RationalPlan

This project management software was one among several which I had tested recently during research into the best fit for our business. It's a relatively small download and installation is a breeze. The user interface is not inspiring in terms of design but it is highly functional. The functionality itself is very robust with the ability to analyze data from a number of different perspectives. You can breakdown your data and allocate resources between projects. You have the ability to build schedules and manage budgets easily. The budgeting and cost planning features are among the strongest of the software in my opinion. You can implement cost estimates as well as cash flow distribution. I like to project wizard which will lead you through to complete a project much quicker than having to learn the entire software before you do so. You can evaluate your project ongoing including time and costs or completion dates. It also alerts you to possible issues based on your criteria.

I like that you can connect to their project server so multiple users can utilize the same project data on different computers in their Server plan. However this leaves the possibility of hardware failure to become more of an issue at a critical time during a project for single and multi-project users. If it were hosted in the cloud while there still may be issues they would be greatly minimized by the fact a world class company would take care of the hosting and infrastructure although I understand this would likely affect the pricing to a degree.

I tried the single project option but there is a multi-project version available as well and the pricing is a one time purchase that is very fair and free for Linux users of the single project version. The planning, scheduling and tracking capabilities in addition to the cost evaluation features make it very flexible. It would be a very effective software in any number of industry projects from service based to software development or construction projects. I like that you can link tasks between projects using the multi-project version which is a significant time saver. Overall it's a terrific project management software with a realistic, detailed approach to cost management which differentiates it from others I've tried. Other than the fact it's based in the cloud and it's design is uninspiring which is minor I have nothing but good things to say and recommend it to others.