Agile administration made easy: Digitalize internal tasks with OpenProject
Agile methods make administrations more effective - but without the right software, good ideas often remain good ideas. Modern task management makes it possible to control processes efficiently and react flexibly to changes. OpenProject offers exactly this possibility: a customizable open source solution that ensures full control over data with a high level of functionality. Cost-effectively.
In this article, you can learn…
- how task management can help with the introduction of agile processes,
- which features a software for agile project management requires in administration,
- how OpenProject meets these requirements,
- which public administrations in Germany are successfully working with OpenProject – and which features they particularly appreciate.
Making digital administration work: Cutting complexity, boosting efficiency
Endless Excel lists, lost emails, and overflowing inboxes—does that sound familiar? Many administrative teams struggle with outdated tools and rigid workflows that slow down rather than support their daily work. Digitalization is supposed to help, but too often it brings complicated, expensive, and impractical solutions.
We understand—many people don’t want to hear about digitization anymore. Too many initiatives have promised improvement but ended up adding more complexity instead. The real question is: How can digital tools actually simplify work in administration — without creating new obstacles?
OpenProject offers a pragmatic approach here. The open source project and task management software helps to clearly structure tasks and make processes more efficient. Without burdening employees with unnecessary complexity. Freedom of design for administrators, simple and perfectly tailored application for employees.
Introducing agile processes with efficient task management
Digital task management is a key building block on the path to greater agility in administration. Every day, numerous tasks, approvals and processes are created in public administrations that need to be coordinated. Without a clear structure, this leads to lags, extra work and a lack of transparency. Professional task management ensures that:
- responsibilities are clearly defined,
- all tasks can be tracked at all times,
- work processes run efficiently and transparently.
Agile working does not mean chaos, but flexibility with a basic structure at the same time. Administrative staff can react more quickly to changes and adapt their work to current requirements. Instead of constantly adapting rigid processes, agile structures can create more efficient workflows that grow dynamically. This enables a sustainable, future-proof way of working in administration.
What features does task management software need in administration?
For task management in administration to function simply and efficiently, the software must have the following features:
- Easy to use: Only administrators have to deal with technical details - for everyone else, operation is uncomplicated and intuitive.
- Flexible methods: Personalized composition of agile and classic methods - in a modular system, suitable for the working methods of the respective administration.
- Tasks in work packages: All information collected in one place, with clear responsibilities and traceable progress.
- Data protection and compliance: Security and GDPR compliance must of course be guaranteed.
- No vendor lock-in: Public administrations must retain full control over their data at all times.
Five stars for OpenProject - perfect for task management in administration
The demands on modern administrations are increasing at every turn: More tasks, more regulations - and more digitalization. OpenProject is a solution that was developed precisely for these challenges. No more Excel spreadsheets like “xxx_new-2”, just centralized task management supported by agile processes.
Let’s put OpenProject to the test and take a closer look at the five requirements mentioned above:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| ⭐ Easy to use for all employees | - Administrators can set up the instance with the help of extensive configuration options, so that it is easy to use for users. |
| ⭐ Structured workflows with clear responsibilities | - Tasks are assigned transparently, so everyone knows who is responsible for what. - Status updates and automatic notifications ensure that the entire workflow remains traceable. |
| ⭐ Flexibility with agile and traditional methods | - Whether Kanban, Scrum, or Gantt charts – OpenProject supports various ways of working. - Government teams can use hybrid methods and gradually introduce agile processes. |
| ⭐ Data protection and digital sovereignty | - OpenProject is open source, giving public administrations full control over their data. - GDPR compliance and secure hosting options ensure maximum security. |
| ⭐ Future-proof and sustainable solution | - No dependency on proprietary vendors, as OpenProject is open, extensible, and customizable. - Regular updates and an active community drive continuous development. |
Tip
openDesk - your secure office and collaboration suite: Do you already know openDesk? The office and collaboration suite bundles proven open source tools explicitly for digital administrative work - including OpenProject for efficient task management and agile processes. Learn more about openDesk.
Features for agile administration with OpenProject - an overview
Successful digital administrative work requires more than just task management. OpenProject offers a wide range of features that are specially tailored to the needs of public administrations, such as:
- Agile Boards - Manage tasks and processes visually, prioritize them flexibly and maintain an overview.
- Meetings - Plan meetings in a structured way, link them to work packages and thus easily integrate agile methods such as dailies.
- Date alerts and notifications - Never miss important dates again and be informed in good time.
- Individual actions and workflows - Define automated processes for recurring tasks and make workflows more efficient.
- Time and cost tracking - Track working hours and budgets accurately to manage projects and resources optimally.
Here’s an example status board created in OpenProject:
Tip
Did you know? OpenProject is your best choice, if you do not exclusively use either agile or classic project management features. It offers a high range of customization and flexible administration. Read about your best mix with hybrid project management here.
European public administrations successfully work with OpenProject
OpenProject has been a popular choice for project and task management in the public sector long before the launch of openDesk. We’ve already outlined several reasons for this. Now, take a look at concrete real-world examples. We’ve spoken with customers and created case studies to provide transparency on the typical challenges faced by public administrations and how exactly OpenProject – and its key features – offers a solution.
How do public institutions in Germany use OpenProject?
You can find the following and more case studies on this page about project management for the public sector.
FITKO (Federal IT Cooperation)
“With OpenProject as part of openDesk, we have a centralized, flexible platform that greatly facilitates our work as the office of the Federal IT Standardization Board – from meeting planning, execution, and documentation to the centralized management of federal IT standards. The software supports us in collaboration and the coordination of our initiatives.”
Tobias Schuh, IT Standards Coordinator at FITKO (Federal IT Cooperation)
FITKO faces the significant challenge of coordinating and streamlining numerous tasks and stakeholders. With the introduction of openDesk, FITKO members now have access to a centralized and secure office and collaboration suite that enables just that. Read more in FITKO’s case study with OpenProject.
City of Ravensburg
“OpenProject enables us to plan long-term and reliably without overburdening our staff. As a municipality, OpenProject has finally given us the opportunity to properly manage our resource planning. The platform provides high reliability and transparency regarding workload distribution.”
Eric Fischer, former Process and Project Manager in Digitalization at the City of Ravensburg
The City of Ravensburg is just one of many municipalities relying on OpenProject. Since 2023, Ravensburg has been using OpenProject primarily for traditional project management, utilizing features like Gantt charts and the time and cost module. One major challenge before introducing OpenProject was making employees’ workloads visible at all. Now, it is possible to track workloads precisely and, most importantly, in time to redistribute tasks when necessary. Read more in the case study on City of Ravensburg and OpenProject.
Conclusion: Start agile now - at your own pace
The best way to get to know OpenProject? Just give it a try! You can test OpenProject free of charge for 14 days - no strings attached. Discover for yourself how intuitive and powerful digital task management can be for your administration.
Would you like an individual introduction or in-depth training? No problem! We offer customized training and consulting to provide you and your team with the best possible support.
