As you all know, I abhor MS Project  because of its lack of intuitiveness as well as stove piping a certain way of doing work.  I checked out Merlin 2 to see if there was Gantt Chart software for the Mac that might use instead.

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Here’s how Merlin is Awesome — especially in comparison to MS Project:

• You can zoom in to days and zoom out to weeks/months quite easily. Scaling seems like a really awesome feature that Project is just way behind in presentation-wise.
• Merlin provides a library of frequently used Gantt Chart templates to get you started.  When importing Gantt charts from one project into another projects in MS Project, it just hurts.  Bad, BAD things happen.
• Gantt Chart presentation in Merlin is just splendid.  Simply right off the charts.  Drop-shadows, anti-aliasing, soft edges — it’s just gorgeous.  With this Gantt chart tool for the Mac, my project documentation now has substance and style.
• Merlin’s representation of task completion is incredibly intuitive.  The shading of the entire bar just makes so much more sense than how it’s done in Project.
• Task names are printed on the bars in the Gantt chart.  You can print the Gantt chart without the WBS, and convey nearly the entire project plan in so much less space.
• Merlin has a well thought-out Print dialog with tons of helpful options which allow you to quickly print exactly what you want of the Gantt chart.
• Merlin’s help system is remarkable – it provides a thoughtful and well presented introductory course in Project Management concepts mapped to the part of the software to which that lesson applies.
• Merlin is completely compatible with Microsoft Project – but MS Project is not Project Management software for the Mac – so, no Gantt charts on the Mac from MS Project.
• Merlin is scads cheaper.  In fact, if you want to get the beta of Merlin 2.5, it’s FREE!  Yes, you heard me right, free.  Have at it.

If you’re looking for a Gantt Charting tool for the Mac or for Project Management Software for the Mac — Merlin is a serious contender.  Give ‘er a peek.

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I’ve learned to despise all of the idiosyncracies of Micro$oft Project, and am always on the lookout for a management software.  I need something that lets me easily add tasks, resources, baseline, compare schedules vs. actuals and as so frequently happens — allow people to book more time in a single work day than an 8 hour shift without rearranging my entire project plan for me.  Jeez, that annoys the living crap out of me. </rant>

Okay, so I’m definitely going to pick up the demo version.  I use a Wintel machine, but I also work with graphic artists who almost always work on their Mac.  So, another great thing about OmniPlan is that there’s a Mac version available.  I’ll keep you posted on how exciting the OmniPlan 1.51 release is, but let me tell ya… from the screenshots online, this is one super-sexy piece of project management software.

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