This is an overview of OpenProject. OpenProject is a web-based, open-source project management tool, and it's quite impressive. It serves as a central platform to track multiple projects simultaneously.
Upon loading OpenProject, the initial view often presents a project overview. As a comprehensive project management tool, it allows tracking numerous projects. For instance, you might have demo projects alongside ones you create yourself, populated with tasks relevant to your specific needs.
Clicking into a specific project reveals its overview dashboard, typically a board featuring various widgets. You'll find elements like a project description, project status indicators, summaries of task statuses across different phases, lists of team members, and a project calendar. This dashboard is customizable; widgets can be resized, repositioned, or added – perhaps showing time spent or other relevant metrics. It provides a flexible front view for the project you're managing.
Key Features
Work Packages
The core functionality revolves around work packages. These consist of components like phases and tasks. Phases act as collections of tasks, while tasks represent individual activities within a phase. You can easily expand or collapse phases for better visibility. When examining a specific task, you can access detailed information. Tasks can be assigned to a parent phase, given a description (e.g., "Dig a hole"), and assigned to specific team members. Notably, you can differentiate between the person assigned to do the work and the person accountable for ensuring it gets done. Time estimation is possible, and the tool allows tracking actual time spent. Start and end dates can be set, progress can be logged (as a percentage), and tasks can be prioritized (e.g., high, low, immediate). Tasks can also be linked to a pre-defined budget, ensuring funding sources are clear. Relevant files can be attached directly to tasks.
Activity Tracking and Collaboration
An activity tracker logs all changes and updates related to a task, such as creation, date changes, assignments, description updates, and progress logs. Beyond assignees and accountable individuals, you can add 'watchers' – team members who need to stay informed about a task even if they aren't directly involved. This flexibility supports team awareness.
Multiple Views
Once tasks and phases are defined, OpenProject offers various ways to visualize them. There's a card-based view for those who prefer Kanban-style boards. A traditional Gantt chart view displays tasks chronologically, with phases visually encapsulating their constituent tasks. A calendar view plots tasks and phases onto a calendar based on their scheduled dates.
Time and Costs Management
A dedicated time and costs view allows focusing purely on financial aspects. You can log costs associated with specific activities (e.g., "procurement of raw materials") and assign them to the project budget. The system tracks overall budget allocation versus actual spending, providing a clear financial picture and progress percentage. While detailed expense tracking (like uploading receipts for individual purchases) might be a desired enhancement, the existing cost logging provides valuable budget oversight.
Additional Modules
OpenProject includes other potentially useful modules. Forums facilitate discussions about project happenings. A documents section allows uploading relevant files like project proposals. Meetings can be scheduled and managed within the tool to coordinate team efforts. The team members module helps manage user roles and responsibilities.
Customization and Integration
The look and feel of the tool are customizable. Users can select from various themes or apply their own branding, including logos and favicons. The platform supports integrations through webhooks and likely an API. Plugins enable connections with other tools like Slack, add features like reCAPTCHA or two-factor authentication, and support single sign-on methods (OmniAuth, etc.). GDPR settings are also available.
Mobile Accessibility
The tool is fairly workable in a mobile format. While perhaps not the most aesthetically refined mobile experience, it's functional. Users can navigate between projects, view work packages, filter tasks (e.g., by assignee), and perform most desktop actions, albeit in a more compact interface standard for responsive websites.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- ✅ Comprehensive feature set for project management.
- ✅ Open-source, allowing for potential customization and community support.
- ✅ Flexible task management with roles, tracking, and dependencies.
- ✅ Multiple project views (List, Cards, Gantt, Calendar).
- ✅ Integrated time tracking, cost reporting, and budgeting.
- ✅ Customizable interface and branding options.
- ✅ Good integration capabilities and plugin support.
- ✅ Functional mobile responsiveness.
Cons
- ❌ Mobile user interface could be more polished.
- ❌ Lacks granular expense tracking features like receipt uploads for individual items.
- ❌ Can have a learning curve due to the extensive features.
Use and Availability
Where to Get It
OpenProject is a web-based application. You can access it through a web browser. It can be self-hosted on your own servers or used via their cloud-based service.
Pricing
OpenProject offers a free, open-source Community edition which includes many core features. They also provide paid Enterprise cloud and on-premise versions with additional features and professional support, catering to larger organizations or those needing advanced capabilities.
