Is Gantt Chart Effective for Project Management Automation?

What does Gantt stand for?

Gantt is not an acronym. It's simply a work breakdown structure management tool who was perfected by Henry Gantt, an American engineer and project management consultant, devised his own version of the chart and it was this that became widely known and popular in western countries.

Can I create a Gantt chart in Excel?

Yes, You can. But we don't recommend it! There are much better more dynamic and collaborative tools today.

What are The 4 components of a Gantt chart?

1. Tasks: the individual activities or work items that need to be completed for project.

2. Timeline: The timeline represents the duration of each task.

3. Dependencies: show the relationships between tasks.

4. Progress: shows how much of each task has been completed at any given time.

Who Uses a Gantt Chart?

Managers who look into task progress, resource allocation and resource management.

In this video, I will show you exactly what mistakes business owners, project managers, and executives make when they use charts. Gantt charts are effective, but based on my professional experience as a workflow automation consultant they only have four main benefits.

As we work with a lot of operations managers and project managers when trying to help them automate really big projects,  I hear a lot of questions about it.

Should they use them or just simply thinking that they must use them to, so to see why are they so popular nowadays?

Let's look at the background.

What is the Gantt Chart and what it makes it so trendy nowadays? So the one and only Gantt Chart was invented by Henry Gantt, who was an engineer and he was also efficiency expert as far as back as in early 20th century. This unique ability to track each step of project's progress on a timeline, including production schedules and dependency relationships, has made modern Gantt charts, influenced by the work of Karol Adamiecki, a popular tool for project management. The vertical axis shows the list of tasks, and the horizontal axis represents the project timeline.

The horizontal axis, representing the project timeline, is a key feature of the Gantt chart that allows for efficient project scheduling and resource allocation.

Interesting fact is that one of the most significant historical uses of Gantt Charts was during the Manhattan Project. The top secret World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb, scientists and engineers employed contracts to manage complex and also highly compartmentalized project. These charts allowed them to establish timeline, allocate resources, and labor effectively. They are still vital in today's business world because they give managers a very quick insight into how projects are progressing and how to plan them further, including various tasks that need to be completed and their progress and project status in real time. Gantt charts, also known as horizontal bar charts, can be used in managing projects of all sizes and types, making them a valuable tool for a wide range of industries and professionals, including IT & software development teams. As a professional, I see three needs why we still stick to them: to track progress, to plan projects, and to monitor the health of projects.

So the first one is, I think, visual appeal. It's just very quick access to visualizing your timeline. Second one, and I think this one is really major, is every project management software has this function to make your table or workflow or timeline into a gantt chart. And the third one is the famous framework-  Agile project management.

4 Benefits of Gantt Chart

But why do Gantt charts continue to be popular in today's business world?

Let's look at 4 true benefits:

1. So the first one is workload risk management. When you are looking at these Gantt charts you see. In the specific week or during the day, how many overlapping milestones or tasks you have. It clearly communicates how they overlap. It also shows how the beginning of one task can be dependent on the end of another, represented by the type of bar chart, with the length of the bar indicating the length of the task. Additionally, they can also be represented as stacked horizontal bars, making it easier to visualize and manage workload risks. On the completion of another task, that kind of information allows you to schedule work and provide resources that doesn't impede the progress of a project. So if used correctly and intentionally, it can help you correct unrealistic dates and manage workload. So this is the true benefit.
2. The second one is visual clarity of several milestones or projects. So for me, visual clarity, all it means is fast information, digestion, and dissemination. So it's a good clue to have it, during weekly or monthly meetings with the team too. Opacity won't get you success. Only clarity can. So if Gantt chart provides that clarity, if it's being used, when clarification is require during the meeting, then of course it can push you to success when comes to achieving the success you want with any project. Visual Clarity scheme. As a leader, with decade of experience of pushing businesses to grade heights. To efficiency, to automation. I think that embracing the power of visual clarity is something I believe in strongly, especially when we have so many tools nowadays that we can use for visualization.
3. Third one is team collaboration during planning phase. Now this one is interesting because if done right and discussing task dependencies, Gantt chart creation can create opportunity for team collaboration on project tasks using online software, I want to be very clear here, opportunity. If you as project manager or business owner are creating Gantt chart alone in a closed room and just ignoring any insights, then forget this benefit. don't even watch this video. Effective team collaboration allows everyone to understand the potential roadblocks early on, and then brainstorm to find the solutions together. So good communication as a team helps foster trust between members too, if they are included during the contract planning. They build consensus and make decisions that only benefit the project goal. Now, team collaboration during planning phase provide also every team member a sense of purpose, which is very important too, and it can definitely result in breakthroughs for successful outcome.
4. Illustrates dependencies. It helps you to manage your critical path. So many of the tasks in your project are interdependent tasks. They're also known as task dependencies, activities that must be finished in a given order before other tasks can begin. So by understanding which tasks. on others projects. Managers like you can allocate resources appropriately. For example, if you have a painting project, the walls must be prepared before they can be painted.

