Stand By Soft is pleased to announce the release of RationalPlan version 4.7. Current version comes with many changes both on the core side and on the clients side: faster execution, improved reporting, better integration with the underlying operating system, improved critical path management and much more.
RationalPlan is a project management software that started as a desktop application designed to run on all major operating systems Windows, Linux and Mac OS X but it evolved to an embedded management system well suited for companies that need a distributed solution with concurrent access from multiple users.
Important changes for this version:
- Possibility to use RationalPlan in full screen mode on Mac OS X
- Added possibility to save page printing settings
- Added #ProjectCode and #ClientAddress placeholders
- Possibility to insert a note with current date and time to project’s Notes
- Display the work load statistics also for assignments in Timesheet view
- Display assignment units near task bars on Gantt chart
- Added Reschedule Date and Responsible columns in Portfolio view
- Added the possibility to show all columns or to reset to defaults for tables
- Added more settings per application
- Possibility to manage (store, load, delete) application settings
- Export baselines in .xls format
- Added filters for Resources view
- Added individual slack per task and not only per project
- When computing the critical path also consider the MSO, MFO, SNLT and FNLT constraints, deadline dates and the percentage completion
- Reduced application loading and execution speed: start-up, scrolling, etc.
- Broken compatibility between RationalPlan Server and older RationalPlan Multi versions
The application execution speed was improved and starting with this version it runs smoother. Start-up time was significantly reduced and working with large data makes scrolling and dragging feel more natural.
Starting with Mac OS X Lion Apple added the possibility for applications to run in full screen mode. Although a little bit late RationalPlan products can now also be run in full screen. Users will have now more space hence it will be easier to manage data or to analyze the reports.
Critical path management is an important area of project management. And starting with version 4.7 RationalPlan takes into consideration many more criteria when computing the critical path: MSO, MFO, SNLT and FNLT constraints, task deadline dates and the percentage completion. All these data involve a date which can be seen as an input factor for the critical path algorithm. Tasks that are 100% completed will never influence the end date of the project hence should not be considered critical. Another factor that can influence the critical path is the addition of individual slack per task and not only per project. This way project managers can specify how lax a work can be on certain not so important tasks.
Users have different needs and in certain situations might want to have different settings and configurations. Regarding printing it will be remembered the last used page setup. Regarding entire application users will be able to created several settings configurations and manage them (store, load, delete). More exactly we are talking about interface settings like table columns, split bars etc. This way depending on circumstantial needs users can load a certain configuration to focus on a certain part of their work. And for an increased efficiency it is possible now to show all columns or to reset to defaults in just one click.
Starting with version 4.7 RationalPlan Server is no longer compatible with older versions of RationalPlan Multi. Hence customers that were using this configuration will need to upgrade both products in order to stay compatible. Another solution to avoid such versions incompatibilities would be to start the planner directly from the web-based interface of the server.
New printing placeholders like #ProjectCode and #ClientAddress were added at clients request along with the possibility to insert a note with current date and time to project’s Notes. These are useful for project reports generation.
More data are presented within different views to give users a better in depth overview on the status of the projects. Workload values in Timesheet view are also presented for assignments and not just for resources. Assignment units can be displayed near task bars on Gantt chart and Reschedule Date and Responsible columns were added in Portfolio view.
Baselines are exported in .xls format to be used for custom reporting or different project status comparisons.
Filters were added to Resources view. Users can now see all the resources within the company or only the resources that are assigned on the current working project. This feature allows project managers to stay focused on their work or obtain an overall view over the entire company.
RationalPlan suite includes:
RationalPlan Single Project – an alternative to Microsoft Project and the perfect solution for novice or accidental project managers
RationalPlan Multi Project – project management software for multiple projects, projects that are interconnected through dependencies and share common resource
RationalPlan Project Viewer – free project management software viewer, the solution for anyone (from project stakeholders to team workers) to view projects details
RationalPlan Project Server – a centralized place to manage the company’s projects while offering concurrent access to different users
RationalPlan Project Management Software is available at http://www.rationalplan.com. It can be download from http://www.rationalplan.com/download.php.
About Stand By Soft
Stand By Soft was founded in 1997 as a software company specialized in building desktop applications and components. RationalPlan is a project management solution that follows the general recommended guidelines from project management domain. MOOS Project viewer is a Microsoft Project viewer that allows users to open, view in a dynamic way and print any Microsoft Project file.
Contact name: Lucian Ioan
Address: Aleea Parului, Nr.4A, Craiova, Dolj, 200346, Romania
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +40771610710
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