FlexiProject as a Trello alternative: the comparison

Yes. In FlexiProject the Gantt chart is one of the schedule views, next to the task list and the Kanban board. On it you see dependencies, the critical path and deviations from the baseline. When you move a task, the dates of dependent tasks recalculate automatically. Trello’s Premium plan has a Timeline view that places cards on a time axis, without dependencies or a critical path. Read more on the Gantt chart software page.

You can set all four dependency types, with lead and lag time. A dependency can also link tasks from different projects, so moving a task in one project shifts the dependent tasks in the other. Atlassian states in its documentation that Trello has no built-in dependency management, and suggests checklists and card links instead. In FlexiProject you set dependencies on the Gantt chart in the project schedule module.

The baseline is an approved version of the schedule that you compare against the current state of the project. You see deviations from it directly on the Gantt chart. Every approved version stays in the project plan module. A year later you can still see how the schedule changed and who accepted each change. Trello keeps the current dates and an activity log on a card, without an approved version of the plan. In FlexiProject you report a baseline change as a request with a reason and send it for approval.

Yes. You plan the schedule on a calendar of working days and public holidays, so a task never falls on a weekend. When you assign a person, you see their daily availability, including time off and their contracted hours, and you get a warning about overload. You import time off from Outlook. Trello’s Calendar view shows card due dates without working days or holidays. Check the workload of people across all projects in the project resource management module.

Yes. In the project budget module you keep costs and revenue, so you see the margin of a project in one place. Budget items link to schedule tasks, and moving a task shifts its expense date in the cash flow too. Next to the plan and the costs incurred you get a forecast of the final cost. In Trello you track a budget in custom fields or through a Power-Up. In FlexiProject you approve budget changes as new versions, so you know who changed the numbers, and when.

The risk register is part of every project. Every risk gets a rating on a configurable probability and impact matrix, a response plan and an owner. You link a risk to the task it affects, and you see it on the Gantt chart. In Trello you build a risk board from lists and labels, without a rating matrix or response plans. In FlexiProject you review the risks of every project in the portfolio, and the risk register page covers the details.

In the project approval paths module you approve baselines, budget versions and project charters. A path can have several steps or run in parallel, and you assign the decision maker by their role in the project. That keeps the path working even after staff changes in the team. In Trello an approval is a team convention, such as an Approved list or a label. In FlexiProject every decision keeps the author, the date and a comment.

In the project products module every deliverable gets an owner, a deadline and acceptance criteria. You link a deliverable to the tasks that produce it, so you know what work sits behind each result. In Trello a project deliverable is an informal description on a card or in a checklist. In FlexiProject a project template can carry a ready set of deliverables for a given project type.

In the project portfolio management module you see the milestones, status, finances and risks of every project in the portfolio. One project can belong to several portfolios at once, without duplicating data. In a simulation you switch off selected projects and check how the portfolio metrics change. Trello’s Dashboard view shows charts for one board. In FlexiProject data from projects aggregates automatically at portfolio level.

You score ideas in the project scoring module against your own criteria and weights. You send the scoring survey to several assessors and see their ratings side by side. Different project types can use separate scoring models. You link criteria to company strategic goals, so you see which ideas serve them. You repeat the scoring during delivery too, and decide whether to continue the project.

In the project reports module you build reports in a report designer, without coding. Every department and every role can get its own set of reports. You export a report to Excel with filters kept, and you set your own widgets on dashboards. Trello Premium’s Dashboard view shows simple charts, such as cards per list or per person. In FlexiProject reports also cover risks, budget versions and plan changes, because you keep that data in the projects.

Start with one project that has a budget and a deadline, ideally one that a board struggles to cover today. You turn the board’s tasks into a schedule, then add a budget and a risk register. You save the finished project as a template. From the project templates module you start further projects of this type, together with the schedule, the budget, risks and deliverables. This way you move project after project into FlexiProject.

People who execute tasks work on a Kanban board and a task list, close to what they had in Trello. Project managers and the PMO need more, because they work with charters, budgets and approval paths. Contextual help with videos sits inside the app, next to the screen you are working on. Company instructions and procedures go into the knowledge base module, next to project data.

Yes. Developers keep planning sprints and story points in Jira, unchanged. Through the Jira integration, tasks and progress flow into the project plan automatically, with owners mapped. You choose the tasks to import with a JQL query. Management sees the developers’ work together with the project’s budget and risks.

You add comments and mentions to a task, a risk, a budget item or a deliverable. The discussion stays with the object it concerns. A mentioned person gets a notification right away. You hold the whole team’s discussions in a chat, in the project communication module. Trello keeps comments on cards and has no project chat. In FlexiProject the chat goes into the archive with the project, so the next project manager knows the context of every decision.

Yes. For companies that keep their data in-house, FlexiProject is a Trello alternative on your own server, with no functional limits. You pick the server version when regulations or company policy require you to store data on your own infrastructure. Trello runs only in the cloud, and only its Enterprise plan lets you choose a data region. In the cloud version, FlexiProject data sits in the European Economic Area. The key strengths page covers the other differences.

In FlexiProject the number of free users is unlimited. On a free account, a person executes and edits the tasks assigned to them. Paid licences cover work at project and portfolio level. A free Trello workspace caps out at ten collaborators and ten boards, and boards turn read-only above that limit. Current licence prices sit on the FlexiProject pricing page.

Yes. In FlexiProject every department gets its own workspace module in the system, with its own charter templates, project templates, approval paths and reports. One project can be visible in several workspaces, so a joint initiative of several departments does not need duplicating. Trello workspaces have admin, member and observer roles, without project roles. In FlexiProject an administrator sets project roles and permissions in the app.