When should you use a gantt chart?

When You know that project team needs:

1. project timeline
2. work breakdown structure
3. project schedule
4. project status in real time

5 Mistakes that You are making with Gantt Chart

​Of course there are more than five, but if you avoid these main five mistakes, you will be already at the top level of users of Gantt Chart.

1. So the first one is treating Gantt Chart as a goal setting tool. I see project managers and operation managers simply having this Gantt chart meeting as a goal setting meeting. This is a recipe for disaster. Setting goals is vital part for achieving success, but people make mistake when they rely too heavily on Gantt Chart as a way to reach those goals. Gantt Chart are useful for mapping our tasks. However, it can be too prescriptive for goal setting. It can actually limit your ability to move forward.
2. The second one is making Gantt charts earlier than you do feasibility study and objectives and key results. So this is a big mistake. Every good project should start with a feasibility study, which highlights what you need to make those steps without first establishing whoever. Feasible in your specific business phase and situation, you are running the risk of forgetting and overlooking the critical information and factors that could impact its success. Timeline unfortunately does not represent resources. Resources is the critical factor for success. Even if the project looks viable on paper with timelines and appears to check all the boxes, issues may arise. If you don't spend time on feasability. Take the time to do a oral assessment before making any decision.
3. The third one is a bit cringy, funny and sad if you actually overlook and forget it. Not taking holidays and weekends into account.Not all software allows you to add holidays and weekends to timeline. It is a big shocker for a lot of you, but it's true. So make sure to check this function before creating a really strategic contract in your business. Now, treating it as a final timeline of a project. It's a fatal mistake because if you get angry when your can chart is actually not working, it me just, it's not definite.
4. Many in businesses treat these charts like a holy grail. That's where you should be and it must be just static, but this up solid can prove dangerous with. When reality intervenes and the project takes really life of its own, so unexpected delays and road roadblocks, they are guaranteed in almost any project. So make sure that it is not your final timeline of the project. It's all we can do to move steadily towards our goal. It's all that ever changing landscape, so don't tie yourself with rigidity and allow yourself flexibility and freedom.
5. Now , let's talk about the importance of a Gantt chart in project management. It is a powerful tool that allows you to visualize and plan your project timeline. It provides a clear overview of tasks, their dependencies, and their duration. However, it is essential to remember that a Gantt chart alone cannot guarantee the succes that we understand the pitfalls of relying solely on Gantt charts, let's explore how to overcome them. Firstly, prioritize resources over timelines when assessing project feasibility. Additionally, don't forget to account for holidays and weekends in your project plan, as not all software allows for this. Remember, a Gantt chart is not the final timeline of a project but rather a tool to guide progress. Embrace flexibility and adaptability in order to navigate unexpected delays and roadblocks effectively. the fifth one is interesting one. So in terms of visualization, sometimes executives and leaders really want to see everything of everything. So I call it chart of the gantt chart of the whole company. It's a huge mistake. It's extremely costy and it's like flying without a navigation system, it'll be incredibly difficult to plan projects and monitor progress. If you are trying to put a lot of them into one Chart, it will just fail. I have seen it. I have monitored it, and it always fails. Take my advice. Make sure to break down each project into its own Gantt chart and make sure there's clear communication then between different Gantt charts so you all avoid its potentially devastating error. Don't do Gantt Chart for a whole company.

5 ​Best Practises of Gantt Chart

So we know what mistakes you can make of a Gantt Chart, but what about the best practices?

