A Gantt chart is basically a bar chart used in project management to show tasks, milestones, and even dependencies between tasks. It's a timeline of a project's progress, and it can be a useful tool for monitoring and managing projects. Project management software that can effectively create and utilize Gantt charts is a nice benefit, and Microsoft Office Project 2007 is one application that performs this task very nicely. So lets take a look at how to create a Gantt chart within Project 2007 and utilize the various functionality it provides.
When you first launch Project 2007, the initial screen view is of a Gantt chart. But, if you are creating a new project, there won't be much there. So unfortunately it's a little underwhelming until you begin plugging in your data. Once the tasks are added, things become much clearer, and soon enough the usefulness of a Gantt chart becomes evident.
The project window is split up into two panes. The left side is where your tasks will be listed along with their duration, start and end times. The first column on the left side is for task indicators. Indicators can either be represented
by a check, which shows the task is completed; or by two arrows in a revolving circle, showing that the task is reoccurring. There are over twenty different icons that can appear in this column, which should easily represent any number of task types within your project. Incidentally, you can see the entire list of task indicators by searching within the
Help section in Project using the search word
indicator or by clicking
here.
The right side of the windowpane is where the bar chart or timeline of the project will appear as data is added. As we begin to build the project, I will mention the different icons or graphics you can expect to see here. Depending on the complexity of your project, the right side of a Gantt chart can be very involved or very simple. Changes in the left side are reflected by changes in the right - and vice versa. So you are free to make adjustments to your project plan on either side, as they are sync'd together at all times.
Before we go any further however, its important to note that a Gantt chart - as well as any project management software tool - is not designed to be used in lieu of a project planning method. By the time you are ready to sit down and create a Gantt chart in Project 2007, you should have completed the project planning process. Project 2007 should be used as tool in the documentation process, after all the planning for the project has already been completed.
To begin documenting the project, you can start filling in the various columns on the left side such as Task Name and Duration. As an alternative you can right-click on an empty row, choose Task Information and a dialog box appears. This is another convenient way to enter task information. The six tabs across the dialog box provide easy access to adding details about the task such as start and end dates, and resources to be allocated. Another method to get the Task dialog box to appear is to double-click on the actual task.
Within the Predecessors tab, you can create dependencies between tasks - such as indicating that a task cannot start until a previous task finishes. To do so, select the predecessor task via a pulldown menu under the Task Name column within the Task Information dialog box. You can also change the type of relationship between the two tasks - like Finish-to-Start or Finish-to-Finish - via the Type column in the Predecessors tab. Changing data in the Lag column to indicate if there should be a delay between the tasks, can also be accomplished in the Predecessors tab.
Using the Resources tab, you can document the resources to be used for the various tasks. If you haven't documented the resources previously using the Resource Sheet within Project 2007, you can add them here by simply typing a name in the field under Resources and hitting Enter. You can then adjust the usage of the resource using the Units column. Within the Respurces Tab you also have the ability to put in a cost associated with the resource.
The Task Information pane has numerous other details you can adjust as necessary. In the top righthand corner, you can check a box to show that the duration for a task is an estimate. This can be handy if its too difficult to nail a task down to a specific timeframe for whatever reason. There's also a checkbox on the Advanced tab in the lower left to indicate whether a task is a milestone.
Once you have entered all of your tasks with their particular details, your right pane should show a nice bar chart. Dependencies are indicated by arrows between the tasks, and milestones are indicated by a diamond icon and a date. If resources have been assigned, the resource names will be displayed next to the tasks. Documenting a task as completed will place a check in the Indicators column and the bar in the right pane will be filled with a line. If a task is partially finished, the bar will show a line of the appropriate length inside of it (i.e. the line will fill 50% of the bar to indicate a task halfway completed).
You can fairly easily make adjustments to how the Gantt chart appears. If the default timescale needs to be changed to illustrate a different timescale, you can adjust it. Just right click on the top portion of the right pane where the dates are displayed. Then click on the Timescale link, to get another easy-to-use pane for various options related the timescale of your Gantt chart. You may also specify non-working time, which can be helpful later on for making adjustments to tasks.
The Gantt Chart Wizard is another useful option that appears when you right-click anywhere within the right pane. Walking through this wizard gives you further options and resources to customize what information will appear, and how it will appear within the right pane of your Gantt chart. So if certain irrelevant data is displayed within the right pane this is an easy way to adjust it.
Right-clicking in the right pane also provides you with a options to:
- Add gridlines,
- Change bar styles
- Change the layout of the chart
Right-clicking on individual items within the right pane offers you a way to change that particular item's look and feel, and also adjust a task's detailed information.
It's important to note that in Project 2007 - as with all of Microsoft's Office Suite - you can complete a task multiple ways. So if you're more familiar with using the menus at the top than using that right mouse button, that's fine too. Not everyone works the same way, so its nice that Project 2007 is flexible in this regard. Most of the things mentioned here can be accessed from the menus as well as using the mouse buttons. So feel free to use the method that suites you, since its the final product rather than how it gets done that counts.
Now that you have everything entered in, you can use Project 2007 from time to time to update and keep track of how the project is progressing. If you've put enough detail into the effort, anyone can look at the Gantt chart at any time and know which objectives have been met and which ones are still in the works.
For all those meetings you will be attending, it will be helpful to bring a hardcopy. By choosing Print from the File drop-down menu, you can print your newly created Gantt chart. The printout will include both panes as well as a legend at the bottom. Now you have a handy summary of the project's current status to distribute to stakeholders or managers. There are of course other report options within Project 2007 for displaying your project in various ways, but that's another article in itself. If you would like to see an example of a basic Gantt chart click here. To know more about other features in Project 2007, read my recent review of the software.
Once you start using Project 2007 for Gantt charts, you will very quickly see their usefulness. The summary information displayed in a Gantt chart can be helpful at any point in a project, and Project 2007 provides this function splendidly. The charts are not hard to create, they're fairly customizable, and they can help you manage and track your projects to a successful completion, which, in the end, is really what we're aiming for.
Interested in the history of the Gantt chart? Read Jeffrey Herrmann's A History of Decision Making Tools For Production Scheduling.