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Learning to Gantt Chart - 10 Best Practices

> Edraw Knowledge > Learning to Gantt Chart - 10 Best Practices
Posted by James Freeman | 07/13/2021
This article shows a simple conclusion of best practices of Gantt chart and how you use it to manage project. Understanding Gantt chart by knowing its usage and benefits.

Gantt chart is one of the most popular tools used for project management. Why Gantt chart is loved by most project managers? How does it differentiate from other project management tools? Here we help you discover the primary usages and advantages through a conclusion on 10 best practices of Gantt chart.

1. Use Gantt chart to divide tasks into manageable components.

Gantt charts allow us to get a better overall picture of the project by breaking a project into individual tasks. It helps clearly identify the steps of a project, so as to effectively guide the implementation of the project.

2. Use Gantt chart to show the expected time duration of the whole project and the sub tasks.

Gantt charts can clearly show when each task begins and ends, and how long each task is scheduled to last. This is presentated by a horizontal bar whose left end indicates the beginning date of the task and whose right end shows the completion date of the task.

3. Use Gantt chart to allocate resources effectively.

With an overview of the project schedule, it's easy to see what resources each step requires, therefore to give appropriate resource allocation and reduce the cost.

4. Use Gantt chart to track project progress.

Usually the Gantt chart task progress bar adjust simultaneously with the update of real performance. Therefore, it will keep the project manager knowing about the status of the project - how much percentage each task is complete.

5. Use Gantt chart to display task dependencies.

Dependencies are the relationships of the preceding tasks to the succeeding tasks. Project managers needs to know the task dependencies so that they can better schedule the activities. Modern Gantt charts use arrows to indicate dependency relationship.

6. Use Gantt chart to show the tasks in a sequential order.

Gantt charts are useful to sequence the events by laying them out in the order in which the tasks need to be completed.

7. Gantt charts also includes milestones showing key events of the project.

Gantt charts also have the ability to illustrate milestones which is helpful for managers tracking progress and even preparing status reports. Milestones mark the significant points during the process. It's a way of motivation as you will have a great feeling when complete the an important event and check it off from the chart.

8. Gantt chart can keep everyone on the same page.

By seeing how project managers have allocated and scheduled resources, all the project participants stay on the same page about project plan and the expected completion date.

9. Use Gantt chart to enhance the communications with project participants and stakeholders.

With a big picture Gantt chart has presented to everyone, there would be less chances of misunderstandings. As smaller tasks are shown adjacent to each other in relation to the project as a whole, everyone in the team can see how their work will affect everyone else's. In addition, your clients can also track the stages in the project and judge the implementation.

10. Use Gantt chart to increase efficiency.

By recognizing the dependencies and milestones of the project, there will be less time wasted between tasks. What's more, a Gantt chart helps you finish a project quicker by tackling the closest deadlines first.

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