Gantt charts. Love ‘em, hate ‘em, or can’t reside with out ‘em, they’re a actuality of a marketer’s life. However how do you make yours stand out from the remaining?
Under you’ll see among the finest examples round, together with some free templates to get you began. Dive in beneath and discover your favourite.
Desk of Contents
What’s a Gantt Chart used for?
Gantt charts are venture administration instruments that assist entrepreneurs visualize venture timelines, progress, and deliverables. Visible strains or bars clearly show which duties are accomplished and what’s to return, permitting managers to allocate time and duty accordingly.
The weather inside a Gantt chart might be grouped into 4 classes: sources, milestones, duties, and dependencies.
- Sources. Undertaking managers should have perception into what sources are wanted for duties outlined in a Gantt chart for every to be accomplished on time.
- Milestones. Alongside your timeline, there’ll seemingly be milestones, each small and enormous, that should be hit to maintain your venture on observe. A milestone for a weblog launch may be “weblog publish draft due on 5/30.”
- Duties. There are particular issues that should be accomplished alongside the way in which of your venture. In our weblog publish instance, a process may be “edit weblog publish.”
- Dependencies. Duties in your Gantt chart will probably be associated to one another, for instance, the editor gained’t have the ability to full her process of modifying the weblog publish till the author has met their milestone and submitted their draft on 5/30. These are dependencies and ought to be famous in your chart.
Easy methods to Make a Gantt Chart
- Replace venture identify and begin date.
- Configure the Gantt chart.
- Assessment venture scope.
- Determine key duties and milestones.
- Estimate process dates.
Getting began together with your first Gantt chart is without doubt one of the finest methods to create a visible roadmap on your venture.
Right here’s methods to use our template for Excel to create a chart that helps you keep on deadline.
Step 1: Replace the venture identify and begin date.
After downloading the template, take a couple of minutes to configure it. We’ve included directions in one of many tabs, and are strolling you thru it right here.
Exchange the “Undertaking Title” placeholder together with your venture info. At this time’s date robotically populates, nonetheless, you’ll want to decide on a begin date.
Step 2: Configure the Gantt chart together with your begin date.
The beginning date you select populates on the prime of the Gantt chart as a 5-digit quantity.
Relying in your display measurement, you might have to make notice of this quantity (or you should still have the ability to see it within the subsequent step).
You’ll see that the dates within the Gantt chart instance don’t but mirror your venture dates. To alter that, right-click one of many dates within the prime bar of the Gantt chart and select “Format Axis” from the dropdown menu.
Change the Minimal Sure to your begin date. You’ll see that the Gantt chart now displays your venture begin date.
Step 3: Assessment venture scope.
On the subject of making a Gantt chart, crucial facet is knowing how your venture flows. By inputting good knowledge, your chart will probably be correct and efficient.
Assessment the proposal and any phases you’ve recognized. When you haven’t outlined what occurs in every section, take a number of moments to take action. It’s possible you’ll or could not want to trace all of them.
Nonetheless, it helps you establish that are most vital to the stakeholders utilizing the Gantt chart.
Step 4: Choose key duties and milestones.
After figuring out all venture duties, establish key duties and milestones, and plug them into the Activity listing.
Step 5: Estimate dates for every process.
Enter approximate begin and finish dates subsequent to every process. As you go, you’ll discover that your chart begins to populate.
If you wish to observe complete phases in addition to particular person duties, enter them in. The above Gantt chart instance makes use of all caps to trace phases and title case for particular person duties. You may also see how phases overlap particular person duties.
Be aware: In case you have greater than 20 duties, you may add rows by right-clicking any # between 2 and 20 and deciding on “Insert Row” from the dropdown. Nonetheless, it’s vital so as to add them above #20 (Row 27) to maintain formulation operational.
The columns robotically observe allotted dates, and you’ll observe precise time spent so you may higher estimate future initiatives.
Now you know the way to create a Gantt chart utilizing our free template for Excel, it’s time to dive in and begin monitoring your initiatives.
Advantages of Utilizing a Gantt Chart
The principle aim of a Gantt chart is to trace the timeline and completion of a venture. It’s useful for venture managers (PMs) who have to hold workforce momentum on campaigns with many shifting components, like product launches or advertising occasions.
Listed here are some further advantages of utilizing Gantt charts:
- Visible monitoring offers an overarching view of initiatives and their timelines, serving to the straight accountable people (DRIs) perceive progress and assign duty accordingly.
- Clear venture timelines assist with useful resource planning, as you may know which duties require which instruments and precisely when DRIs will want these instruments. /span>
- Visible understanding of which venture parts depend on one another for completion so PMs can inform accountable people of high-priority duties.
- Elevated transparency, as all concerned events are conscious of expectations and the way particular person progress impacts workforce progress.
You possibly can create Gantt charts in Excel, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, and extra, and this monitoring methodology can be utilized in quite a lot of industries, from advertising to building, and even design.
So, what does that appear like? Let’s dive in with some stunning Gantt chart examples, beneath. Put together to geek out.
Methods to Make Gantt Charts
1. Gantt Chart in Excel
Creating Gantt charts in Excel is a typical observe and one you’ll seemingly come throughout in your work. Excel doesn’t have a predefined Gantt chart, however the “Stacked Bar” characteristic is your pal, permitting you to indicate venture development.
Right here’s an instance of an Excel Gantt chart. 
And right here’s a useful “how-to” video for the Excel-challenged amongst us.
2. Gantt Chart in PowerPoint
Wish to embrace a Gantt chart in your subsequent PowerPoint presentation? Use this PowerPoint instance as your information.
PowerPoint doesn’t have a built-in Gantt characteristic, however you may construct and edit a chart within the platform utilizing their “Stacked Bar” characteristic.
