Get Started with Gantt Chart Examples with Use Cases

When you consider a successful project, not only do you look at the product that was delivered but you also want to consider the budget as well as ensure that your project is completed within schedule.

One way to be able to ensure that planning and tracking of your project are done with ease so you can easily ensure that timelines are met is to use a visual aid like a Gantt chart.

Here are some Gantt chart examples to help you through your next project endeavor.

What is a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart can be described as a visual representation of your project. It is a bar chart that highlights a visual view of the tasks of your project that are scheduled over time.

Gantt charts are common tools used in project management and project planning. They help project managers and teams know what work is scheduled to be done as well as how overall progress is.

A Gantt chart consists of horizontal bars that are located between two axes. It is typical for the vertical axis in a Gantt chart to display the task list and the horizontal axis to highlight the timeline of the project you have set.

The horizontal bars in a Gantt chart represent individual tasks or subtasks that need to be completed within the set timeframe. As you input the start and end dates of the tasks as well as any dependencies between the tasks the Gantt chart will populate.

Gantt charts can be used within different platforms. A common way you will find many organizations, project managers, and teams creating and using Gantt charts is on project management tools.

If you create and use a Gantt chart on a project management tool like that of nTask you are able to see more than task durations and due dates.

Let’s look at some Gantt chart examples to see how you can create and use Gantt charts to help with your next project and make its planning and implementation easier.

Examples of Gantt Chart Users

Gantt charts as we have discussed are seen as an essential part of all kinds of projects and therefore are used by a number of different teams.

The kinds of teams that may use Gantt charts include but are not limited to the following:

• Project management teams
• Marketing teams
• IT and Software Development teams
• Construction teams
• Manufacturing teams
• Product development teams
• Engineering teams
• Healthcare teams
• Telecommunication teams
• Government teams
• Event planning teams

And it’s not limited to just these kinds of teams. In fact, the way projects work nowadays has changed.

You will now find that there are often many people across an organization that is managing projects with multiple different teams of people. With different managers running each individual team.

Therefore, having a Gantt chart that can provide a visual representation of the project’s timeline and progress for all the teams is of great benefit.

Gantt Chart Examples

Here are some Gantt chart examples to help you get started on planning for your project and understanding how it can help you throughout a project lifecycle.

Marketing Teams

One example of the kinds of teams in marketing teams that often use Gantt charts when planning out their marketing campaign and strategies.

You can easily use a Gantt chart to your advantage when making a marketing plan. Tasks can be created to develop a solid plan with strategic objectives.

This Gantt chart example can be used as a guide to creating a strategic market plan. Tasks would include things such as the following:

1. Market Research
   1. Defining target audience
   2. Industry research
   3. Customer data or surveys
   4. Competitive analysis
2. Department planning
   1. Marketing metrics
   2. Marketing goals
   3. Marketing budgets

Social media is now a major part of all types of marketing campaigns especially when you consider that research has found that the global digital population is over 4 billion people.

You can use a Gantt chart to set out your social media calendar. You can plan which social media platforms you will post on, as well as when posts need to go out.

This Gantt chart example can be used as a guide to creating a social media marketing strategy. Tasks would include things such as the following:

1. December week 1
   1. Instagram post 1
   2. Website post 1
2. December week 2
   1. Instagram post 2
   2. Website post 2
3. December week 3
   1. Instagram post 3
   2. Website post 3

As social media is an important part of any marketing campaign, the content you post is also an essential element that needs to be planned.

You can use a Gantt chart to plan and delegate what content needs to be written, what preparation needs to be done for the content, as well as its editing, etc.

This Gantt chart example can be used as a guide to creating a content marketing strategy or an SEO (Search Optimization Engine) marketing plan. Tasks would include things such as the following:

1. Keyword research
2. Analytics
3. Content creation
   1. Content 1
   2. Content 2
   3. Content 3
   4. Content 4
4. Editing
   1. Draft 1
   2. Draft 2
   3. Draft 3
   4. Draft 4
5. Competitor analysis

Construction Teams

Another type of team that often uses Gantt charts when planning out their next project is the construction team.

Construction teams can use Gantt charts for a variety of elements they need to plan for and track when undergoing any new project.

