My colleague Dave just pointed me to an open-source alternative to MS Project:

OpenProj is a free, open source desktop alternative to Microsoft Project. The OpenProj solution is ideal for desktop project management and is available on Linux, Unix, Mac or Windows. OpenProj is a complete desktop replacement of Microsoft Project and even opens existing native Project files. OpenProj shares the most advanced scheduling engine in the industry with Project-ON-Demand. The OpenProj solution has Gantt Charts, Network Diagrams (PERT Charts), WBS and RBS charts, Earned Value costing and more. You can get more detailed information on OpenProj or download now!

Sounds promising. If it really is a viable alternative, it’ll save us a good £350ish per volume licence! Now, to find a few willing Project Managers to try it out… 😉