Gantt Chart Design “The best laid schemes of mice and men Often go awry, And leave us nothing but grief and pain, Instead of promised joy!” Robert Burns

Gantt Chart History Developed by Henry Laurence Gantt (1861 – 1919) Mechanical engineer, management consultant, industry advisor Developed Gantt charts Visual tool to show scheduled and actual progress of projects Accepted as a commonplace project management tool today, it was an innovation of world-wide importance in the 1920’s Used on large construction projects  Hoover Dam started in 1931  Interstate Highway system started in 1956

Gantt Chart

About Gantt Charts A graphical representation of the duration of tasks against the progression of time A useful planning tool for planning and scheduling projects Helpful when monitoring a project’s progress Allows you to assess how long a project should take Allows you to see immediately what should have been achieved at a point in time

About Gantt Charts Allows you to see how remedial action may bring the project back on course Lays out the order in which tasks need to be carried out Helps manage the dependencies between tasks

Gantt Chart Put onto one page Summary view of the marking period Planned and current dates Status of each phase Forecasted finish dates Major milestones marked by symbols with abbreviated text Major completion dates Meaning of symbols defined in legend

Symbols Use indicator symbols to show which project items need attention Tips on using indicator symbols Use distinct shapes and colors to clearly separate one indicator from another Rely on the indicator’s shape, not color, when printing to black and white Clearly define the indicators in a legend Use logical symbols, such as check-marks for completed activities Display “pie-fills” to show percent complete

Symbols Use ‘stoplights’ as a quick visual of tasks that are ahead of schedule, on schedule, or behind schedule Use check-marks to indicate a completed task 

Symbols

Cell color highlights allow easy viewing and show task responsibility

Use consistent symbology “What symbol do I use for a critical milestone?” Use simple intuitive symbol choices Be consistent in applying the symbology Clearly define the meaning of each symbol in a legend

Examples of symbology Green for starting activities Red for finishing activities Yellow for “on-hold” Check mark for completed items Up arrow to start Down arrow for completion Slash mark for changed date Diamond for critical milestones Once your symbology is established, save the format to be re-used