What is Gantt Chart in Project Management? – Components | New Topic [2024]

In this note, we are going to learn a topic called “What is Gantt Chart in Project Management?“. and also about its components, advantages and applications. Welcome to Poly Notes Hub, a leading destination for diploma engineering notes for polytechnic students.

Author Name: Arun Paul.

What is Gantt Chart in Project Management?

A Gantt Chart is a visual depiction used in project management to plan and track job progress over time. It is made up of a succession of horizontal bars, each indicating a task or activity in the project. The length of each bar correlates to the duration of the work, and the bars are arranged along a timeline, which is typically represented horizontally.

Components of Gantt Chart

Here we listed some Gantt Chart Components –

1. Tasks or Activities: These are the individual activities or work packages that must be done during the project. Each task is represented by a distinct bar on the chart.
2. Timeline: The chronology is often displayed on the chart’s horizontal axis and shows the project’s duration. It is divided into increments of days, weeks, or months, depending on the size of the project.
3. Bars: The bars in the chart reflect the tasks or activities. The length of each bar represents the task’s projected duration. They are organized along the timeline based on their start and end dates.
4. Dependencies: Gantt charts frequently incorporate dependencies between tasks, indicating which work must be finished before others can begin. These dependencies are represented by arrows linking the bars on the chart.
5. Milestones: Milestones are significant events or accomplishments on the project timetable, such as the completion of a phase or the delivery of a critical deliverable. They are represented as diamond-shaped symbols on the graph.

Advantages of Gantt Chart

Some important advantages of the Gantt Chart –

1. Clearly displayed timetables in graphic form.
2. Task dependencies are simple to identify.
3. Effective distribution of resources.
4. Straightforward progress monitoring.
5. Efficient use of time.

Applications of Gantt Chart

Some important applications of Gantt chart –

1. Planning and scheduling tasks.
2. Allocating resources efficiently.
3. Tracking project progress.
4. Communicating timelines to stakeholders.
5. Identifying critical path tasks.
6. Supporting decision making with visual insights.