How to Use a Gantt Chart

How to use a Gantt Chart: Essential features of a good chart

A Gantt Chart is one of the most widely used project management tools across industries for visualizing work and tracking activities. This chart is excellent for tracking project schedules and establishing the relationship between tasks or project phases. Many building and construction professionals rely on Gantt Charts to record progress, allocate resources, identify constraints, and to show any other information that may be relevant to the project at hand.

How to use a Gantt Chart

It is relatively easy to assign dates and update or manage information with this chart. You are also able to link tasks with their respective deadlines and to also show how each task depends on the other. When working with this scheduling tool, you save time and also protect yourself from the possibility of missing something that may be vital to the success of your project. Here are the steps to follow to use a Gantt Chart.

• Identify all essential tasks: First of all, make a to-do list of all activities required and assign a timeline to each activity.
• Establish the relationship between project tasks: Tasks are inter-related on some levels. You need to establish whatever relationship there may be. This will help you identify the tasks that need to be completed before another begins.
• Curate all tasks on a spreadsheet according to their timelines: Based on their order of priority or timeliness, arrange all tasks on a spreadsheet or project management software. Do this after considering their relationships, importance, and the resources required to complete them.
• Assign dates and add extra information: Now, you can assign dates to each task as well as the required resources (labor, materials, equipment). You may add some footnote for clarity under each task.

If you are using a Gantt Chart Software, the technology will create a visual chart. All you need to do will be to fill in the data under each segment.

Once the chart is up and running, don’t forget to update it as work progress. Constantly review and update it as often as possible to reflect progress and current changes.

Features of a good Gantt Chart

• A good Gantt Chart should have a start date
• Tasks should have names and proper description
• The chart should show the resources assigned to each task
• End date should be stated
• The timeline for each task
• Relationship between tasks
• The final End date for the project

If your Gantt chart has the data features listed above, then you are good to go. You should be able to complete your construction project on time with minimal fuss.

How do you use the Gantt chart? Let us know in the comments section below!