Establishing a Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a pictorial representation that can show activities, tasks, people, machine or other resources required to accomplish the job on a time-oriented grid. Charts are used for various levels within the project. Some people prefer starting from the lowest level and working their way up until they complete the total project.  The suggested method is to start from the total project and work your way down to the lowest level. In this manner, you are assured that you have considered all the major milestones to complete the project.  You should have this overall Gantt chart reviewed by your team members and management. This initial Gantt chart is critical as it becomes the foundation for all detailed Gantt charts. Once the main Gantt chart is approved, you can proceed to define the details for the accomplishment of each milestone. Estimated resources are now brought down to more specifics. There may be deviations from the actual requirements and those estimated at the high level Gantt chart. Hopefully the differences are minor, otherwise you will need to go back to management and the stakeholders and request for an additional budget. Management and stakeholders do not like having to approve readjusted budgets as it affects their bottom line expectations. Make sure your estimations are as accurate as possible.

Define the team leaders for each milestone and walk through with each team leader on their manpower and equipment resources. Review the time frame for the completion of each activity. You need to make sure their time frame coincides with the overall time frame for the total project.  If they exceed their time frames, it might affect the project deadlines. Unfortunately, the Gantt chart does not show the dependencies and interrelationships too well and you will have to use another project management tool. Project managers normally use several tools in monitoring and updating their projects as each chart has a specific purpose.  Make use of the WBS (work breakdown structure) in developing the activities for the project as it is easier to adjust the tasks.  By placing the amount of time required as a horizontal bar on the chart, you can readily notice the overlapping of tasks. This is normal in a project as various resources are assigned to different tasks. Identify the resources for each task. One thing you should watch out for is a conflict on specific resources. For instance, a bulldozer may be required in several tasks and you only have one available. In such a case, the tasks cannot be concurrent as the bulldozer can attend to one task at a time and the other tasks have to wait their turn. There is a resulting dependency on resource which impacts the schedule for the remaining tasks. The manager must find other bulldozers or ensure that the single bulldozer is moved from one task to the next efficiently to save time.

A Gantt chart is an effective tool in planning and scheduling operations. The charts can be easily maintained provided the activities remain static. However, in reality, a project is normally dynamic. Updating of a Gantt chart will reveal difficulties which can be resolved through rescheduling, overtime, multiple shifts, and additional resources. Updating of a Gantt chart is easy nowadays with the use of project management computer software.