Why Should You Pick a Gantt Chart Project Management Software?

When you find yourself the designated project manager on your team, the first thing is to focus your efforts on perfecting project planning & execution.

As we say here in Ireland, Tús maith, leath na hoibre – “A good start is half the work”!

So you’ll want to get it right from the beginning.

Gantt Charts are a secret weapon that project managers use to plan & visualize their project from start to finish.

This article will introduce you to Gantt Charts and help guide you in getting started with your very own.

What is a Gantt Chart?

Gantt Charts are the type of a chart that represents the graphical overview of any scheduled task.

There are two points that you need to understand to getting started with them:

• All the activities related to any specific task are on the left side and the schedule on the right.
• Each activity’s duration can be planned and represented as bars spanning across a period of time.

The information that Gantt Charts provide are as follows:

• All the remaining tasks with start and end dates
• The interconnection of different tasks and their dependencies
• Each task’s duration
• The timeline of the whole project.

The Benefits of Gantt Charts

Gantt Charts simplify your project’s planning process.

They are straightforward to build, and they allow you to keep an observing eye on your project from start to end.

They help both the project manager and team members by giving a visual indication of the project’s timeline.

Moreover, as your project progresses, the chart adjusts to provide you with the latest schedule to keep your team members informed regarding the progress mark.

This way, your team members do not need long and time-consuming meetings for any status update, and your team understands their jobs better.

More advanced charts allow you to keep track of your resources, milestones, task responsibilities, and more.

In simple words, Gantt Charts allow you to picture every aspect of your project with time till its completion.

Pros and Cons of Gantt Chart

Advantages of managing projects with a Gantt Chart include:

• It summarizes your thoughts and organizes your plan
• Generates a detailed, visual picture of the project’s timeline
• Continuously keeps you updated regarding progress and the information to take necessary measures
• Allows you and your team to plan realistic deadlines of subtasks and an overall project’s timeline
• The data Gantt Charts provide is transparent and visible, which allows you to observe all the corners of your running project

Some limitations include:

• The most crucial drawback of Gantt Charts is that they can be highly involved at times.
• The bar sizes that you see in these charts do not indicate or represent the amount of work.
• You need to update them constantly.
• They are challenging to observe on a paper sheet.

It still does not mean that you should not consider it for your business or project because you can easily overcome these hiccups and hurdles.

Undoubtedly selecting a Gantt Chart project management software is one of the best decisions that you can make for your business.

Components/Features of Gantt Charts!

There are many components or features that a Gantt Chart can have, but the most essential features that you should always have in your Gantt Chart are as followed:

Tasks

There are always interconnected subtasks that all the large projects have.

That’s why the tasks are the most essential component of any Gantt Chart.

It allows you to keenly observe all of the sub-tasks of your project very efficiently.

Dates

This component not only allows you to keep the record of each task with its timeline, but it also provides you with information when these tasks take place.

This component is typically displayed at the top of the Gantt Chart.

Arrows

As most of your tasks are interconnected, and they also have dependencies on one another, the arrows depict their dependencies and relations.

Bars

The bars are directly related to each subtask and show the duration in which each subtask should be ideally completed.

Taskbars

Once your project is up and running, many subtasks can be quickly completed.

The taskbar shows all the completed subtasks statuses, which also provides information regarding the entire project’s progress.

Milestones

When you start any project, a single batch that consists of a few subtasks collectively represents a portion of your project.

The completion of that portion is instrumental to the success and completion of your project.

They are denoted by a diamond (or some other shape as desired) on a Gantt Chart.

Task Id

As the project flows on a big scale, there can be multiple subtasks being started and completed at the same time interval.

To identify them efficiently, Gent Chart provides Ids to those subtasks for your convenience.

Resources

You can also list the name of your team members or even the managers who are managing multiple subtasks to efficiently get feedback on each subtask.

This is yet another beneficial component of the Gantt Chart that you should use.

Getting Started with Gantt Charts

When you are just starting out, then you should get a simple Gantt Chart template from tons of options available online to get familiarized with the process.

These Gantt Chart templates will give you a basic idea of how it actually works.

Moreover, if you have to manage a project in a small or medium-sized company and your company is already on MS Office 365, then there are also many Gantt Chart Project Management Software options that you can opt for.

It will be a lot easier for you to share all the updates with your team members, coordinators, and the rest of the stakeholders.

One of the best options that are also most recommended is getting in touch with Project Central to explore their Gantt Chart options, which are highly efficient and impactful.

Not only will you be able to track your whole project at maximum efficiency, but Project Central’s Gantt Chart solutions will also allow you to account for all the different and essential areas of your project.

Takeaway

Now you know how Gantt Charts work and how they can benefit your project from the starting point to their successful completion.

They are helpful in so many ways, and using them is a wise idea.

So let the software do most of the work for you so that you can spend most of your time on more important tasks. So what are you waiting for? Buckle up and get ready to get Gantt Charts.