RationalPlan Multi Project

CNET Editors' review

We suspect that there are probably people out there who have been thrust into the role of project manager with no real idea what they're doing. RationalPlan Multi Project is the perfect program for such people; it's a full-featured project management tool that walks users through the entire management process. Although its capabilities are befitting an experienced project manager, it's the perfect solution for novices who need some guidance.

The program's interface is plain and won't be winning any beauty contests, but it's extremely easy to navigate. Each step of the project management process is listed in a tree hierarchy on the left side of the interface, and users simply move through each of the steps to complete their project planning. There are places to enter general information about the project, set schedules, and explore assumptions, constraints, and risks. Users can create a work breakdown structure, schedule tasks, and assign resources. The program offers a variety of different views and charts to help users track each project's progress and cost. We liked that the program contains serious project management tools but that it seems to be designed with novice users in mind; optional project guide details can be displayed at the top of the interface, explaining each component of the program, and the online Help file is well-written and thorough. Overall, we think RationalPlan Multi Project is a great choice for project managers of any experience level.

RationalPlan Multi Project installs and uninstalls without issues. We recommend this program to all users.

Editors' note: This is a review of the full version of RationalPlan Multi Project 3.17. The trial version is limited to 20 tasks.

Publisher's Description

More Products to Consider

  • OpenOffice.org
    Take an open-source approach to office productivity.
    Download Or, Learn More About OpenOffice.org

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Free PDF To Word Do...
    Convert Adobe PDF file to MS Word file format.
    Download Or, Learn More About Free PDF To Word Doc Converter

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Adobe Reader XI
    View, navigate, and print PDF files.

    This download is served from an external site

    close

    NOTICE: This link will open a connection to a third-party site. CNET cannot ensure the security of software that is hosted on external sites.

    Continue to download

    Sponsored Products

    Visit Site Or, Learn More About Adobe Reader XI
  • Microsoft Office Co...
    Open, edit, and save files using the new file formats in 2007 v...
    Download Or, Learn More About Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Microsoft Office Wo...
    Create and share content with the help of a comprehensive set o...

    This download is served from an external site

    close

    NOTICE: This link will open a connection to a third-party site. CNET cannot ensure the security of software that is hosted on external sites.

    Continue to download

    Sponsored Products

    Visit Site Or, Learn More About Microsoft Office Word 2010
  • Free PDF to Word
    Convert PDF files to Microsoft Word format.
    Download Or, Learn More About Free PDF to Word

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • WorkTime
    Keep track of how you use your PC.
    Download Or, Learn More About WorkTime

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Kingsoft Office 201...
    Create, view, edit and share word, spreadsheet and presentation...
    Download Or, Learn More About Kingsoft Office 2012

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Microsoft Office Vi...
    Develop your own custom solutions visualizing various data.

    This download is served from an external site

    close

    NOTICE: This link will open a connection to a third-party site. CNET cannot ensure the security of software that is hosted on external sites.

    Continue to download

    Sponsored Products

    Download Or, Learn More About Microsoft Office Visio Professional 2007

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Microsoft Office Po...
    Create, manage, and collaborate with others on presentations.

    This download is served from an external site

    close

    NOTICE: This link will open a connection to a third-party site. CNET cannot ensure the security of software that is hosted on external sites.

    Continue to download

    Sponsored Products

    Visit Site Or, Learn More About Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2010
  • PDFCreator
    Render PDF files within applications that support the print fun...
    Download Or, Learn More About PDFCreator

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Office Convert PDF ...
    Convert your PDF files into various image formats.
    Download Or, Learn More About Office Convert PDF to JPG JPEG TIFF Free

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • PDF ReDirect
    Create, encrypt, and merge PDF files.
    Download Or, Learn More About PDF ReDirect

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • FreeOCR
    Recognize text from images using the open source Tesseract OCR ...
    Download Or, Learn More About FreeOCR

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Free JPG to PDF
    Convert JPG, BMP, TIFF, PNG images to PDF files.
    Download Or, Learn More About Free JPG to PDF

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • PowerPoint Viewer 2...
    View and print PowerPoint presentations.
    Download Or, Learn More About PowerPoint Viewer 2007

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Advanced Word to Pd...
    Convert Word, RTF, and TXT files into PDF documents.
    Download Or, Learn More About Advanced Word to Pdf Converter Free

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Kingsoft Writer 201...
    Process documents and save them in various formats.
    Download Or, Learn More About Kingsoft Writer 2012

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Ksnipe Submitter
    Keep your profiles ranking rising day by day.
    Download Or, Learn More About Ksnipe Submitter

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Todomoo Portable
    Manage your paid projects without advanced scheduling.
    Download Or, Learn More About Todomoo Portable

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • Todomoo
    Manage your paid projects without advanced scheduling.
    Download Or, Learn More About Todomoo

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • FileConvert
    Turn your documents like scans, faxes, and Word documents into ...
    Download Or, Learn More About FileConvert

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • GSA Buchhalter
    Compute and manage your customers incomes and outcomes.
    Download Or, Learn More About GSA Buchhalter

    Installed

    Smart Install
  • PDF-XChange Viewer
    View, print, and export PDF files.
    Download Or, Learn More About PDF-XChange Viewer

    Installed

    Smart Install
All User Reviews

Results 1-4 of 4

  • 4.0 stars

    "opened project mpp file, did the job & is free"

    December 17, 2012  |   By jyb71

    Version: RationalPlan Multi Project 4.0.4

    Pros

    Opens mpp files, saves as xml, export to excel, print to pdf printers

    Cons

    no edit mpp file

    Summary

    good tool, opened the MS project mpp file that OpenProj could not

    Reply to this review

    Was this review helpful? (0) (0)

  • 2.0 stars

    "Sort of "so what?""

