Gantt chart are an extremely useful project management methodology for visually organizing complex project information. To put it simply, a Gantt chart is a timeline view of your project, in which tasks represented as bars are laid out against a timeline. A Gantt chart is an effective way to visually keep track of all your project’s tasks and deadlines. Gantt charts show task assignments and progress publicly in order to keep everyone informed, which makes it easier for the project manager to manage resource,people, time and tasks more efficiently.

What Do Gantt Charts Consist Of?

A Gantt chart might sound complicated, but really, each Gantt chart consists of just 4 basic parts: task names, task bars, milestones, and dependencies. The beauty of Gantt charts is that they take complex project information and organize it in a really easy-to-understand way. Let’s take a closer look at the 4 parts of Gantt charts and some Gantt chart examples of how to use them to represent your projects.

Task Names and Task Bars

Task names are listed vertically down the left-hand side of a Gantt chart. Task bars are the bars that represent each task; laid out against the timeline to the right of each task name. Each bar will have a length based on how long that particular task is scheduled to take, with a specific start and end date for the task. You can also group certain types of related tasks together.

Consider a Gantt chart example that has several tasks related to making a new product video. You could create a “product video” group with a single task bar that represents how long it should take to complete the whole video. Then, underneath that group, you would have several subtasks, each with a different length of task bar depending on how long that particular task needs to take.

Milestones

Milestones are any kind of relevant deliverable for your project. They can include major deadlines, kickoffs, or other project goals. You should be sure to include milestones from your project plan in any Gantt chart you create to make sure that all project information is visually represented.

Considering our Gantt chart example related to creating a new product video, you could have milestones for major task deadlines such as completing the graphics, completing the audio, and finally editing the pieces of the video together.