Hi all, i need to do a programme of works for a building project & i’m using excel at the moment but i could do with something a bit better looking I’ve seen ones done on MS project before but having seen the cost of it i’m wondering if there’s anything else out there?

What’s like MS Project but cheaper

Stabbing your genitals with a sharpened pencil?

To be a bit more helpful: http://www.osalt.com/project

Stoner’s pretty much hit the nail on the head. (Edit: about the stabbing yourself bit.)

OpenProj would be a more serious answer, though 🙂

But unless you really have no choice in the matter, use Excel or similar. It’s a lot less pain in the long run.

Openproj does the job…

…and Ive never met a Gantt chart that wasnt already out of date by the time it hit the print-tray.

Good Ol’ Gantt – for really simple projects, you can make Gantts using excel (search you tube for how)….

DrP

To explain my hatred of the software: Gantt and Project are fine for setting out the basic timeline of your project, but as soon as things get complicated (dividing tasks, changing resources, etc.) the whole thing rapidly becomes a nightmare, where you spend more time getting the dates right than you do actually working.

We have full time project managers who spend their lives in MS Project and still never have a model which bears any resemblance to reality. I can’t think of a worse way to spend your life (although stabbing your genitals with a sharpened pencil, would be getting close).

what they all say

its fine for making very basic project plans but a total PITA for anything more complicated.

and so in summary, for basic needs, dont bother with Project, use Excel instead

Openproj or open workbench.

geoffj’s suggestion isn’t a bad one, either – although I do think they’re useful for setting out an initial plan, it’s the maintenance that’s a nightmare.

The problem is when the client insists on it. Then you’re stuffed 🙁

I’ve trialled loads of PM apps over the last couple of years. Best one for my/our purpose is TeamworkPM.

Other notable considerations include Smartsheet and Liquid Planner.

I don’t care about the project just look what you did to my plan!!!!!!!!!

Google Software for Students…

The problem with MS Project is that people think project management is just about producing a nice chart. While that’s important, and MS Project is fine for that, it’s a small fraction of project management.