    January 16, 2011  |   By GurgMaster

    Version: RationalPlan Multi Project 3.17.1

    Pros

    Has a little bit of useful guidance - that is it does the step by step logic for parts of the Planning processes

    Cons

    No real business smarts. Not best practice compliant. Over-simplifies the project process. Seems to purport some MS Project functionality as its own. Really poor grammar throughout the guidance.

    Summary

    I won't be as hard as the previous reviewer (who suggested the reviewer was drunk) but I have trouble seeing a 5-star product in here!

    Hey - some of the features here could be useful keeping track of some basic project info. And well, for a numpty Project Manager, the guidance may be useful.

    However, there's no real business smarts there as far as I can see. For example, the assumptions and constraints don't track to risks, there's not an issues register as such and much of the functionality is just exactly what MS Project does for you anyway ... Is this an MS Project substitute?

    The risk profiles are not ISO compliant (that is they don't have the standard categories of impact and probability), and that would be enough to count it out of any Government site.

    Another little issue is, I'm not clear as to whether the output files are going to save as MS Project files, part MSP or all Rational Plan.

    In general the guidance is very poorly written.

    However, the biggest problem I have is that the blurb/ marketing could give the unsuspecting client the impression they had done everything they need to do to manage a project successfully. This module covers maybe one and a half of the 9 domains of the US Project Management standard (PMBoK) and maybe two of the components of the British standard (PRINCE2) . That's fine but the blurb should say so!!

    Reply to this review

    Was this review helpful? (1) (0)

  • 1.0 stars

    "Are you kidding? This sucks!"

    October 7, 2010  |   By WindowsSucks

    Version: RationalPlan Multi Project 3.17.1

    Pros

    There are no pros.

    Cons

    The whole thing. Waste of time.

    Summary

    The Cnet editor must have been drunk when he gave this thing 5 stars. I downloaded the stupid program based on the review and all it did was waste my time. The instructions don't make sense - whoever wrote them hasn't completed 3rd grade Englishl. The program itself works like some freshman's Excel 1.0 class project. Don't waste your time. And editor, give me a break!

    Reply to this review

    Was this review helpful? (0) (2)

  • 5.0 stars

    "a Microsoft Project equivalent at fraction of the cost"

    March 17, 2010  |   By IoanLucian

    Version: RationalPlan Multi Project 3.16.1

    Pros

    ability to work with multiple projects sharing common resources, nice/straight-forward guide which gets you through project's steps, email integration, works on Mac too (even Linux)

    Cons

    non-standard licensing method

    Reply to this review

    Was this review helpful? (0) (1)

Add Your Review

or Log in or create an account to post a review.
You are logged in as . Please submit your review for RationalPlan Multi Project 4.0.2
Add Your Review

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

Submit your reply

Submit

The posting of advertisements, profanity, or personal attacks is prohibited.
Click here to review our site terms of use.

cancel

E-mail this review

Submit cancel

Report offensive content

If you believe this comment is offensive or violates the CNET's Site Terms of Use, you can report it below (this will not automatically remove the comment). Once reported, our staff will be notified and the comment will be reviewed.

Select type of offense:

Offensive: Sexually explicit or offensive language
Spam: Advertisements or commercial links
Disruptive posting: Flaming or offending other users
Illegal activities: Promote cracked software, or other illegal content
Submit cancel

Previous Versions:

Error

close

ERROR MESSAGE

If you think this is an error, please contact CNET TechTracker Support for further assistance.

Ok

Running Request

close

loading

Smart Install Software

close

CNET TechTracker will now automatically install software without requiring further action by you. (Note: This feature automatically accepts associated EULAs and third party applications on your behalf.)

You have selected the following software to Smart Install:

CNET TechTracker will attempt to install this software without interrupting you again. If an application requires manual installation, CNET TechTracker will download the installer and prompt you to take further action.

Proceed with Smart Install?

Confirm Standard Install Cancel

Submit a problem report for RationalPlan Multi Project

close

Please describe the problem you have with this software. This information will be sent to our editors for review.

Problem:

The CNET Installer isn't working as expected

The download link does not work

The software has a newer version

The software contains malware

Other

Description:

Please select a feedback type.

Please enter a description.

Submit Problem Report

Problem Report submitted

close

Thank you for submitting a problem report! The Download team is committed to providing you with accurate software information.

OK

Or, Learn More About RationalPlan Multi Project

Installed

Smart Install

About CNET Installer

The CNET Download.com Installer is a tiny ad-supported stub installer or "download manager" that helps securely deliver your downloads from Download.com's servers. We also include offers for carefully screened software that complies with Download.com Software Policies as part of our Installer process. Learn more

RationalPlan Multi Project