When the need arises, it’s all too easy to grab a Gantt chart template from the internet. What is important is that you, as a project manager, should know what goes behind a basic Gantt chart template. It’s easier to edit the Gantt chart template to suit your project’s needs if you know what you’re doing!
A Gantt chart is a tool used in project management. Countless project managers have employed the use of Gantt charts in their projects. This is because with a Gantt chart, you are able to see more or less a complete summary of the flow and schedule of the project’s tasks. A timeline of the entire project is located at the top part of the page, while a list of the tasks is listed down along the left part of the page. Each task on the left pane has its own bar under the timeline. These bars represent the task’s schedule, and their size and their position along the horizontal plane corresponds to the length of each task, as well as their start and end dates.
The very first Gantt charts were designed and developed by an American engineer and management expert, Henry Laurence Gantt, during the 1910s. The very first function of the prototype Gantt charts were for monitoring the progress of sea vessel construction. Of course, they weren’t called Gantt charts during that time. Since Gantt’s passing away in 1919, many other project managers continued what he started, which eventually led to the Gantt chart we know and use today.
To be able to use the Gantt chart template you downloaded from the internet effectively, follow these simple steps:
- Make a list of the tasks involved in your project. It will be easier to edit the Gantt chart template later if you already have your list of tasks at hand.
- Write down the expected duration for each of the tasks. This will help you determine the start and end points for each of the task bars.
- Arrange the tasks in the order which satisfies their interdependencies. As a quick example, you cannot build the second floor of a building without building the ground floor. And you can’t build the ground floor without first building the foundations of the structure. Always ask yourself, “what needs to come first?” and you should be able to do this step properly.
- Edit the Gantt chart template and input the information you have written down. Many Gantt chart template sites offer the template in Excel format, so it is helpful if you have Microsoft Excel, or any freeware spreadsheet software such as OpenOffice Calc.
- Add any necessary features or enhancements to your Gantt chart. More often than not, you would find that you need to add certain elements to the Gantt chart template you just edited. For instance, you may add arrows to signify critical paths, or you can apply color-coding to the bars. You may also group tasks according to the type of resources they will be using. You can also add markers to signify the current date, as well as milestones somewhere during the timeline of the task.
There are many available Gantt chart templates on the internet. Try Googling for some that really fits your project!