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Project Management definition: Efficient and optimum utilization of given resources at a stipulated time is called project management. The concept of resources includes manpower or team, capital and time. The person who leads or manages the project (examples: bridge construction, building construction etc.) is called a project manager. An experienced project manager completes a project with high quality results using cost reduction technique and maximum resource usage.

The life cycle of a project begins with a project plan which defines the project goals and objectives, actions to be taken to achieve the goal, needed resources, deadlines to finish tasks and capital allocation. Then begins the implementation stage where the project plan is actually put into action and made certain that all necessary actions and steps are followed to reach the goal or objectives.

Various tools, guidelines and techniques are used to schedule the project plan so that the final project is completed on time and within budget. One such tool is the Gantt chart. This specific bar chart provides a graphical representation of the overall schedule fixed for each action or subprojects and also shows the relationship structure of each task element to produce the final project. Each rectangular bar in the chart represents the time assigned to each task and the final chart shows the entire schedule allotted to achieve the project goal.

This chart format for showing project schedules was invented by Henry Laurence Gantt. W. Clark initially called it a "layout chart" until it stabilized with its current eponymous name. While Henry Gantt usually has this chart named after him, around 1890, the Polish Karol Adamiecki devised a very similar technique for laying out project schedules at his steelworks job. Documentation was very sparse and only available in Polish, thus it had limited success until Gantt published and popularized the practice.

The Gantt chart summarizes the structural representation of the entire project, graphically highlighting the key elements or sub-projects that have to be managed in order to reach the final goal. It also shows the starting and ending task element needed to achieve to reach the final stage. These graphical charts help the team to prioritize their subprojects or task elements depending upon the time allocated and the dependencies of each internal task that has been set to meet the project requirement. The sub-project or task element means further classification or breakdown of the whole project into smaller jobs for team efficiency and time management.

Steps used to create this chart are:

1. Document the activities that have to be achieved.
2. Decide the overall design of the chart.
3. Establish dependencies or relationship of tasks to each other, if any.
4. Highlight activities or steps to be followed in each task and when.
5. Allocate manpower and delegate task responsibilities.
6. Allocate a fixed time or deadline to complete each task and subproject.

Even though the Gantt chart is one of the most modern chart tool used to schedule projects, it is not used frequently by many other management teams. Simpler task scheduling tools like white boards, use of calendars, setting reminders and other such tools are used in these situations. The biggest advantage of this chart is it provides a good pictorial representation of the entire project making it easy for all the team members and the investors to get a project overview at one glance. But a major disadvantage is it cannot be used for complex projects having various internal levels and complicated structures that cannot be easily listed using graphs.

Steve Wilheir is a project management consultant. Consult his Project Management Course Guide or learn more about How to draw a Gantt Chart.

By Steve Wilheir
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