Gantt Chart

Key Takeaways

• A Gantt chart is a visualization that helps in scheduling, managing, and monitoring specific tasks and resources in a project.
• It consists of a list of tasks and bars depicting each task’s progress.
• Horizontal bars of different lengths represent the project timeline, which can include task sequences, duration, and the start and end dates for each task.
• It is the most widely used chart in project management.
• Gantt charts are used in heavy industries for projects like building dams, bridges, and highways, as well as software development and other goods and services.
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What Is a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart is a commonly used graphical depiction of a project schedule. It’s a type of bar chart showing the start and finish dates of a project’s elements, such as resources, planning, and dependencies.

Henry Gantt (1861–1919), an American mechanical engineer, designed the Gantt chart.1

Understanding a Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart is the most widely used chart in project management. These charts are useful in planning a project and defining the sequence of tasks that require completion. The chart is typically displayed as a horizontal bar chart.1

Horizontal bars of different lengths represent the project timeline, which can include task sequences, duration, and the start and end dates for each task. The horizontal bar also shows how much of a task requires completion.2

Important

The length of the bar is proportional to the time necessary for a task’s completion. The project tasks are represented on the vertical axis.2

A Gantt chart helps in scheduling, managing, and monitoring specific tasks and resources. The chart shows the project timeline, which includes scheduled and completed work over a period of time. The Gantt chart aids project managers in communicating project status and the completion rate of specific tasks within a project, and it helps ensure that the project remains on track. A Gantt chart is a standard tool that makes communication unified among the engineering and project management communities.

Benefits of a Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart identifies tasks that may be executed in parallel and those that can’t be started or finished until others are complete. It can help detect potential bottlenecks and identify tasks that may have been excluded from the project timeline.

The chart depicts things like task slack time or additional time for completion of a task that shouldn’t delay the project. It includes noncritical activities that may be delayed and critical activities that must be executed on time.

Gantt charts can be used in managing projects of all sizes and types. They may include building infrastructures like dams, bridges, and highways. They may also include software development and other technologies. Project management tools, such as Microsoft Visio, Project, SharePoint, and Excel, or specialized software, such as Gantto or Matchware, can help in designing Gantt charts.

Sabrina Jiang / Investopedia

Example of a Gantt Chart

Company A is taking on a project to install new software on the servers of a large investment bank. The company decides to create a Gantt chart to help manage the project and its different components.

The project’s tasks that require completion include conducting research, selecting a software product, testing the software, and installing it. These tasks appear as vertical lines on the Gantt chart. A milestone of the project is selecting the software.

The project’s duration is 40 days, as agreed upon between Company A and the investment bank. Each task takes 10 days to complete, and each task is dependent on the previous task. A critical activity is testing the software in the development and test environments.

The start and end dates, duration, and milestones appear as horizontal bars on the Gantt chart. The percentage of work completed for each task is also displayed on the horizontal bars. Using the Gantt chart will help Company A map out the tasks along a timeline to reach full completion in 40 days.

What Is a Gantt Chart Used for?

Gantt charts help visualize various tasks and projects that occur simultaneously within an organization, and how far they have progressed. They are used by management to plan and schedule such projects so that resources can be allocated optimally, and projects that are prioritized can finish before less important ones begin.

Who Was Henry Gantt?

Henry Gantt was a social scientist and management consultant who also held a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked in the field of scientific management, developing methods to streamline and increase the productivity of corporations and their workforce. He created the Gantt chart in the 1910s to help supervisors understand the progress of their labor force and to ensure that tasks were on schedule.1

What Are the Components of a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart can vary in complexity and depth, but it will always have three key components: activities or tasks that are to be done, running along the y axis; milestones or progress stages indicated along the x axis either on the top or bottom of the chart; and progress bars, denoted as horizontal bars and showing how far along each task is at any given point.2