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The Project, Broken Down Into Increments (For Example, Days, Weeks, or Months)

This document discusses Gantt charts, which are a type of bar chart used to manage projects. Gantt charts show the tasks involved in a project along the vertical axis and time along the horizontal axis, with bars representing the start and end dates of each task. The document provides instructions on how to construct a basic Gantt chart, lists advantages such as helping visualize complexity and organize thoughts, and disadvantages such as becoming complex for large projects and difficulty updating. It concludes that Gantt charts are best for simple sequential projects and more complex network charts are needed for more complicated projects.

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Eurydice
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27 views

The Project, Broken Down Into Increments (For Example, Days, Weeks, or Months)

This document discusses Gantt charts, which are a type of bar chart used to manage projects. Gantt charts show the tasks involved in a project along the vertical axis and time along the horizontal axis, with bars representing the start and end dates of each task. The document provides instructions on how to construct a basic Gantt chart, lists advantages such as helping visualize complexity and organize thoughts, and disadvantages such as becoming complex for large projects and difficulty updating. It concludes that Gantt charts are best for simple sequential projects and more complex network charts are needed for more complicated projects.

Uploaded by

Eurydice
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Charts examples are mostly used by business organizations as a tool in

making decisions. These chart types are usually bar charts and pie charts showing
percentages and comparisons between past and current years. But other than that,
charts can also be used in one’s personal life or in another kind of field.

Gantt charts may be simple versions created on graph paper or more complex
automated versions created using project management applications such as Microsoft
Project or Excel.

HOW TO PREPARE THE CHART?

*A Gantt chart is constructed with a horizontal axis representing the total time span of
the project, broken down into increments (for example, days, weeks, or months).

* The vertical axis representing the tasks that make up the project (for example, if
the project is constructing a structure/building, the major tasks involved might be:
relocate the site, excavation, erection of post and girts and so on)

*While the horizontal bars of varying lengths represent the sequences, timing, and
time span for each task.

*A Gantt chart is constructed by firstly listing all the things that you can think of that
need to be done in a project.

*This could be quite a long list. Then, you should group those tasks under specific
headings.

*For a Gantt chart that is to be used for people to look at regularly so that they can
get an idea of what is happening in a project, the chart should be just kept to these
high-level headings. A more detailed version can be kept by the person running the
project.

ADVANTAGES OF GANTT CHART:

 It creates a picture of complexity. I am quite a fan of diagrams and charts. We think in


pictures. Therefore, if we can see complex ideas as a picture, this will help our
understanding. (e.g., Mavenlink, Wrike, Smartsheet, AceProject)

 It organises your thoughts. I am also a big fan of the concept of dividing and conquering.
A big problem is conquered by dividing it into component parts. A Gantt chart will force you
to do this.

 It demonstrates that you know what you’re doing. When you produce a nicely
presented Gantt chart with high level tasks properly organized and resources allocated to
those tasks, it speaks volumes about whether you are on top of the needs of the project
and whether the project will be successful.
 It (should) help you to set realistic time frames. The bars on the chart indicate in which
period a particular task or set of tasks will be completed. This can help you to get things in
perspective properly. And when you do this, make sure that you think about events in your
organisation that have nothing to do with this project that might consume resources and
time.

 It can be highly visible. It can be useful to place the chart, or a large version of it, where
everyone can see it. This helps to remind people of the objectives and when certain things
are going to happen. It is useful if everyone in your enterprise can have a basic level of
understanding of what is happening with the project even if they may not be directly
involved with it.

DISADVANTAGES OF GANTT CHART:

 They can become extraordinarily complex. Except for the most simple projects, there
will be large numbers of tasks undertaken and resources employed to complete the project.
There are software applications that can manage all this complexity
(e.g., Mavenlink, Wrike, Smartsheet, AceProject).
However, when the project gets to this level, it must be managed by a small number of
people (perhaps one) who manages all of the details. Sometimes this does not work so well
in a business that is not used to this type of management. Big businesses will frequently
employ one or more project managers who are very skilled in this. For a range of reasons,
this may not work so well in a smaller enterprise.

 The size of the bar does not indicate the amount of work. Each bar on the chart
indicates the time period over which a particular set of tasks will be completed. However,
by looking at the bar for a particular set of tasks, you cannot tell what level of resources are
required to achieve those tasks. So, a short bar might take 500 man hours while a longer
bar may only take 20 man hours. The longer bar may indicate to the uninformed that it is a
bigger task, when in fact it is not.

 They need to be constantly updated. As you get into a project, things will change. If
you’re going to use a Gantt chart you must have the ability to change the chart easily and
frequently. If you don’t do this, it will be ignored. Again, you will probably need software to
do this unless you’re keeping your project management at a high level.

 Difficult to see on one sheet of paper. The software products that produce these charts
need to be viewed on a computer screen, usually in segments, to be able to see the whole
project. It then becomes difficult to show the details of the plan to an audience. Further, you
can print out the chart, but this will normally entail quite a large “cut and paste” exercise. If
you are going to do this frequently, it can be very time-consuming.

Gantt charts are useful for simple projects where activities are simultaneous or where a
string of sequential activities are involved.
For more complex projects, Gantt chart can be useful for initial project planning, which then
gives way to the use of networks called PERT and CPM which will be discussed in Chapter 4 to
Chapter 8.

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