Project Gantt Chart

Projects are important and need to be done carefully and completed on time. It is important to organize these effectively and break them down into manageable tasks and timelines or it becomes hectic to complete the project. This may result in efficiencies occurring and the project not being completed as it should have been. Therefore it is important to organize it and this can be done with the help of a Gantt chart.

Gantt charts can be employed for charting the different activities connected with a project against a certain timeline. The chart is helpful because it gives a visual guide of the start as well as end dates of various activities, etc.

What is a Project Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart tends to be a timeline of a project. Gantt charts can show the way that various activities are connected as well as the way that the completion or delay of a single milestone may affect the others. The top of the chart may display the time frame moreover the left side of it may tell the project activities.

Format: Excel (.xlsx)

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What does a Project Gantt Chart do?

A Gantt chart tends to be a horizontal bar chart employed in project management that aids in visually representing a project plan over time. The charts often show the timeline along with the status and who is responsible for every task in the project. A Gantt chart will let you know how a certain project breaks down into tasks. You will see when every task will start and end and how long every task will take. It also lets one know who is assigned to every task. The chart will let people know how work is progressing in a certain project.

How to create a Project Gantt Chart?

If you want to create a project Gantt chart that will be professional looking and help manage a project, you can consider the following points:

Make a table

Making Gantt charts in Excel can help you represent the project plan visually. You can make a table in an Excel Spreadsheet that has your project’s primary details such as a list of tasks and their descriptions, the start date for every task, the end date for all tasks, and the duration of every task.

Include a stacked bar chart

You can make a Gantt chart by employing a stacked bar chart. For this, you will need to remain on the same sheet and then click on an empty cell. You can click on the Insert Tab and choose Bar Chart Option. After this select Stacked Bar Chart.

You can include task data in the chart. Right-click on the chart then click on the “Select Data” option. You will see the Select Data Source window. Two options will be present including “Legend Entries (Series)” where you will include the start task date as well as the duration. There will be the “Horizontal Axis Labels” which will show task names. Click on the Add button within the Legend Entries (Series) section and add the task start dates as well as durations.

For the “Task start date” option you can choose the Series Name and select the Start date cell. You can set the Series values, particularly to the cell range that has the start dates for the tasks. For the “Task durations” choose the Series Name and select the Duration cell. You can set the Series values specifically to the cell range having the task durations. Choose the Edit option present under the Horizontal (Category) axis label which will allow you to add task names that will be on the vertical axis.

Format chart

Your standard bar is ready. You can format the stacked bar so that it appears like a Gantt Chart. This can be done by right-clicking on the blue area of the bar. Click on the Format Data Series that will open the Formatting dialog box. Click on No Fill on the Fill option. The chart can be customized according to your needs.

Importance of a Project Gantt Chart:

This chart will help you organize your project in a way that will be easier to complete. You can check out whether milestones have been met and whether this is being done promptly.