Guide about Gantt chart and its benefits

In project management, some resources are needed to help the planning of the different processes and to keep track and record of the tasks and activities that comprise it. One of these resources is the Gantt schedule.

The Gantt chart is an effective tool for project management, which allows you to see, graphically, the schedule of activities that are part of the program, its duration and sequence.

It shows the stages of which the designed program is composed and the activities planned to develop it. To do this, the beginning and end of each of these phases is indicated by bar charts. In this way, the global calendar of the project can be easily visualized.

This instrument has been used since the early twentieth century. However, the method has become popular thanks to the new technologies that have facilitated its application. Currently there are various software that allow you to plan tasks, update them and introduce the necessary modifications, quickly and easily.

Steps to develop the Gantt schedule

This method favors global project planning. To develop it, regardless of the type of software used, a series of necessary steps must be followed, which will facilitate the development of such schedules.

These steps can be summarized in the following actions:

• Reflect the stages of the project.
• Determine the main tasks to develop.
• Indicate the duration of each task.
• Point out the interdependence between activities.
• Establish the priority list.
• Distribute the necessary resources.
• Assign the tasks to each person or work team.

 Advantages of the Gantt schedule

The main advantages presented by this document are the ones shown below:

• It makes it easy to visualize the overall project schedule at once. What is very practical to know the phases and tasks that will be carried out, the expected times and their evolution.
• It establishesa series of realistic deadlines, which are reflected in the schedule. In fact, the approach of a Gantt chart should be based on fully achievable purposes, because if it is done without first reflecting on the real capacity we have it will not help. In this sense, it is very useful to achieve realistic goals.
• It facilitatesthe progressive achievement of objectives. The elaboration of the schedule requires breaking down the process into different parts that are structured in small units. In this way, the phases are established and the necessary actions to carry out the program are detailed. The project is broken down and organized into small goals that are easy to achieve.
• It is an effective communication tool. This diagram is an effective communication instrument, as it allows all the stages involved to be clearly transmitted to the people involved in the project.