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A Gantt chart is a commonly used tool in project management. It was named after Henry Gantt, an American mechanical engineer who created the chart in the 1910s.

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart. It is a visual representation of the project schedule, displayed as bars across a calendar. There are many free applications online which create Gantt charts. However, they can also be created non-electronically by hand following these steps.

Step one - Tasks

Come up with a list of tasks that need to be completed. These tasks should be very specific, so instead of just stating ‘meeting’, the task should state ‘meeting about finance’ or ‘meeting with venue organisers’.

Step two - Assign roles

Decide who can do each task and how long they need. The timings could be in hours or days. Initials are often used to show who is responsible for each task.

Step three - Build timelines

This means creating a table. In the table, the tasks should be listed (see step one) along with the timings and who is responsible (see step two). The table should look like this.

Step four - Decide on the task order

This means adding an extra column to the table, as shown here.

If the project is about raising awareness for a local animal sanctuary, one of the tasks may involve designing publicity materials such as flyers and posters. However, another task may be to employ a printing company to produce them. This task cannot be completed until the first task has been achieved, as shown here. Also, if something is not applicable, it can be noted as n/a.

Example

This is an example of a Gantt chart.

In it, you will see that Task 1 has been scheduled to start on 21 March and to be completed by 24 March, so it will take three days.

Task 2 isn’t dependent on Task 1 being completed, so it can also start on 21 March. However, Task 2 takes until the 28 March, so it will take seven days.