A Gannt chart is a graphical representation of task duration against a timeline.

Sample Gannt Chart

Additional Gannt Resources

Henry Gannt

Henry Gannt (1861-1919) was a mechanical engineer, industry advisor, and management consultant. Mr. Gannt developed the first Gantt chart examples in 1910. Gannt charts served as a visual tool to depict the beginning and completion dates of a project. Understood as a standard project management tool now, it was revolutionary idea unlike any the world had ever seen until that time. Gannt charts were used in massive construction projects like the Eisenhower Interstate highway system in 1956 and the Hoover Dam in 1931.

H. L. Gannt's contribution to the management process is honored today with the Henry Laurence Gannt Medal. This award, established in 1929, is given for distinguished achievements in management and for service to the community.

Nowadays, Gannt charts are used widely for timeline management. The Gannt Chart allows the PMP to show how long a project is estimated to take, to understand what type of remedial action can pull the project back on course, arrange the order in which tasks need to be handled, indicate task dependencies, allocate the resources needed, and monitor project progress. You can also immediately see what should be complete at any given point in time.

Most power of Gannt charts is available through project planning software packages.

Common features of modern Gannt charting software:

• Drag and drop operations with Gannt chart items
• Changing the work calendar, arranging for holidays and overtime periods
• Easy resizing rows and columns of a Gannt chart using the mouse
• Zooming in and out of the Gannt chart
• Quick navigation to other views and master tables
• Customizing the text displayed on the Gannt chart
• Displaying overdue tasks in a visual form on the Gannt chart
• Representing time constraints between project tasks