OpenProject 15.4: Automatic scheduling mode, meeting outcomes and more

We are happy to announce the release of OpenProject 15.4. Among other changes, users now benefit from automatic scheduling, in addition to manual scheduling. Other great new features are agenda item outcomes for our Meetings module and exciting updates regarding generating professional PDF documents based on your work packages.

In this blog article, we will take a closer look at these major three feature updates:

• Enable automatic scheduling mode - to start as soon as possible
• Set agenda item outcomes for meetings
• Generate PDF documents from a work package description

And there are many more great updates in this version again! For more details on other changes, features and bug fixes in 15.4, please check out our release notes.

Enable automatic scheduling mode - to start as soon as possible

En OpenProject nos apasiona la automatización. Our software should take over whenever possible – but without limiting users in their options. This is no easy goal and sometimes there is a fine line between both. With our new scheduling mode, we are exactly on this line: New work packages start with the manual scheduling mode, which means no change to earlier versions. In this mode, users can freely choose start and end dates.

But if the automatic scheduling is enabled, OpenProject takes over and schedules the work packages to the earliest date possible, based on predecessor or child relations.

See the difference of both scheduling modes in Gantt view:

Este vídeo está disponible en inglés.

Single date mode

Another great feature that comes together with the new scheduling modes is the single date mode: Previously, all work packages (except milestones) included both start and finish date fields, even when only one was necessary. Now, new work packages default to having only a finish date, streamlining workflows for teams that don’t require a date range.

For more information, see this blog article that our product team recently published, explaining the changes to scheduling. And, as always, check our documentation to learn how to use the new scheduling mode.

Set agenda item outcomes for meetings

The OpenProject Meetings module has been once again enhanced with great features in version 15.4. Just last month, we released recurring meetings that help many users manage their weeklies, dailies and other regular appointments – again with the help of automation.

With the new release, users can set outcomes for agenda items, making it much easier to document what was decided in the meeting. If an outcome is set for a work package in a meeting, the respective work package will automatically update as well and show the outcome on the Meetings tab.

Example: Meeting outcomes for a weekly project discussion

Let’s imagine you are part of a scientific team that collaborates on an aerospace project and has weekly mission status upate meetings. Participants may work in very different areas and this meeting is a core opportunity to exchange updates. However, as is natural with such larger meetings, not everyone can always attend. Good documentation of the meeting is therefore essential to keep all project members on the same page – while also saving valuable time and avoiding the need to send follow-up emails with questions about meeting proceedings.

So how does such a meeting look like in OpenProject?

1. When the meeting is open

As this would be a recurring meeting, OpenProject will automatically create the following weekly. All invited users can add, edit and assign agenda items before and during the meeting. If there is the need to talk about a specific work package, users can easily add this work package, which automatically creates a link between the meeting and the work package, on both sides. By default, the status is open:

2. When the meeting is in progress

When the meeting starts, participants can set the meeting status to in progress. This adds a + Outcome button on each agenda item or work package listed. By clicking it, users can document what was discussed or decided during the meeting. In this example, the scientific group decided that Ivan should be responsible for the Milestone to launch the readiness review:

As mentioned above, adding an outcome to a work package in a meeting automatically adds it to the Meetings tab on the work package as well:

3. When the meeting is closed

With the release of version 15.4, users can now click on an agenda item and move it to the next meeting, as long as it is part of a meeting series like in our example. This is very helpful for teams working with recurring meetings. For example, if Ivan – the person responsible for the work package – is not participating at that meeting, their colleagues can move this work package to the next meeting, when Ivan will be back.

When the meeting is over, the status can be set to “closed”. Currently, this has no further impact except that, like with the “open” status, no outcome can be added. Please note that a meeting can be re-opened again, so no harm will be done if you accidently close a meeting too early.

Consejo

We continue developing updates for the Meetings module. In a future release, participants of recurring meetings will also be able to move all agenda items without outcomes to the next meeting(see this feature). Also, a meeting agenda items backlog for recurring meetings is planned (see this feature).

Generate PDF documents from a work package description

The third great feature we want to highlight in this article is an improvement to PDF exports. Previously, you could only generate PDFs that included the entire work package, including attributes like the assignee in a table format at the beginning of the document. Now, you can also export only the work package description — formatted specifically for use in German contracts. While this is a very specific use case that is appreciated by our German customers, e.g. in the public sector, it can also be helpful for other users.

The main aspect here is, again, automating tasks that used to cost a lot of time and nerves when done manually. With OpenProject, we aim to provide users with work packages that include all important information for all stakeholders at all times. This way, we also want to give users the possibility to create beautifully styled PDF files for contracts, approval notices, project orders and other formal documents.

To do so, the “Download PDF” option on work packages has now been renamed to Generate PDF and offers expanded customization options. Clicking it opens an interface where you can tailor your document — for example, by enabling hyphenation or adding a footer text.

Most importantly, you can now choose between two templates:

• Attributes and description: This template creates a document similar to the one used before version 15.4, including a table showing the work package’s attributes, along with the description.
• Contract: Choosing this template creates a PDF designed in the style of a German contract, and includes only the work package description.

We will continue working on this feature and plan to add other templates.

Our CEO Niels Lindenthal published a blog article called “Beyond documents” about this feature when it was still in development. Read this article to learn about our motivation on developing features like this. If you want to know how to use the feature to generate PDF files based on work package descriptions, please see our documentation.

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OpenProject 15.4: Migration, installation, updates and support

Follow the upgrade guide for the packaged installation or Docker installation to update your OpenProject installation to OpenProject 15.4. We update your hosted OpenProject environments (Enterprise cloud) today, March 19, 2025.

You will find more information about all new features and changes in our Release notes or in the OpenProject Documentation.

If you need support, you can post your questions in the Community Forum, or if you are eligible for Enterprise support, please contact us and we are happy to support you personally.

• New to OpenProject? To test all features of OpenProject 15.4 right away, create a 14 days free trial instance for our OpenProject Enterprise cloud.
• Prefer to run OpenProject 15.4 in your own infrastructure? Here you can find the Installation guidelines for OpenProject.
• Want to upgrade from a Community version to try out the Enterprise add-ons? Get a 14 days free trial token to test the Enterprise add-ons.

Créditos

A very special thank you goes to the City of Cologne, Deutsche Bahn and ZenDiS for sponsoring released or upcoming features. Your support, alongside the efforts of our amazing Community, helps drive these innovations. We also thank Klinikum Chemnitz for their active and enthusiastic feedback during the design process of the new automatic scheduling mode.

Also, a big thanks to our Community members for reporting bugs and helping us identify and provide fixes. Special thanks for reporting and finding bugs go to René Schodder, Abhiyan Paudyal, Gunter Ohrner and Markus K..

Last but not least, we are very grateful for our very engaged translation contributors on Crowdin, who translated quite a few OpenProject strings! This release we would like to particularly thank user greench, for an outstanding number of translations into Turkish.

Would you like to help out with translations yourself? Then take a look at our translation guide and find out exactly how you can contribute. It is very much appreciated!

As always, we welcome any feedback on this release. 💙