What is the Gantt Chart in Project Management?

A Gantt chart is a project management tool that illustrates the work completed over a period of time in relation to the time planned for the week. A Gantt chart can include the start and end of tasks, milestones, dependencies between tasks, assignees, and much more.

The charts allow to record the workers' progress to a task, which allows the supervisor to quickly see if it aligns with the production schedules are behind, ahead, or on track. The Gantt charts have revolutionized project management and are one of the most widely used tools.

What Is a Gantt Chart? 

A Gantt Chart is a project management tool that showcases the work completed over time in relation to the time planned for the week. The chart consists of two sections: the left side outlines a list of tasks, while the right side showcases the timeline with properly scheduled bars that visualize the overall work.

Dates and Timeline

The Gantt Chart includes the start and end dates of the tasks, which is one of the most important features. It is used in the calendar to put the project in perspective. Professionals use Gantt charts to help you develop a visual understanding of what needs to be done and on what days. The calendar works like a flowing timesheet, where each project phase is documented based on the anticipated days required for completion.

Henry Gantt created the Gantt chart in the early 20th century, which focuses on improving project planning, scheduling, and tracking the illustrated completed work compared to the planned work. 

The project manager and team members use the Gantt charts to plan projects, create a project schedule in management, allocate resources, and track progress by using one project management tool.

Tasks: When inputting every important phase and element, each task will be properly organized on the calendar, whereas the Gantt chart allows you to see everything in one place and assess what it will take to get it done.

Bars: One distinguishing feature of the Gantt chart is the bars. Each bar holds the tasks, stretching out according to the number of days it will take to accomplish them. Each date is labelled properly, and bars signify.

Arrows and Dependencies: The Gantt chart showcases every task in black and white. Each task needs to be completed simultaneously or before the next one. The arrows and inputs include dependencies to help plan a successful strategy.

Tracking: Tracking the project's progress is vital to its success. The Gantt chart utilizes shading to signify the task status as it combines the dates and timeline features, allowing the managers to see the whole picture and interpret whether they are on schedule.

Milestones Achieved: A Gantt chart has many big moments and benchmarks that tell the manager if the project is running successfully or not. The Gantt chart uses diamonds or a similar symbol to showcase these tasks as an important signifier for the project's health. Completing the project requires the sum of small tasks, but the milestones are the rewarding line that every professional aims to cross.

Responsible Team Members: Good project managers know the importance of assigning work to individuals and making them accountable. The Gantt chart allows the professionals to mark who will complete the tasks and add other relevant notes. 

Benefits of using Gantt charts for project planning and tracking

Gantt charts are widely used in project management to showcase project schedules, tasks, and other dependencies. 

We have outlined the benefits of using Gantt Charts for project planning and tracking purposes

• Project Visualization

Gantt charts provide a visual representation of the project timeline, tasks, and dependencies, making it easier for the project stakeholders to understand the project's progress at a glance.

• Enhanced communication & Collaboration

Gantt Charts are the most important communication tool for project teams and stakeholders. They help facilitate discussions about project timelines, priorities, and progress and align everyone in achieving the common goals of the project.

• Team Management becomes easier.

It becomes more effective when you assign roles, expectations, and goals towards managing a team. The team has proper access to the Gantt chart, making it easier to fulfil their expected roles and duties.

• Timeline Management

Gantt charts allow you to easily manage project timelines by adjusting task durations, dependencies, and deadlines. This helps optimize project schedules and ensure timely completion.

• Resource Allocation

The Gantt charts enable you to allocate the resources effectively by visualizing the resource availability and workload across the different tasks and team members.

• Managing transparent project status

Clarity and communication mean everything in the working operations of the team. When the project is visible on the chart, it helps everyone remain on the same page.

Step-by-step guide on how to create and interpret a Gantt chart

The creation and interpretation of the Gantt Chart involves a series of steps. Let’s understand them in detail.

Step 1- Identification of Tasks

Begin by listing all the tasks that are required to complete the project, which involves breaking them into small and manageable tasks that can be assigned to individual members or teams.

Step 2- Add the Task Duration

Estimate the task duration needed to complete each task. Depending on the project's scalability and complexity, the duration could be in hours, days, weeks, or months.

Step 3- Sequence Tasks

It helps determine the sequence of the tasks that need to be completed first and identify any dependencies between the tasks, such as one task needing to be completed before another can start.

Step 4- Creating Timeline

Draw a horizontal timeline that showcases the duration of the project. The timeline can be in days, weeks, or months.

Step 5- Add Tasks to the Chart

Start plotting each task on the timeline according to their start and end dates. The tasks are represented as bars on the charts, where the length of each bar indicates its duration.

Step 6- Add Milestones

Identifying the key milestones in the project, such as project kickoff, completion of major deliverables, or project deadlines. Adding these milestones to the Gantt charts serves as distinct points on the timeline.

Step 7- Add Dependencies

After adding or scheduling the tasks and milestones, now focus on hovering over the task, and click on the area where they are appearing.

Step 8- Assign Resources

If required, start by allocating the resources, such as team members and equipment, to each task. This helps with the resource allocation and managing the workload.

Step 9- Updating the Progress

As the project progresses, focus on updating the Gantt Chart as it reflects the actual progress of the tasks. Start by adjusting the taskbars, which show what has been completed and what remains pending.

Step 10- Interpreting the Chart

Analyzing the Gantt chart to understand the project status and progress. The chart showcases the delays, hurdles, or critical obstacles that can easily impact the project timeline.

Step 11- Analyze and Adjust

Use the Gantt Chart as a communication tool to inform stakeholders about the project’s progress. If necessary, adjust the schedule and resources to address any issues that you have identified through the chart.

Step 12- Monitoring & Maintenance

They continuously monitor the Gantt chart throughout the project lifecycle, then focus on updating the tasks once completed, starting by adding new tasks or changing their priorities.

Best Practices for Using a Gantt Chart

When teams start using the Gantt Charts, they face some major challenges. These challenges can lead to major miscommunication, misallocation of resources, and major project delays.

The use of Gantt Charts allows the user to adhere to the best practices and manage the project effectively by following these practices, such as 

1. Planning before creating

Before creating a Gantt Chart, create a well-defined project plan that includes identifying tasks, their duration, and their dependencies.

2. Make it simple

Keep the Gantt Chart without adding more details, but focus on including important tasks, milestones and dependencies to maintain clarity and readability.

3. Color Coding Tasks

Different colours represent the different types of tasks or task categories. Start by using one colour for critical tasks, another for non-critical tasks, and a different colour for milestones.

4. Include Milestones

Mark the project milestones on the Gantt chart to showcase the key dates and achievements, as it helps you track the progress.

5. Provide regular updates

Keep the Gantt chart regularly updated by adding the task progress, timelines, and dependencies.

6. Communicate Changes

If the project plan or Gantt chart changes, immediately communicate this change with the stakeholders and team members.

7. Review Regularly

Start by regularly reviewing the Gantt chart with the project team to assess progress, identify risks, and adjust the plan accordingly. 

Conclusion

Developing and implementing a Gantt Chart in project management can be quite tricky if you don’t have proper knowledge about it. Simplaxis project management training and certification provide an in-depth understanding of the charts and how you can implement them in the projects to monitor them effectively.

The certification helps you develop the skills to tackle the hurdles or any bottlenecks that can affect the project's growth. The course includes all the skills that can help us improve our project management abilities and make you an expert in the field.