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Glossary
Roles & process

What is Gantt Chart?

A Gantt Chart is a horizontal bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. It displays tasks as bars along a timeline, where the position and length of each bar represent the start date, duration, and end date of the work. This visualization helps teams understand the sequence of activities and how individual tasks overlap.

When to use it

Teams should use a Gantt Chart when managing projects with complex dependencies and strict deadlines. It is the primary tool for identifying the critical path—the specific sequence of tasks that determines the project's earliest completion date. Use it to coordinate work across multiple departments and ensure that resources are allocated efficiently throughout the project lifecycle.

Example

A SaaS team preparing to launch a new mobile app uses a Gantt Chart to map out a 12-week development cycle. They plot tasks for UI design, backend API development, and beta testing, discovering that the API must be functional before mobile engineers can begin the integration phase in Week 5. By visualizing this dependency, the project manager identifies a three-day buffer for the design team, preventing a delay in the overall launch date if the initial mocks require revision.

How Planet Roadmap helps with Gantt Chart

Planet Roadmap provides a native Gantt view that converts your task list into a dynamic timeline where you can drag bars to reschedule work. It also features a dependency mapper that lets you link tasks with arrows to automatically calculate the impact of delays on downstream milestones.

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FAQ

How is a Gantt Chart different from a Roadmap?
A roadmap is a strategic overview of high-level goals and themes, whereas a Gantt Chart is a tactical execution tool used to track specific task dates, durations, and technical dependencies.
When should I use a Kanban board instead of a Gantt Chart?
Use a Kanban board for continuous work-streams with no fixed end date where the focus is on flow and task status. A Gantt Chart is better for time-bound projects with interconnected tasks that must happen in a specific chronological order.

Related terms

RoadmapMilestoneEpicInitiativeCritical PathWork Breakdown Structure

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