Have you ever heard of the Gantt chart for project management ? Considered as a planning tool, it allows you to set the framework of your project, from its conception to its implementation, by obtaining a precise follow-up of the different evolution phases. You can also enter the tasks of each team member and the expected costs per department. Its use is essential for the successful completion of projects: discover in detail the benefits of the Gantt chart.
Presentation of the Gantt chart
The Gantt chart is a project planning tool. It is presented in the form of a horizontal bar graph. This graph represents the chronology of a project with all the tasks to be executed and the deadlines to be met for delivery. It provides an overview of the planned tasks and allows the project actors to see the different activities to be accomplished by directly consulting the online Gantt tool.
One of the strengths of the diagram is to visually represent the progression of tasks. You will also find the milestones that correspond to specific moments in time as they represent checkpoints to validate the work done. Milestones are typically team meetings and activity approval or control points.
Finally, to understand how this tool works, all the activities to be performed are listed in the left column of the Gantt chart. The header line is for time units. And in the central part, each task is represented by a horizontal bar whose length is associated with a defined time duration.
The benefits of Gantt in project management
In project management, the Gantt chart facilitates the organization of work. The clear and simplified visualization of activities allows managers to have an overall view of the tasks to be performed, to better manage time, to obtain performance indicators as the project progresses, etc. With this type of methodology, project managers gain flexibility because they can adjust tasks and deadlines and prioritize certain activities along the way thanks to this overview.
For good communication within the project team, the Gantt chart allows you to create visuals that are impactful and understandable to everyone. This avoids misunderstandings and confusion. Indeed, a color can be assigned to a group of people or to a person.
The Gantt planning tool has the particularity of being adaptable to any type of project. Each project, regardless of its complexity and execution structure, always follows the same organizational steps. As the Gantt chart has integrated this methodology into its functionality, it allows to plan all types of projects in their entirety.
With Gantt, it is easier to adjust as the project progresses or when unexpected events occur. Indeed, the visual representation of tasks at a glance allows to evaluate the workload by teams, to better adapt the execution time of certain activities, to standardize the tasks between collaborators, etc. For the success of a project, it is sometimes necessary to rebalance the work schedule along the way in order to achieve the set objectives.
A tool to improve
project management ?
For a better project management
The project management software have been designed to simplify the different phases of project management. A tool that allows you to plan, assign and evaluate can help increase productivity in your company. Some tasks can even be automated, freeing up your time to focus on high value-added topics. This is what the Gantt chart allows you to do.
However, to achieve an optimized project management, a management software is not enough. It is also necessary to do a lot of thinking upstream. It is a matter of defining the project in a precise and realistic way. You can exchange with your customers to really know their expectations. It is also advisable to gather as much information as possible on the theme of your project in order to know if it meets the needs of the market.
Then, your objectives must be identified and set with deadlines that are tenable for the project team. Before using the Gantt chart, you have one last step to perform. You must assign each collaborator to one or more tasks and define the project costs. This upstream work also consists of prioritizing the tasks by establishing the relationships between them. From your manual work, the management software will help you structure your project through a visualization of tasks and completion times.
To conclude, the Gantt chart is the ultimate planning tool. The overview of the tasks is essential to guide you in your work and help the project team to move forward. Indeed, she needs this tool to evaluate her performance and be confident with achievable goals.
