A file named TODO where I list modules/components/ideas, bugs and nice-to-haves (future version features that 99% of the time are not implemented). I tried PM tools but this trade is not linear nor predictable: I sometimes get stuck for a couple of days designing something or refactoring code, sometimes I just burnout and it takes a few days of limbo to get back on track. This trade is more like an art and constantly missing deadlines stresses me so I now try to just sit down, enjoy and finish as soon as possible. And judging for the number of SW projects that go over-budget and/or over-schedule I guess I am not alone here. I give my clients guesstimates and since I do periodic deliveries they feel we are moving forward so they are not so picky with PM deadlines anyway.

I'm not a freelancer yet (will be soon). Maybe my answer will turn out to be wrong when I cross that bridge.

I'm working on a project management web application called Quartz (PHP + PostgreSQL) designed for independent freelancers and/or small agencies. My goal is to use internally and refine it until I believe it's viable, write up some documentation, and release it as a SaaS for everyone else.

So at the moment, that is the tool I plan on using. :)

A brief overview of its features and design decisions:

* Time is tracked based on days, not hours (h/t tptacek for his advice here) -- this reduces overhead and lets you get on with your day.

* Manages projects, tasks, tickets; has a Wiki-esque CMS for managing internal documentation (ReStructuredText)

* Clients can have multiple projects.

* Projects are broken down into tasks, which may have any number of tickets. Projects can be "owned" by an employee (the project manager, DevOps leader, or what have you).

* Assignments are related between calendar days, users, and tasks (not tickets or full projects).

* There is a particularly clever access control system in place, but I'll save you the wall of text and write a blog post on it later.

The idea behind the design is that you can use it for teams, but it should work just as smoothly for solo work.

If there's any interest, I'll prioritize its development in my spare time ;)

I use pivotal tracker to communicate with my team on what I do as we work. Also OmniFocus is quite good to just manage your personal todo list.

I think lots of folks use Trello as well with swim lanes that mimic the Backlog/Todo -> In Progress -> Ready for Review -> Done workflow for tasks.

+1 for Trello, good for personal use.

It depends on how comfortable the client is with technical tools.

If they're a geek, then we stay almost entirely in Github (opening issues, chatting about features, etc).

If they're moderately comfortable with tech then I use Asana (I force them to watch the instructional videos first). I basically just paste my spec in line-by-line and check off each feature as I build it. When it comes to bug tracking, I usually integrate Bugherd and tell the client to report bugs using their interface.

If they're not comfortable at all (rare but it happens sometimes), I just email back and forth with them and track my time using Harvest or something like that.

Trello for team overall tracking. Github for development, and slack for chat. But since slack announced its monetization, im looking for a new communication tool.

I use Trello but its not the complete project management. its rather task management tool. BaseCamp is 2nd option of mine

Github/Gitlab issues - even with non-programming team members, like customers and designers.

Trello for project management Kato for chat Bitbucket for code base and issue tracking

Emacs