Open Workbench

Open Workbench

Screenshot  Open Workbench under Windows XP with Sun JRE 1.5.0b6
Developer(s)	CA Clarity Division , BSO (formerly Niku)
Stable release	1.1.6 / March 3, 2008; 3 years ago (2008-03-03)
Development status	Active
Operating system	Microsoft Windows with Sun JRE 1.3.1 or later
Type	Project management software
License	MPL Proprietary EULA
Website	http://www.openworkbench.org/[dead link] offline since January 2011[1]

Open Workbench is a free project management software focused on scheduling. It is an alternative to Microsoft Project. It was originally called "Project Workbench" and developed by Applied Business Technology, Corporation (ABT) of New York in 1984. Niku Corporation purchased ABT and its products in 2000. CA Corporation purchased Niku and this software in 2005.

As of 2010^[update] Open Workbench runs under Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and 7. It also requires Sun JRE version 1.3.1 or later. Open Workbench's website says that is currently supported on Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Although it is provided as free software, users still require the Clarity suite if they want to use a central database to manage enterprise collaboration. With Clarity's Schedule Connect module, it can specifically link to many PCs with Open Workbench 1.1 installed. The module installs on both centralized server and the desktops, adding database access to Open Workbench’s screens.

There are a few differences between Open Workbench and Microsoft Project. Chief among them is that Open Workbench schedules based on effort whereas MS Projects default scheduling method is based on duration, although the user can change the method to work (effort). In other words, in an Open Workbench plan, task schedule is driven by the number of hours each resource will work per week to cover the total number of hours required for the tasks; whereas Microsoft Project does the reverse by generating estimates for the resources based on the task duration rather than their work availability. For this reason, resource leveling is also different: Open Workbench will do it based on resource availability whereas MS Project will do it based on the next available block of time that fits the task.

^^This is untrue information - if resources (and their availability using working calendars) is assigned to a task, MS Project will recalculate the task's duration based on the resource information. This is where "fixed work," "fixed units" and "fixed duration" comes into play.

The "Open Source" controversy

Open Workbench claims to be open source. However, the source code available through SourceForge does not include "scheduling algorithms [which] are currently not open sourced and will be maintained by CA Technologies (Computer Associates)."^[2].

Furthermore, the available source code is old; dating back to version 1.1.4 of 2005. The source code for Open Workbench 1.1.6 is not available.

Open Workbench development with itdesign and CA

In 2009 CA partnered with itdesign GmbH to update Open Workbench. The new version will feature a Windows 7 look and feel UI along with other added functions. In the beginning of 2011 the new version of Open Workbench was scheduled to be released along with new Clarity versions. It is also being made available for free download by the end of 2010 on the itdesign and openworkbench websites.

Besides the new free version, itdesign is developing a for-sale Open Workbench Plus with added functions for Open Workbench “power users.”

The openworkbench.org website has been not working from January 2011 to the present time.

See also

• List of project management software
• OpenProj, another project management program

External links

Open Workbench website

Note: The site www.openworkbench.org has stopped working since January 2011 so none of these openworkbench.org links will currently work

• Open Workbench homepage^{[dead link]}
  • Official FAQ^{[dead link]} - information on license and tools required for development
  • Official Forums^{[dead link]}

Other Links

• Since Openworkbench.org is "under construction" this itdesign website is the reference point for Openworkbench
• SourceForge project page
• Addons, trainings, solutions:
  • itdesign GmbH

Articles

• Comparing Open Workbench and Microsoft Project^{[dead link]} from the Open Workbench official page
• Open-Workbench: Microsoft Project Killer?^{[dead link]} by David E. Essex from PM Network

Notes

1. ^ OpenWorkbench thread on CA Clarity PPM Global User Community
2. ^ Open Workbench’s scheduling algorithms are currently not open source and are maintained by CA Inc. (Computer Associates). Open Workbench's FAQ