Easy methods to Make a Gantt Chart in PowerPoint
When utilizing the above template to make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint, contemplate these professional ideas:
- Leverage the duty bars to your benefit and regulate their size in accordance together with your plan. This template can also be versatile, so you may shorten or enhance the size of duties if issues come up throughout your venture execution course of.
- Make distinctive shade codes for every particular process so you may place a corresponding milestone picture when accomplished so you may monitor your progress and instantly perceive what every shade means.
3. Gantt Chart in Phrase
What’s that? You’re not acquainted with Microsoft’s “Stacked Bar” characteristic but? Properly, if you happen to’re getting pleasant with Gantt charts, you’ll be utilizing this go-to characteristic fairly a bit.
When you’re making a Gantt chart in Microsoft Phrase, you’ll stack bars as soon as extra. However if you happen to’ll be updating and tweaking your Gantt chart often, Excel or PowerPoint could provide you with higher flexibility.
Easy methods to Make a Gantt Chart in Phrase
When utilizing the template above, leverage the stackable bars characteristic to create an interactive Gantt chart to obviously reveal process progress and monitor your accomplishments.
As well as, create a every day check-ins schedule in your chart so you may transfer the “At this time” line ahead as every day goes on, serving to you keep on observe and perceive what’s to return.
4. Gantt Chart in Google Sheets
If Google Sheets is the place you spend most of your time, that is the Gantt chart for you. G-Sheets makes it straightforward to construct customizable Gantt charts you may edit as wanted — all utilizing a number of easy formulation.
Easy methods to Make a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets
When you’re making a Gantt chart in Google Sheets, use the above template and circulation desk for automated chart creation. Merely enter the knowledge particular to your enterprise, and the chart will probably be created robotically.
You’ve got much less inventive freedom with this chart, but it surely’s nice for these hesitant to create a chart from scratch.
5. Gantt Chart in Google Docs
Desire a Gantt chart you may share and collaborate on with colleagues? Think about creating your chart in a Google Doc. Reserve it to your Google Drive and share as regular.
Google provides “Stacked Chart” choices of their “Chart Editor,” so getting began is a breeze.
Easy methods to Make a Gantt Chart in Google Docs
In Google Docs, use the timeline template paperwork to your benefit and provides your self an outline of your venture progress.
It’ll assist with visualization, staying on observe, and permitting you to see the way you’re progressing over time. You possibly can then share info with related stakeholders.
Examples of Gantt Charts
1. Gantt Chart for Editorial Calendar
Take your editorial calendar up a notch with a Gantt chart. Embody publication dates as your milestones, add subgroups for every section of content material creation, and add duties to your chart.
What we like: The colour coding on this chart means that you can simply establish the distinct duties at a look. The coloured squares additionally mirror the share of the venture that has been accomplished, going from a light-weight shade to a darker one as your workforce makes progress.
2. Gantt Chart for Undertaking Administration
Undertaking administration is without doubt one of the commonest verticals counting on Gantt charts.
These charts assist venture managers establish the duties concerned in every venture, create a timeline for every process, and assign dates, instruments, and progress updates for every of the duties throughout the venture.
What we like: This chart makes use of bars whose lengths correspond to the dates assigned to every process. You possibly can visualize the size of time for every process and the way they relate to one another chronologically and whether or not there’s any overlap.
3. Gantt Chart for Advertising Marketing campaign
There are a lot of instruments out there that assist entrepreneurs create Gantt charts, particularly for advertising campaigns. This instance from GanttPro provides ready-made marketing campaign templates with predefined duties, subtasks, and milestones.
What we like: This template means that you can clearly group subtasks collectively to coordinate all of the parts of your marketing campaign with one Gantt chart.
4. Gantt Chart for Design Tasks
Designers, you should use Gantt charts, too. Plan design launches, observe brainstorming, and share draft progress with a fastidiously organized chart, like the instance beneath. 
What we like: This chart means that you can break down every step of your design venture and to visualise how lengthy the entire venture will take. It’s straightforward to take among the steps with no consideration, but it surely’s vital to call and designate a timeframe for every one.
5. Gantt Chart for Product Launch
Product launches have many shifting components. Maintain observe of analysis, budgets, workforce roles, and even threat evaluation in a customizable Gantt chart like this one. You possibly can even set dependencies and assign duties to sure individuals.
What we like: This chart shows each the entire timeframe for the venture, the overlap of duties, and which duties depend upon which, providing you with a visible for the large image whereas holding observe of your progress.
6. Gantt Chart for Social Media Marketing campaign
Whenever you’re mapping a social media advertising marketing campaign utilizing a Gantt chart, be certain to incorporate the instruments you’ll want, the content material you’ll be sharing, and the property used on every channel. We love this instance from Fabrik. 
What we like: This chart contains all the key classes needed for a social media marketing campaign — internet property, content material, and instruments/expertise — together with the particular duties belonging to every class.
This offers you a complete view of the marketing campaign and its progress.
7. Gantt Chart for Occasion Advertising
From outreach earlier than the occasion to “thanks” emails as soon as it’s over, planning an occasion requires excessive ranges of group.
Use a Gantt chart like this one to maintain observe of your technique, workforce progress, and key actions earlier than, throughout, and after your occasion.
What we like: The colour coding helps make the complexities of occasion planning and advertising extra manageable. Whereas this instance doesn’t present many particulars, it offers you a good suggestion of how a Gantt chart may help you manage your occasion.
Getting Began With Gantt Charts
Gantt charts may help hold your initiatives organized, so that you by no means miss a beat.
Whenever you’re prepared to start creating your individual Gantt chart, confer with the examples on this listing and obtain our free Excel template to get began.
