Merlin Project Manager

Project managers who work on Macs have a tough decision to make. Since Microsoft Project is not available for Apple computers, what project management software is the best to use?

Being a Mac-using PM myself, I would like to review the Mac project management software Merlin. Merlin is a very visual yet very powerful program that rivals Project in many ways. I’ve found that Macs are usually the computer of choice at companies with more creative pursuits like advertising, design, or media. In companies like this, it is sometimes essential to be able to explain things to your team visually. Merlin provides the perfect tool for which to do this, as its Gantt charts and other layouts are – dare I say it – pretty, while Project’s visual schedules look about as exciting as Excel. Sure, it might be pretty, but is it powerful? Yes! Merlin easily allows you to create dependencies, allot resources across multiple projects, and monitor who is overextended and who has too little on their plate. It also allow you to export CSV files of your data so you can do statistical analysis on your team’s productivity in a sister program like Excel. Also, Merlin is unique in that it allows you to update from the web so that you can add a task in a pinch, even if you don’t have your computer or software in front of you.