don't think
> so) or these tools are not understood in the Open Source community
> (can't think so).
> 
> There was a threat to me today that I would have to start using MS
> Project. Talk about messing up a good day. And generally souring the
> tone of this mail as well...
> 
> Does anyone have any pointers to this kind of thing? There are lots of
> crappy ones out there. I mean pointers to ones that seriously work. Ones
> that, perhaps, you yourself are using.
> 
> And if I suggest we buy one, I have been told it will be MS Project. And
> I may not get away with codeweavers/wine on that one as it seems there
> are 'issues'.
> 
> So, help !!!!

I don't want to be the one who rains on your day, but I have yet to see decent 
project management software.  Period.  I can't find much to run on linux that 
covers what you need.  None are cross platform.  The *.mpp format is 
proprietary so no one can read it but M$.  M$ Project will not do several 
things that you want done (like allocate resources fractionally [at least I 
could not get it to]).

I am beginning to understand why so many software projects are unmanageable 
and fail.  If software folks don't understand project management well enough 
to write the software, how can they know enough to manage a project?

I have been trying to get M$ project to work under linux.  No joy.  If you 
find something, let us know.

     -- Alma