What is a Gantt Chart Used For?

I get it, we all seem to be serious when it comes to leading projects. I find I devote myself completely to the project the same way I am as a parent with my kids and desire the best. So what is a gantt chart used for, but more importantly how will it help in managing a project?.

Planning early enough ensures that we succeed as project managers just as it does in successful parenthood. Constantly thinking about details of the project help you to understand its elements better, eases its management, and ensures its accomplishment.

In project management, your first steps should start with a layout – a detailed stipulation of your project goals, plans, and outcomes with an emphasis on reasons for prioritization. To map out a viable layout, one can opt to use an array of different tactics and tools including Gantt charts.

Other than churning out layouts, Gantt charts are also effective at planning, managing teams and resources, and fostering cooperation in the project.

What is a Gantt Chart and Why is it Important?

A Gantt Chart is a set of tasks which are linked together and represent as a visual diagram of when the tasks will start and finish. Gantt Charts help plan out a project by defining the schedule and the duration it will take to complete each of these activities.

How to make a Gantt Chart?

Gantt charts have a two-axis format that makes it easy to link dates and tasks. Right after defining project milestones, the Gantt chart instantly visualizes a detailed schedule. Despite being good at keeping deadlines, Gantt charts literally have numerous other advantages.

Dated milestones help teams to focus and prioritize the most urgent tasks and ensure timely deliverables.

This, however, does not affect the flexibility of your team. In contrast, the project layout needs to be adaptable to change as it is inevitable. Claims that Gantt charts are not flexible are just mere assumptions that do not hold water. It is similar to other project management programs like GanttPRO, TeamGantt, Microsoft Project, and Wrike that features an auto-scheduling function that readjusts dates in the face of change.

What are the advantages of a Gantt Chart?

Gantt chart works and supports multiple industries: technology, building and construction, advertising and marketing, consultancy, manufacturing and processing, education, real estate, and many others. Despite these being different, Gantt charts enable them to:

1. Branch out the scope into manageable bits

It is confusing to start building a mall right away after being commissioned on the project. Right?

It is quite absurd to begin working on a complex project without splitting it into workable pieces. Our brains are designed to prefer working on smaller tasks with quick and attainable results rather than huge workloads. Therefore, chunked assignments with pre-defined deadlines tend to improve productivity.

This makes Gantt charts perfect for adding numerous items for your to follow stepwise and also enhance your adaptableness to change as it occurs.

2. Link different variables

Projects often include interconnections between tasks and dependencies. These kinds of interrelationships between variables such as assignments and matching talents are critical for project success.

Here are some examples of dependencies in project management:

• Start to start
• End to start
• Start to end
• End to end

3. Communicate project status

Projects come in different shapes and sizes. These often include a huge audience and might involve an array of stakeholders such as partners and clients who constantly need to be updated on its progress. With the right software, project managers can comfortably export charts, generate status reports, and share with them only with a few clicks.

4. Build teams in a centralized system

Modern versions of Gantt charts today, not only support strategic planning, and goal setting for your projects but also provides an all in one platform for your project team to access any project-related information. Gantt charts are therefore an all-inclusive platform for accessing project documents, discussions, and updates. This minimizes the need for unnecessary update meetings that wastes time.

5. Keep track of constant updates

Project updates rarely happen out of thin air. Therefore, your project should always have relevant information relating to project resources, tasks, documents, activities, and dates.

This means that your project needs to be constantly updated by you as the project manager and your team. This results in a specified and detailed blueprint for the project while taking into account changes in situations.

6. Equality in resource allocation

While Gantt charts are perfect for pre-defining dates for your various tasks, they are also excellent for managing project resources and workloads.

The only challenge with this is for project managers to equally allocate and distribute resources without any form of bias. Unequal distribution leads to unnecessary and detrimental task overload that might lead to project failure. This also leads to mismatches of tasks and talents resulting in under performance.

This is where a gantt chart comes in, as it is very handy in equally allocating project resources.

7. Inspire and work with remote teams

Statistics from a study done by Softchoice suggest that 75% of Americans resign from their jobs and go for remote-based gigs.

We can all agree that working with a remote team for a large project already sounds challenging. Especially when it comes to assembling and managing everything from one place. Despite the originality of your team members, Gantt charts are one of the best in-house solutions that offer the perfect platform for your remote team.

Its timelines keep everyone on toes and by visualizing progress; this motivates the team and keeps them focused on positive results. By seeing tasks that have been done, those still in progress, and the upcoming ones, helps one prioritize and manage their work well. This ensures that the project is timely done.

8. More to its road-mapping capability

Road-mapping a project is one of the very first answers that would pop in our minds if we are asked what is the purpose of Gantt charts, right? Well, in as much as this is true, we need to understand that this basically includes several aspects such as dates, deadlines, vision, aims, resources, tasks, and so forth.

Gantt chart based tools today gives users the opportunity to efficiently adjust their projects appropriately. With its timeline, any member of your team is able to visually assess their progress by seeing where they are now and what is expected of them.

The ball is now in your court

So now that you know what is a Gantt chart used for and the purpose of it is ultimately to save you resource hours, minimize client complaints, and avoid project delays. It's all about managing and controlling the project through the various phases.