What is the Gantt Chart?

[Emily123]

Hi everyone,
I have recently started with the MS Excel. While reading about the projects, I have read that a Gantt chart is a useful tool for planning and scheduling projects. But since I don't know anything about the Gantt Chart I thought to ask to you guys.!! You have helped me many times, so instead of searching on web, I thought it would be better of asked to you. Please tell me what is the Gantt Chart.?? Detailed information about it would be grateful.

[Zenon]

The Gantt Chart is a popular graphical tool that aims to show the time commitment expected for different tasks or activities over a total time given. Although, in principle, the Gantt chart does not indicate the relationships between activities, the position of each task along time ago that you can identify these relationships and interdependencies. Therefore, for planning the development of complex projects also requires the use of techniques based on precedence networks as CPM or graphs PERT. These networks link the activities so that you can display the critical path of the project and allow reflect a timescale to facilitate resource allocation and budget setting.

[Kirmiac]

The Gantt chart is helpful for the relationship between time and workload. In project management, Gantt diagram shows the origin and end of the different units minimum working and task groups (called summary elements in the image) or minimal dependencies between work units. Since its introduction Gantt charts have become a basic tool in managing projects of all kinds, in order to represent the various phases, tasks and activities planned as part of a project or to display a timeline on the various activities making the most efficient method.

[Rob Dizzle]

Computer tools can produce a Gantt chart with a spreadsheet in a very simple, by checking certain cells to form the representation of each task. There are macros that automate the processing in MS Excel and OpenOffice Calc, however, there are tools of project management involved in the planning and monitoring tasks with Gantt diagram as Main screen. Tasks are introduced, their relationships and start and end conditions, and the graphics and design program adapts to new information being introduced. There are tools on the market capable of producing a representation of tasks over time in a Gantt chart format. There are also free license tools capable of carrying out the task of representing progress Gantt charts.

[Bigga Lexx]

Gantt Chart is a special type of horizontal bar chart that is very common in project management to represent the phases and activities in a structured hierarchical decomposition of work involved (WBS) of a project. A Gantt chart is constructed with a horizontal axis representing the entire project period, broken down into increments (eg, days, weeks, or months) and vertical axis representing the tasks that make up the project. The horizontal bars of varying lengths represent the sequences, timing, and duration for each task.

[Glenny]

The following are the disadvantages of the Gantt chart :

1. The projects are often considerably more complex than can be communicated effectively in a Gantt chart.
2. Gantt charts only represent part of the triple constraints (time, cost and scope) projects because they focus mainly on management planning (time).
3. Gantt charts do not represent the size of a project or the relative size of work elements, therefore the importance of a state-delay schedule is easily misread.
4. Although the software project management can represent dependencies planning as lines between activities, displaying a large number of dependencies may result in a cluttered see diagram unreadable. Avoid the use of grids (tight) in software Gantt because they distract attention.