Gantt Charts – Online Digital Tools & Templates

A Gantt Chart is a project management tool that uses a bar chart format to lay out each activity required to complete a project.

The Gantt Chart is named after Henry Gantt, who developed it in the early 1900’s.  One of the first known widespread uses occurred during World War I. Gantt Charts are now more commonly used as a feature of web-based software applications, including collaborative groupware.

With the use of a Gantt Chart, any person involved with a project can clearly see the planned timing of a project compared with how it is actually progressing. The main advantage of a Gantt Chart is that the steps for a project are laid out and easy to understand, so anyone involved with the project can see its progress. It also lays out key milestones of a project and its timing for completion. One disadvantage is that it can become complicated and difficult to read depending on the complexity of the project and the total number of workstreams or tasks.

Specific tools used in creating Gantt Charts are typically spreadsheets that estimate times to complete tasks within a project. The specific tasks and timelines are often put into bar chart format for a visual effect. The steps to completion are laid out as rows down the left side, and columns show bars related to the progress of each step. Each column shows a specific amount of time (in days, weeks, or months) and the bar spreads across the corresponding time frame. More and more project teams use online collaboration software.

upBOARD’s online Gantt Chart collaboration tool allows any team or organization to instantly begin working with our web templates and input forms. Our digital platform goes far beyond other software tools by including progress dashboards, data integration from existing documents or other SaaS software, elegant intuitive designs, and full access on any desktop or mobile device.

Learn more about upBOARD’s full portfolio of online digital best practice tools and templates for specific topics, including business strategy, marketing, human resources, operations, innovation, project management, change management, and software development.

Learn more about upBOARD’s portfolio of other project management best practice tools and templates including:

Action Item List, Agile Project Management, Benefits Realization Methodology, Critical Chain Project Management, Critical Path Chart, Critical Path Method, Event Chain Methodology, Extreme Project Management, Gantt Chart, Integrated Project Management, Issue Tracker, IT Roadmap, Lean Project Management, Lean Six Sigma, Plan of Intent (PoI), Plan of Record (PoR), PMBOK Project Management, PRINCE2 Project Management, PRiSM Project Management, Process-Based Project Management, Program Management, Project Budgeting, Project Charter, Project Dashboard, Project Portfolio Management (PPM), Project Portfolio Timeline, Project Risk Management, Project Schedule, Project Scorecard, Project Timeline, Project Tracker, Requirements Breakdown Structure, SCRUM Project Management, Skills Requirement Checklist, Task List, Time Card, To Do List, Waterfall Project Management, and Work Breakdown Structure.