Gantt Charts (DP IB Business Management)

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Lisa Eades

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Gantt Charts

A Gantt chart is a project management tool used to visualise and plan tasks and their dependencies over time
- It lists the tasks to be performed on the vertical axis
- Time intervals are shown on the horizontal axis
- The width of the horizontal bars in the graph shows the duration of each activity
- The current schedule status can be illustrated in the diagram

Diagram: Gantt chart

**An example of a simple Gantt chart used to plan the development and launch of a web app**

In this example the project comprises seven distinct activities
- Market research
  - Starts on 8th January and ends on March 17th
  - Duration of 40 days
  - Currently 40% complete
- App design
  - Starts on 16th February and ends on July 20th
  - Duration of 154 days
  - Currently 84% complete
- Development
  - Starts on May 29th and ends on September 3rd
  - Duration of 98 days
  - Currently 51% complete
- Testing
  - Starts on July 29th and ends on September 7th
  - Duration of 40 days
  - Currently 48% complete
- Launch
  - Starts on September 8th and ends on November 18th
  - Duration of 72 days
  - Currently 0% complete
- Support
  - Starts on October 1st and ends on December 31st
  - Duration of 92 days
  - Currently 0% complete
- Maintenance and documentation
  - Starts on June 13th and ends on December 11th
  - Duration of 152 days
  - Currently 72% complete
Gantt charts can also show who is responsible for an activity and any dependencies between activities

**A Gantt chart used to plan construction tasks for the year**

This example shows the tasks the business has been employed to complete over the year
Project managers for each task are identified in the key
Dependent tasks are identified by lines

Worked Example

Neuheit Möbel is planning to relocate its head office. The operations manager has identified the tasks required to complete the relocation efficiently

Relocation is expected to commence on 1st July. It is hoped that it will be complete by 1st December

Task	Preceded by	Duration (weeks)
A	-	3
B	-	4
C	A	3
D	B	6
E	C/D	2
F	E	1
G	F	4
H	F	2
I	H	3

(a) Construct a Gantt chart using the data in the table [4]

[4]

(b) Identify the total number of weeks the head office relocation is expected to take [2]

4 months x 4 weeks = 16 weeks

1 month x 2 weeks = 2 weeks [1]

16 weeks + 2 weeks = 18 weeks [1]

(c) State whether the head office relocation will be complete by 1st December [1]

Yes - the relocation will be complete by mid-November

Evaluating Gantt Charts

The effectiveness of Gantt charts as a project management tool depends on the specific project's characteristics
- They are useful for projects with well-defined timelines and dependencies
- They are less useful for highly dynamic or complex projects
Gantt charts should be combined with other project management tools to maximise their usefulness

An Evaluation of Gantt Charts in Project Planning

Strengths	Weaknesses
Visual clarity Easy for team members /stakeholders to understand the schedule at a glance Easy to compare planned timelines with actual progress	Complex & time-consuming Projects with many tasks and dependencies are difficult to schedule in a Gantt chart Creating/maintaining Gantt charts uses management time particularly when changes are frequent
Resource allocation & communication Can show when specific resources are needed for various tasks Can share project timelines and plans with team members and increase transparency	Inflexibility Adjusting the schedule is difficult when many tasks are dependent on each other Focus on the time taken may not provide a clear view of the level of demand of different tasks

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