1. Make sure to have objectives and key results. Really clear. Gantt Chart is just a bunch of timelines, but what is the result that you're trying to achieve at the end? Be specific and numerical, and then you can clearly think about timeline and start date. Don't forget to add all your tasks to the task list in order to effectively track and manage your project using the Gantt Chart and project plan. Of course, if you have unrealistic mind, it might not help you, but at least will get some signal, hopefully.
2. Second one is break down those key results into manageable miles. I think that the best is to use weeks. Many would argue they could say months could be milestones. I find that the most effective teams use weeks for milestones. Achieving goals is not a matter of one giant milestone. Rather, it's all about taking those small steps. So especially if you have a numerical key results and you break it down into steps, you will give yourself a really clear path to.
3. The third one is taking into account approval and responsibility assignment rounds. So this one is big because milestones without assigned owners to them is just your dream picture of the project. But sometimes even if Milestone As is really clear, their owners. But what about the approval rounds that a lot of those project milestones have? You need to create longer timelines if you also have approvals. They can come with their own delay inducing challenges, and they do. Whether it's waiting on others to provide feedback or resting of paperwork, approvals can really impact your Gantt Chart, so it's best to have that approvals. Also taken into account check when planning the chart itself, rather than suddenly remembering, oh, we didn't take approvals into account.
4. The fourth one is make sure your Gantt Chart is not on Excel sheet, but on the right project management software, such as project management software. The reason is because, Gantt Chart is very fluid. As you see, we are talking about really many manufacturers impacting and Gantt chart not being the final static element of a project. So if you don't want to spend your time making another and another, and the fifth version of your Gantt Chart on Excel sheet with accurate start and end dates, make sure that you have some dynamic software where you can update dates just quickly, and they are working with your contract. So stop working with Excel.

The fifth one is critical. As I talked about, one of the mistakes is being just not collaborative enough, go through revisions and teams, feedback, input, and stakeholders approval rounds. It relates to third advice, of course, about responsibility, assignment framework, but it's very important to do that, to finalize your Gantt Chart.

You have already put in. Work. You've done your research, you've probably done your visibility study. If you forget the input and approvals, the chat will definitely not be strongest self. So don't miss of this opportunity. Don't take the insights and inputs personally. They can actually save you. Make sure that you have open culture and everyone is really honest about what they think about those timelines, about the potential roadblocks.

It's better to have these several rounds of revisions than to really be disturbed and frustrated. During the project itself, when you have to execute those tasks,

How to Communicate with team using Gantt Chart?

​So what I notice in terms of chat and this specific insight comes from looking at the teams that rely on Gantt Chart as their primer project management tool, is that they simply lack good communication and collaboration because if Gantt Chart is a primary tool for everything, There might be some gaps in terms of the communication strategy.

So my first advice is don't use and rely on GANTT chart alone as primary communication and collaboration tool. It is planning and NOT communication tool. It helps to quickly access, schedule milestones. All those benefits that they talked about, but this is just one of your project management tools.

Second make it accessible for everyone (all stakeholders). So this is very important in terms of communicating, is that it is very often is just hidden in Microsoft Excel or Google sheets that everyone just forgets about after first project in initiation meeting. Make sure it fulfils its purpose. It needs to be accessible. Accessibility is the secret. Gantt charts should be just one click away for every member, every owner, every stakeholder of the project.

It's easy to do if you choose the right project management tool that combines that chat. The table view or all. Kanban tools that you might need during the management process. They're great for getting everyone up to the speed on the timeline and gives each individual information they need in order to view their tasks on a Gantt chart and stay on top of the project views and communicate effectively.

Third one, make sure everyone receives some kind of notification when Gantt Chart is updated. So project management software is great because of that, it's easy to set up personalized notifications and automations based on changes in both in project data, missing factors or simply timeline shifts. Monday.com is a great example.

Make sure that everyone receives notifications about critical events happening in your projects.

The fourth one is that notifications are not enough. You still need to meet regularly with all your stakeholders and milestone owners to discuss that timeline, have that Gantt chart on your screen for fast visual access.

The fifth one is very often forgotten. Explain the purpose of Gantt Chart. Don't expect every project team member to understand the Gantt chart. Not all team members even understand the purpose of a the chart in achieving key results.

What is a baseline?

In a Gantt chart, a baseline refers to the initial project schedule that is established at the beginning of the project.

It serves as a reference point against which actual progress and performance can be measured.

Monday project management software allows You to add Baseline.

Conclusion

So can this tool project management tool serve you well in Projects?

Make sure to use to choose not just online gantt chart software but strong project management software with Gantt feature.

We mainly work with Monday.com for this purpose. Monday.com is so much more than just list of tasks, project status, task dependencies.

Want to know more? Make sure to book a free meeting with one of our consultants!

‍