These possibilities include using Gantt charts for a commercial project budget, or a renovation or extension for a residential property.

Construction teams can use Gantt charts to simplify the planning and tracking of a construction project. Tasks that you could include in such a plan that would show up on your Gantt chart include the following:

• Create design template
• Pre-construction
• Budgeting and schedule
• Procurement
• Construction
• Inspection
• Owner occupancy

Event Planning Teams

Another great way to use Gantt charts is for event planning or by teams that organize events. No matter the nature or type of event there is a certain amount of planning that goes into it as well as a schedule and timeframe that needs to be met.

A general event planning Gantt chart would look somewhat like the following, with these types of tasks:

1. Budgeting
   1. Prepare a budget plan
   2. Identify where funding will come from
2. Reserve Facility
   1. Find venue
   2. Sign contracts
   3. Provide payments
3. Organize decorations
   1. Decide theme
   2. Gather relevant equipment
   3. Purchase materials
   4. Set up

Let’s look at a more specific example of an event planning team’s possible Gantt chart.

One such event that can take advantage of using a Gantt chart to keep everything organized is wedding planning. A lot goes into planning a wedding, here are some of the tasks that may populate a wedding planning Gantt chart.

1. Pre-ceremony
   1. The hair and makeup team arrive
   2. The bride and bridal party get dressed
   3. Transport to venue arrives
2. Vendors arrive at the venue
   1. Florist arrives
   2. Photographer arrives
   3. Catering arrives
3. Ceremony
   1. Guests arrive
   2. Ceremony takes place
   3. Photography
4. Reception
   1. Photographs
   2. Dances
   3. Dinner

Creating Gantt Charts in nTask

As we mentioned above, using a project management tool to create your Gantt chart provides you with an extra load of features within the Gantt chart rather than just the project’s timeline and tasks.

nTask offers an interactive Gantt chart that you can use to streamline your project planning and tracking processes.

nTask allows you to create tasks, write details of tasks, and assign those tasks to individuals. Once you set deadlines for those tasks, they populate your Gantt chart.

The bars depicting tasks on nTask’s Gantt chart represent individual tasks or subtasks and are colored according to the status you have set for those tasks. Status can be ‘not started’, ‘in progress’, ‘in review’, ‘completed’, or ‘canceled’. You can also choose to make custom statuses and set colors for each.

Moreover, the bars on the Gantt chart identify a percentage of the task completion depending on any to-do list items you have set for each task.

Apart from the basic Gantt chart, nTask’s Gantt charts indicate the progress of the project you are working on, the cost and budget, any issues you have identified, and more.

Moreover, the Gantt chart also allows you to create milestones and task dependencies to properly understand a project’s workflow.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. What does a Gantt chart do?

A Gantt chart is a planning tool used in project management to get an overview of the entire project on a visual timeline that includes every task, its duration, milestones, dependent tasks, and more. 

2. What are the three must-have things included in a Gantt Chart?

Any Gantt Chart must have the following things included in it:
1. Time Bar Chart: The bar shows the Gantt bars as well as other symbols representing the time schedule and the relationships for each of the tasks. 

2. Gantt Bar: This feature represents any task graphically. It showcases a task duration, and the type of tasks, such as a critical task or milestone, as seen clearly over nTask project management app too. 

3. Milestone: A milestone could be an important goal date or project completion. Whenever it is completed, a milestone is created as a celebration. People often designate them as special symbols that you can choose from. 

3. What are the things required to make a good Gantt Chart?

Firstly, there should be a proper short enough duration that time frames can be accurately estimated as well. This can be conveniently done within the Gantt chart table, with the help of work divisions or hierarchy. It can also be done visually, using a mind map tool. 

4. How do you organize a Gantt Chart for your business?

There are a few easy steps and ways to properly manage your Gantt Chart without making clutter within your business such as, 

• Review scope baseline
• Create activities
• Sequence activities
• Estimate resources
• Estimate durations
• Develop schedule 

5. What are the main limitations of a Gantt Chart?

The Main Challenges of Gantt Charts. One of the primary challenges when using Gantt charts is their complexity in large projects. The charts can also fail to represent the complexities of certain tasks and the time your team requires to complete them.