What is Gantt Chart?
A Gantt chart is one of the most widely used tools in project management for visualizing project schedules. It shows tasks, their duration, and how they overlap on a timeline, making it easier for teams and stakeholders to understand progress at a glance.
Each task is represented by a horizontal bar. The length of the bar reflects the task’s duration, and its position shows when it starts and ends. Tasks can be arranged sequentially or in parallel, and dependencies between them are often connected with arrows.
Project managers use Gantt charts to:
- Plan and schedule tasks – Define start and end dates for each activity.
- Track progress – Compare planned vs. actual progress.
- Visualize dependencies – See which tasks rely on others before they can begin.
- Allocate resources – Identify workload distribution across the team.
For example, in a website launch project, a Gantt chart would show tasks like content creation, design, development, and testing, each plotted over time with their dependencies clearly linked. If design is delayed, the chart makes it easy to see how development and testing will also shift.
The biggest advantage of a Gantt chart is clarity: instead of scanning through documents or lists, teams can instantly see where the project stands and what comes next.