A Small Article On Gantt Chart Software
Gantt charts are one of the popular ways to graphically represent a certain project's schedule. Gantt charts are named after their developer, Henry L. Grant, a well known management consultant. Nowadays, Gantt charts are the most preferred methods by project managers to present the timeline of a certain project, helping all the persons involved to plan, coordinate and observer all the project's tasks. You can design a simple Gantt Chart by hand, or you can use specialized Gantt chart software programs to design more complex charts. The main element of a Gantt Chart is the horizontal bar which represents the entire time span of the project. If you will look at any Gantt chart, you will notice that the horizontal line is split into several segments, each segment representing a certain time period (days, weeks or even months) and a vertical bar ,which represents all the tasks that are meant to be fulfilled to finish the entire project. The vertical bar will show the main parts of the entire project and not each and every step necessary for each step. Let us assume that the project is to bring up to date all the computers in the company's building. For such a project, its main tasks will be the research needed, the buying of the software and the installation and configuration. When designing a Gantt Chart for such a project, the first step, the research needed, will be placed at the top of the vertical axis. Of course, if you are using a Gantt Chart Software, this will be a lot easier. From that point, you will need to draw a horizontal bar representing the total amount of time allocated for this task. Next, enter all the other tasks below the first one and draw the time line accordingly for each of them, starting at the point you believe you will start each of them (for example, the software installation task will start once the buying of the programs has finished). It is not necessary for a task to start once another has finished. The bar spans can overlap, as some tasks can be done in parallel if they do not depend much on each other. You can change the color of each task bar once they are fulfilled, totally or partially. Gantt charts have a series of advantages and among them the most important is the clear way in which the entire project is presented and detailed, but in the same time Gantt charts do not present task dependencies (for example, if a certain task is falling behind, this chart type will not show you how the other tasks are affected). There are many Gantt chart software programs available on the market and below you will see some of the most used software tools. The easiest and simplest Gantt chart software available is SmartDraw, but it is a powerful tool nonetheless. You can generate any kind of Gantt chart in just a few minutes, as the program offers you many templates and comprehensive wizards. Drawing the bars is very easy and all the program's features are very intuitive. Microsoft Excel also includes a Gantt Chart designing tool and its main advantage is the fact that is included in the Microsoft Office software package. It is easy to use and it offers all the basic Gantt chart creating functions you need. |
