What is a Gantt chart?
A Gantt chart is a bar chart that visually represents project tasks, their duration, and chronological sequence, showing the entire project plan at a glance.
DEFINITION
A Gantt chart shows on a horizontal timeline when tasks begin, how long they last, and in what order they take place. Each task is represented by a bar. Dependencies between tasks — which task must be completed before another can begin — are shown with arrows or lines. Milestones often appear as diamonds. The chart is especially well suited for communicating project schedules with stakeholders, planning resources, and spotting bottlenecks early. Henry Gantt developed this display format around 1910 for industrial planning. Today it is the most widely used visualisation tool in classical project management. The downside: in large projects, Gantt charts quickly become unwieldy. They also show planned but not actual dependencies in detail.
CONNECTIONS
Leadership
Gantt charts give leaders orientation: which phase is the project in right now? This enables situational leadership, as the need for support and control varies by project phase.
Artificial Intelligence
Generative AI can create Gantt charts from simple project descriptions or adjust existing plans based on updates. This significantly speeds up planning work.
Agility
In hybrid projects, sprints are often inserted as time blocks in Gantt charts. This visualises when sprints run and when milestones build on sprint results.
KEY POINTS
- A Gantt chart shows tasks, duration, and sequence on a timeline.
- Dependencies between tasks are marked with arrows or lines.
- Milestones appear as diamonds in the chart.
- It suits communication with stakeholders and resource planning.
- In very large projects it quickly becomes unwieldy.
EXAMPLE
A project manager plans a website relaunch with 12 tasks over 16 weeks. In the Gantt chart the team immediately sees: concept and design run in parallel, development only begins after design approval, testing follows development. In week 16 a diamond marks the launch milestone. In week 8 the team recognises that design is behind schedule and responds early.
MISCONCEPTIONS
Can I use a Gantt chart to estimate effort?
No. A Gantt chart visualises time spans, not effort. Effort estimates are done separately and then flow in as bar lengths.
Is a Gantt chart pointless in agile projects?
Not necessarily. For communicating release plans and roadmaps with stakeholders, agile teams often use Gantt-like formats too.