Gantt charts are a powerful project management tool that can greatly increase the productivity of individuals and teams. Gantt charts help managers perform important functions such as set the baseline scope, budget, and schedule of a project, as well as track the progress while it is underway. Using project management software can contribute to the productivity of an organization.

5 Ways to Increase Productivity with Gantt Charts:

1. Visually Organize Complex Information
2. Show Task Assignment and Progress Publicly
3. Display Multiple Projects to Help Distribute Resources Effectively
4. Inform Different Groups About Progress
5. Keep Project and Team Requirements Clear

1. Visually Organize Complex Information

One of the biggest advantages of Gantt charts is that they allow you to see important project management information at a glance. The visual nature of Gantt charts makes it easier to manage complex information about tasks including who is going to complete the task, when they are going to complete it, and how the task is related to the entire project. With project management software, tasks are displayed as color-coded horizontal lines across a timeline that represent individuals or teams.

2. Show Task Assignment and Progress Publicly

Since all team members can see who tasks are assigned to and their progress, Gantt charts keep everyone held accountable. Team productivity is increased because individuals can stay on top of their own work, their team’s work, and see the progress of tasks assigned to others that may affect their work. In project management software, alerts can be set to notify both the responsible persons and managers when a task is far from completion and is approaching a deadline so that time and resources can be redistributed if needed.

3. Display Multiple Projects to Help Distribute Resources Effectively

Project managers can use Gantt charts to see active and future projects and distribute workloads more efficiently. Project management software helps managers to see when projects will start for their departments and visualize the distribution of resources. Then they can more effectively plan and evenly divide work among individuals and teams.

4. Inform Different Groups About Progress

Gantt charts are an effective tool for summarizing project data to keep different stakeholders informed. Users of project management software can sort Gantt charts to display only the information that is most crucial for them, or to see the progress of the project as a whole. This allows all stakeholders to stay on top of project progress and changes.

5. Keep Project and Team Requirements Clear

Individuals are better able to see how their tasks relate to a whole project and more clearly understand their responsibilities. Gantt charts help everyone involved in a project see milestones of a project and how they are going to achieve the end result. This also helps stakeholders and managers see exactly what is required from individuals and teams in order to better plan the scope, timeline, and budget for a project.