What Is a Gantt Chart?

• Lorin McCann


• 19 Apr 2016

Have you ever been tasked with managing a large project that includes multiple stakeholders?

If so, you may have fumbled a bit at the outset when it was time to map out each stage of the project and communicate goals and timelines with the rest of your team.

Fortunately, there is a type of chart designed to solve this very problem.

It’s called a Gantt charts. But what is a Gantt Chart and how does it work?

Gantt charts are bar charts used in project management. They make it easier to plan projects by mapping each project stage on a visual timeline. Could your next project could benefit from more clarity and organization? A Gantt chart may help.

Here is everything you need to know about getting started with Gantt.

A brief history of Gantt charts

Pioneered in the late 1800s by Poland-native Karol Adamiecki, Gantt charts were initially referred to as harmonogram or harmonografs until the concept resurfaced in the early 1900s. They were renamed after Henry Gantt when he implemented them in large-scale manufacturing and engineering project planning, popularizing their use.

Since then, they’ve been used for everything from strategic planning during wars to corporate project management.

Today they continued to be used in a variety of project management applications. You may even find them useful for your own project management game plan.

The benefits of using Gantt charts

The benefits of using a Gantt chart in project planning are plentiful.

When you give yourself a bird’s eye view of the entire project timeline, it becomes much easier to clearly define scope and account for various smaller tasks, projects, and activities that together make up the main project.

Planning and resource allocation also gets an efficiency upgrade when you can look at everything at once.

Additionally, progress reporting and identifying how roadblocks down the line will impact deadlines is simpler when all stakeholders are on the same page.

How does Gantt chart software work?

Instead of spending hours creating a Gantt chart manually, use automated software. Click To Tweet

You can create a Gantt chart by hand like early users, manually create a Gantt chart in Excel or with another spreadsheet tool, or use a project management tool that includes a built-in Gantt chart generator. It will create a Gantt chart for you automatically!

Using Gantt chart software, you can import tasks from spreadsheets, or create your chart from scratch within the software.

Software can create a huge advantage during project management. It saves time planning and creates clarity right away. It also makes updating the chart or changing the timeline much simpler if changes to scope or timelines happen after the project has begun.

Instead of spending hours creating a Gantt chart from scratch, employ software that automates the process for you.

Are Gantt charts right for you?

If you’re not already using Gantt to manage projects with several moving parts, why not give it a try? Here is a recap of some of the benefits of using Gantt charts for project management:

• Keep your team on track: Visually presenting the entire project timeline (including deadlines) helps team members on the same page and invested in project completion.
• Avoid project confusion: If your project is complex, communicating completion goals can be complex too! Gathering info in a Gantt chart can simplify even the most complex project communication.
• Visualize how tasks relate to one another: When two or more people work together toward a shared goal, collaboration is required. More often than not, one team’s progress is dependent on another team’s completion of a task or activity. If your teams can understand how their deadlines affect overall progress, they’re more likely to stay on track.
• Promote increased productivity: When everyone is on track, clear about deadlines, and understands the overall project and project dependencies, increased productivity is a natural result.

So, what do you think? Will you give Gantt a try?

If you manage projects, Gantt charts may be right for you. Get started with Redbooth for free and experiment with the Gantt Timeline view yourself.