Hugh wrote:

I've used Merlin, and it's certainly very good indeed for small to medium-sized
projects. The people who developed it are, as far as I know, project management
specialists, and started Merlin as a sideline. Their hands-on expertise shows. It
has three chief merits in my view: an excellent user-interface that takes into
account all kinds of possible project complexities, the ability to handle multiple
projects across the same resources, and the facility to use it as a "container" for all
the files, notes and digital encumbrances any project accumulates. It also, unlike
some project software, doesn't try to be too clever; it leaves plenty of discretion
with the user. If I was back managing bigger projects as I once was, I'd seriously look
at Merlin (certainly better than MS Project was when I was in that line of
work).

But... for personal project management, I think it's too big. (I'm assuming
that "project management" means Gannt charts - otherwise on the Mac platform a task
manager like Things or Omnifocus would probably be adequate.) The main Mac
alternative to Merlin is Omniplan, which is simpler for smaller projects, easier to
learn and use than Merlin and has the reputable Omni Group behind it. When Omniplan can
sync straightforwardly with Omnifocus it will be the zealous small project/task
manager's dream.

Except... Omniplan can't yet handle multiple projects. As a
gun-for-hire, what I want a project management application to tell me above anything
else is -- if I take on Project A with deadline X whilst also working on Project B with
deadline Y, am I going to be overloaded in Z weeks' time? I've looked for this
extensively and I've found several half-there alternatives, such as Pagico. But no
simple, not-too-expensive project management application for the Mac platform
that I know of can really give me the answers I need yet, I'm sorry to say.

To correct what I wrote above - Omniplan can now handle multiple projects, as of an update a couple of weeks ago. The procedure seems slightly convoluted, but it would enable resources, or in my case, a single resource, to be levelled across several different projects.