Gantt Charts: Definitions, Uses, and Practical Examples

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Gantt Charts: Definitions, Uses, and Practical Examples

System Analysis and Design · Chapter 9: Project Management, Scheduling, and QualitySection 9.8 · lesson 67 of 696 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

Task bars, milestones, dependencies, and tracking actual progress against a baseline.

  • Explain what a Gantt chart shows, and its basic components
  • Build a simple Gantt chart from tasks, start dates, and durations
  • Add milestones and dependencies, and explain each
  • Compare a baseline with actual progress to see where a project is behind

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (823 words). Read along, or search it.

Project Management, Scheduling, and Quality

Gantt Charts

The critical path tells you what matters most. A Gantt chart lets everyone see the whole schedule at a glance. This section builds one example project step by step. First as a basic chart, then with milestones and dependencies, and finally comparing the original plan against what actually happened.

The Basics

What a Gantt Chart Shows

A Gantt chart is one of the most widely used tools for visualizing a project schedule. It turns a list of tasks and dates into a picture of what happens when, and how each piece relates to the rest. The task list runs down the left side of the chart. The timeline, in dates or weeks, runs across the top. And each task gets a horizontal bar, showing when it starts, how long it runs, and when it ends. So to see when a task starts and how long it lasts, read its bar. The left edge is the start, and its length against the timeline is the duration.

The Example

A Website Launch, as Planned

The example is a simple website launch, planned across eight weeks. Requirements gathering runs from the start to week one and a half. Design follows, from week one and a half to week three and a half. Content creation runs from week three to week five. Notice it starts before design is finished. Development runs from week three and a half to week six and a half. Testing runs from week six and a half to week seven and a half. And launch takes the last half week, finishing at week eight.

Adding Detail

Milestones and Dependencies

A bare list of bars leaves out two things stakeholders usually want. The moments that mark real progress, and how tasks depend on each other. A milestone marks a significant point in time, with no duration of its own. An approval, a sign-off, or a launch. It is drawn as a diamond, rather than a bar. In the example, design approved is a milestone at week three and a half, and site launched is one at week eight. Why a diamond? Because an approval is a moment, not a span of work. A bar would wrongly suggest it takes time. A dependency is a line connecting two tasks, showing that one cannot begin until the other reaches a certain point. The most common type is finish-to-start. The second task cannot start until the first one finishes. An arrow from the end of the design bar, to the start of the development bar, says exactly that.

Figure 3

Baseline vs. Actual Progress

Once a project is underway, a Gantt chart earns its keep by showing how reality is tracking against the plan. Each task now has two bars. The grey bar is the baseline, the original plan. The bar beneath it shows what actually happened. Green means on time, and red means running late. And the dashed line marks today, at week six.

Reading the Comparison

Where the Project Slipped

Reading the comparison, row by row. Requirements gathering finished on schedule, at week one and a half. But design ran long, finishing at week four instead of three and a half. That delay pushed every later task later as well. Content creation, development, and testing all slipped. Testing starts a full week late. When a later task is behind, the cause often traces back to a delay in a task that fed into it. Here, the root is design.

The Baseline

Why the Plan Stays Fixed

A baseline is the original planned schedule, locked in once it is approved. Actual progress bars are added alongside it, to show what really happened. Why keep the baseline fixed, even as the project falls behind? Because it is the reference point. It lets the team measure exactly how far actual progress has drifted from what was approved. If the baseline kept moving to match reality, there would be nothing stable left to compare against. And the today line lets anyone see, at a glance, which tasks should already be finished, and which are in progress.

Key Terms

The Vocabulary of This Section

Let's lock in the key terms. A Gantt chart represents a project schedule as horizontal bars, one per task, across a timeline. A task bar shows when a task starts, how long it runs, and when it ends. A milestone is a zero-duration marker for a significant point in time, usually drawn as a diamond. A dependency is a line showing that one task's timing depends on another's. And the baseline is the locked, original plan, while actual progress shows what really happened.

Key Takeaways

What to Carry Forward

To pull this together. A Gantt chart lists tasks on one side and time across the top, with a bar showing each task's start, duration, and end. A milestone marks a significant, zero-duration moment, drawn as a diamond rather than a bar. A dependency line shows that one task's timing depends on another's, and finish-to-start is the most common type. A baseline is the original approved schedule, kept fixed so it can be compared against what actually happens. And comparing actual bars against the baseline shows, at a glance, which tasks are on time, and which are running late.

About System Analysis and Design at UPI Study

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Universities that work with NCCRS

System Analysis and Design carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Gantt Charts: Definitions, Uses, and Practical Examples

How do you read a Gantt chart?
A Gantt chart lists tasks down the left side and a timeline across the top, with a horizontal bar for each task. The left edge of a bar shows when the task starts, its length against the timeline shows the duration, and its right edge shows when it ends. Overlapping bars show tasks running at the same time, such as content creation starting before design finishes.
What is a milestone on a Gantt chart?
A milestone marks a significant point in time, such as an approval, a sign-off, or a launch, and has no duration of its own. It is drawn as a diamond rather than a bar, because a bar would wrongly suggest it takes time. In a website launch plan, design approved and site launched could each be milestones placed at the moment they occur.
What is a baseline in a Gantt chart?
A baseline is the original planned schedule, locked in once it is approved, and kept fixed as the project moves forward. Actual progress bars are drawn alongside it, often colored to show tasks that are on time or late. Keeping the baseline fixed provides a stable reference point; if it moved to match reality, there would be nothing to measure the drift against.
How can a Gantt chart show why a project is behind schedule?
Comparing actual progress bars with the baseline shows which tasks are late and where the delay began. When a later task is behind, the cause often traces back to an earlier task that fed into it. For example, if design finishes half a week late, content creation, development, and testing can all slip, even though the delay started in one task.

About the System Analysis and Design course

How many college credits is System Analysis and Design?
System Analysis and Design (Computer Science 390) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does System Analysis and Design cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 69 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
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