Gantt chart . Gantt chart or Gantt chart is a tool that allows the user to model the planning of the tasks necessary to carry out a project. Whose objective is to show the expected dedication time for different tasks or activities over a given total time. This tool was invented by Henry L. Gantt in 1917 .
Summary
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- 1 Features
- 1 Vertical axis
- 2 Horizontal axis
- 2 Conventional symbols
- 3 Advantages and Disadvantages of Gantt charts
- 4 Free software to work with Gant charts
- 5 Proprietary software for working with Gantt charts
- 6 Sources
characteristics
The Gantt chart consists of a graphical representation on two axes; in the vertical the tasks of the project are arranged and in the horizontal the time is represented.
Vertical axis
The activities that constitute the work to be performed. Each activity is mapped to a horizontal line whose length is proportional to its duration in which the measurement takes place in relation to the scale defined on the horizontal axis as illustrated.
Horizontal axis
A calendar, or time scale defined in terms of the most appropriate unit for the work to be carried out: hour, day, week, month, etc.
Each activity is represented by a rectangular block whose length indicates its duration; height is meaningless. The position of each block in the diagram indicates the start and end times of the tasks to which they correspond. The blocks corresponding to tasks on the critical path tend to be filled in another color.
Conventional symbols
In drawing the Gantt chart, it is customary to use certain symbols, although many others can be designed to meet the specific needs of the user.
The basic symbols are as follows:
- Initiation of an activity.
- Term of an activity
- Fine line connecting the two inverted “L” s. Indicates the expected duration of the activity.
- Thick line. Indicates the fraction already carried out of the activity, in terms of percentage. It should be drawn below the thin line that represents the expected deadline.
- Period during which the activity cannot be carried out. Corresponds to downtime can be noted above the symbol using an abbreviation.
- Indicates the date on which the graph was last updated , that is, when the comparison was made between the activities planned and those actually carried out.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Gantt charts
The main advantage of the Gantt chart is that its layout requires a minimum level of planning, that is, there needs to be a plan to be represented in the form of a graph. Gantt charts are very effective in the initial stages of planning. However, after the activity has started and when modifications begin to be made, the graph tends to become confusing. The Gantt Chart does not offer conditions for the analysis of options, nor does it take into account factors such as cost. It is fundamentally a techniqueof trials and errors. It does not allow, either, the visualization of the relationship between the activities when the number of these is large. In summary, for the planning of relatively simple activities, the Gantt chart represents a low cost instrument and extreme simplicity in its use. For complex projects, their limitations are quite serious, and it was these that led to trials that resulted in the development of the CPM , PERT, and other related techniques. These techniques introduced new concepts that, later associated with those of the Gantt charts, gave rise to the so-called “network-schedules”.
Free software to work with Gant charts
- GANTT Project
GanttProject is a free project management tool, it allows you to make GANTT diagrams in order to plan a project and manage resources. GanttProject is a complete tool with functionalities to import and export to Microsoft Project, it also allows exporting to PDF or HTML format .
- OpenProj
Free project management software that allows you to create, among others, Gantt charts, PERT , WBS , RBS , costs, etc.
- Planner
It is a tool to plan, schedule and follow projects for the GNOME desktop . It is a GTK + application written in C and licensed under GPL
Proprietary software for working with Gantt charts
- Microsoft Project
It is project management software designed, developed, and marketed by Microsoft to assist project managers in developing plans, assigning resources to tasks, tracking progress, managing budgets, and analyzing workloads.
