RationalPlan Reviews & Product Details

Value! MS Project is a hugely expensive piece of software. I needed something better than a spreadsheet but couldn't justify Microsoft's juggernaut.

The learning curve. This is the same with whatever software I chose but the documentation was a little lacking (MS Project is well documented with books etc to supplement the manual).

Ongoing planning and scheduling. Spreadsheets weren't good at moving tasks about.

I need a project planning/mgmt tool that is simple to use, fast to learn, and has the basics. Something that allows me to create project timelines, with lag times and other standard constraints and interdependencies. I do not have time to learn the more complex tools, and rationalplan has filled the void for me.

It looks like it's built in Java. Does not use the OS X interface elements, such as the Save dialog box. It works though and it is usable.

I am just trying to manage simple research projects in which I have very few people working on the project, and so just want to get a basic idea of how lag times and other interdependencies will effects when major project phases are likely to complete.

Ease of use, clear gantt chart and useful for budgeting

Cant shorten the bars from the left side by drawing them

construction of 45 houses, ideal for programming time lines and resources

Fully featured. Easy to learn. Does a full import of mpp files.

As far as I can tell, I cannot export to mpp files. I guess it is doable through a xml file, but this is implies an extra step I don´t want my colleagues to have to do.

We work in development of scientific equipment in an operational setting. The group includes scientists, many using Macs, and engineers, mostly using windows and microsoft project.

The ability to set up a projects and track the progress

it is not very easy to learn are your own. Needed to have an instructor/expert

employee are more productive and timely

It works as a very competent project management tool, and is free on Ubuntu for single-use. It will open and save MS Project files - which helps with sharing plans.

Could do with additional analytics (unless these are on more expensive version) No full open-source edition (esp for Windows)

Planning relatively simple projects and sharing with other teams

Simple and straight forward project planner. The quality is in the ease of use and functionality. RationalPlan is a tool I use in every project. Helps to organize the stages of a project (I use the Multi version)/phases and all the activities. Nowadays I even use it to calculate costs and resources (hours) to plan the project portfolio. Support from RationalPlan is exceeding expectation. Prompt and correct response. The team solves issues swiftly.

The reports on costs and resource usage are very detailled. I would prefer an overview of highlights on resource capacity (though I can present it on a screen, printing it is not really easy). Next to that I would like to print a full project report (front page, financial overview, gantt, resources and costs) in 1 print. Risk management is still minimalistic (for most sufficient though).

Project planning; resource planning (multi projects); fast adjustments in complex projects with a lot of changes during the start-up of the project(s).

I like the simplicity of the program and ease of use while still having enough functions to create meaningful schedules.

At times I run across buggy issues while using the program that keeps lines highlighted.

The ability to create clear Gantt charts with dependencies.