Gantt chart: definition of the essential tool for planning project tasks
The Gantt chart: is its definition clear to you? You may be familiar with the Gantt chart, but you may not be familiar with its contours.
How it differs from the PERT network, the benefits for the project manager and the Excel example: this article explains everything you need to know about this project management task planning tool.
What is a Gantt chart?
Definition and origins
The Gantt chart is a table used in project management. It provides a highly graphic presentation of a project's various tasks and their completion times:
- the tasks (and sometimes the positions responsible for carrying them out) are shown on the vertical axis of the chart ;
- the abscissa shows the time units (days, weeks, months) chosen to sequence the project.
It is used to visualize the time required to complete each task over an entire project. Each task is represented by a horizontal bar.
The origins of the Gantt chart: the first chart was devised by Polish engineer Karol Adamiecki in the 1890s. But if it bears the name Gantt today, it's because the American Henry Gantt redesigned it in the 1910s to give it the form still used today.
When to use the Gantt chart?
The Gantt chart has been designed to address most project management issues, in all fields of activity. The clarity it offers, thanks to its simple visual elements, makes it an indispensable project management tool.
This tool is used in the project design phase, before operational tasks are launched, to obtain an overall view of the tasks to be carried out and a provisional schedule.
It is then used by project managers throughout the project, where it is adjusted and updated to reflect the actual progress of tasks.
What's the difference between Gantt and PERT diagrams?
The Gantt chart highlights not only the deadlines for your project, but also the milestones that sequence it. Often, a milestone corresponds to the delivery of a deliverable.
Unlike the Gantt, the PERT or PERT network diagram shows the dependency and sequence of tasks linked by arrows. It highlights the critical path: the shortest sequence of tasks to be completed between the start of the project and its delivery.
Example of a PERT network where the critical path is shown in color :
Why use a Gantt chart? 5 benefits for project managers
- Aids project planning: the diagram provides a visual presentation of the scheduling of tasks, and helps anticipate delays or budget overruns thanks to its overall view. As a result, project progress and costs are better controlled.
- It improves work organization: you get a complete view of the project structure, based on lists of tasks represented graphically with their start, end and duration, as well as their logical sequence and possible overlap.
- It facilitates resource management: it helps to improve your organization, and in particular the allocation of resources to each stage of the project, while optimizing your time. As a result, you can increase the performance of your teams over the entire duration of the project.
- It helps you manage risks: thanks to its dynamic format, the Gantt chart can be updated regularly, and tasks reorganized at any time to adjust actual versus forecast. The chart is not static, and the original version is likely to be different by the end of the project.
- It serves as a communication tool: above all, it's a collaborative tool; it's not intended to be used solely by project managers. It's a visual planner shared by all members, who thus have access to all project-related information: it makes communication easier within the team.
[Free] Excel Gantt chart example
Looking to create a Gantt chart to track your project? Appvizer has created a free Excel template for you to download.
Customize it with your tasks and deadlines, and update it as you progress!
How do I make a Gantt chart?
The definition of a Gantt chart no longer holds any secrets for you, and you now even have a diagram template. Still not sure?
In our dedicated article, we reveal the 6 steps to creating a Gantt chart, as well as our tips for success and recommendations for Gantt software.
Do you use this task planning tool on a daily basis? What do you see as its advantages and disadvantages?
Article translated from French