There are two distinct types of development styles; vertical development, and horizontal development.
Project management software (PMS) comes in three flavors, offline app-based, online app-based and web-based PMS(s). Offline app-based project management software uses a project file stored on the local computer, and is mainly suitable for single administrator projects and very small teams. Online app-based PMS functions as offline project management software but it has a central server that allows for multiple administrators but no web app. Web-based PMS primarily uses web apps, may also have a downloadable app, and is suitable for multi-administrator projects with many employees.
Microsoft Project is a classic industry standard Online App-based PMS. The main usefulness of Project is to get a timeline of how long projects will take and plan the execution of resources. Project at it's core is an Offline App-based PMS with a very clean interface and robust feature set. Project makes it easy to plan tasks and assign tasks to people.
Microsoft Project Server, Project's Online App-based PMS component, is good for non-programming tasks such as managing startups, businesses, and projects with an Admin department Project has a server software that assists in synchronizing client apps so everyone stays up to date. This design method predates web 2.0 and is no longer as useful as the web based tools, but is still useful.
ProjectLibre was the first big open source Offline App-based PMS replacement for MS Project. If you don't have a multi-million dollar budget or work with others who use Mac or Linux, it's best to not spend too much time in the project software so ProjectLibre may be a better option for startups. For what Microsoft Project is good for, it's not really worth paying money for most people, ProjectLibre does everything you would probably need to do, and if doesn't than you probably need a Web-based PMS.
GanttProject is a Java based Offline App-based PMS replacement for Microsoft Project that markets themselves as a simplified MS Project alternative. If all you need to do is the basic project management tasks, GanttProject may be the de facto tool as of 2018. As of the writing of this project GanttProject had active development on GitHub and ProjectLibre did not.
Redmine is a world-class Ruby-on-Rails based Web-based PMS that is very useful for contractors and consultants. Redmine's prominent features include Gantt charts, multi-project support with unique support ticket IDs global to all projects, issue tracking, wiki, email-based issue creation, time tracking, news, documents, email notifications, and a lot more features that make it perfect for both small and large teams. Redmine is really useful for keeping track of man hours for tax purposes, especially if you're doing consulting or contracting with many clients.
Slack does not provide Gantt charts but it is exceptionally useful for development. Slack gives you just enough free features to get startups going to the point where they can startup making money, but then you'll be forced to upgrade to save your data. Slack is mostly useful for sharing information in chat such as code snippets and documents. Other than working well with high tech chat needs, there is little else that separates Slack from a traditional chat application.
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