How to Use Gantt Chart for Project Management

A Gantt chart is useful project management chart that aids in planning a project having many components and team members. A Gantt chart plans the tasks that need to be completed, sets a timeline for the tasks, plans the allocation of resources and creates critical paths for tasks. The steps below will guide you through creating a Gantt chart for your new project.

Instructions

1. Create a list of all the activities that need to be completed during the project. As you create the list, write down the earliest start date and the estimated length of time each activity will take.

2. Put the list of activities in sequential order. If certain tasks need to be completed before other tasks can be started, put those tasks in order.

3. Use graph paper or a computer-graphing program to begin creating a draft of your Gantt chart. Divide the graph paper into the days or weeks available to work on the projects. Each task should go horizontally across the paper, represented as a solid bar with the estimated time it will take to complete each task written above each bar.

4. Create a second draft of the Gantt chart using the first Gantt chart draft as a guideline. Schedule the tasks paying attention to tasks that need to be completed before other tasks. Verify that resources are available when needed for a task and not being used for another task.

5. Prepare the final draft of the Gantt chart that incorporates both scheduling of tasks and resources. The final Gantt chart will show you how long it will take to complete the project with a certain number of people and which tasks need to be completed in which order.

6. Use the Gantt chart to assign and schedule tasks to project members and make any necessary changes as circumstances of the project change.