A complete beginner's guide to every aspect of setting up and administering your dotProject installation
Install and use the dotProject project management system
Customize and extend dotProject
Work with reports and Gantt charts
Configure dotProject for LDAP authentication and PostNuke
Customize dotProject to blend with your corporate sites
In Detail
This is a comprehensive beginner's book on dotProject and deals with the basics of implementing and configuring dotProject. It is a simple guide to setting up an internal project management solution as quickly as possible, and at zero cost. All the examples in this book are fully practical and will help you to get things done with dotProject. To make sure that you create a site that fits in with your corporate identity, the book covers customizing dotProject to personalize the look for your pages.
dotProject is the most popular open-source project management system. It is maintained by committed volunteers with the goal of providing a project management environment with a sensible user interface free to everyone. dotProject is web-based, multi-user, multi-language-enabled software that enables you to create, track, and maintain any kind of project, although the examples in this book relate to a software project.
What you will learn from this book?
Chapter 1 gives an overview of dotProject. This chapter explains the core features of a project management system, then it tells you why dotProject stands above your other choices and how it helps solve your project management woes.
Chapter 2 deals with how to get everything you need up and running on a development machine and helps you deal with configuration issues to set up a working dotProject site. It has walkthroughs for installing in three different ways and the last section helps you troubleshoot common problems.
Chapter 3 introduces the dotProject user interface and navigation system. It discusses standard navigation paths, navigation shortcuts, and tips on how to move around dotProject.
Chapter 4 covers the general modules used in dotProject and shows how to get things done: setting up and maintaining companies, contacts, projects, and file areas of dotProject from a user perspective. dotProject uses a sophisticated version control system for files, which this chapter covers in detail.
Chapter 5 examines all the areas of system administration within dotProject: language/translation management, system configuration, PostNuke and LDAP authentication, module management, and user administration including permission setup.
Chapter 6 focuses on customizing the look and feel of a standard dotProject system. We explore different ways to modify the appearance and settings of dotProject to better suit your needs - from playing around with the CSS and altering icons/images to modifying themes, we do it all in this chapter. At the end of this chapter, you will be able to personalize dotProject to suit your corporate standards.
Chapter 7 covers a host of advanced topics - we save the best for last! From a detailed overview of default dotProject modules, to working with dotProject reports and extending dotProject with add-ons, it describes the purpose and common functions of the standard core and optional modules, you will find something here to enhance your dotProject installation and push it a bit further.
Appendix A deals with the all-important topic of backing up your dotProject installation. This appendix presents a clear outline of what needs to be done and how to do it.
Appendix B deals with troubleshooting issues you might face while working with dotProject.
Approach
This book is a fast-paced, practical guide to getting things done with dotProject. It illustrates an easy and effective method to handle projects with the help of extensive real-world examples.
Who this book is written for?
The book is for a person or a group of people who are looking for an efficient and flexible project management tool for managing any kind of project. They may be users with technical knowledge such as system administrators or IT professionals, or users with basic computer and internet skills who want a project management tool that they can learn easily without having to learn HTML or a programming language. No prior experience of formal project management is required.