BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE HOW TO
BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE SOFTWARE
BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE PROFESSIONAL
BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE FREE

I’ve spent many hours working with project managers and helping them build better Gantt charts. So you’ve got your tool, a template if possible as a starting point, and you have the data to include. Milestones are marked with a diamond shape Tips for Working With Gantt Charts They are a quick way of identifying the next big step, sign off point or achievement. If you don’t need that many, don’t make them up for the sake of it.įrom a visual perspective, milestones make it easy to see upcoming major moments on projects.

BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE PROFESSIONAL

However, be guided by the type and size of your project and use your professional judgement. I find it helpful to have one per month as that’s useful for tracking and reporting. You should have milestones scattered liberally throughout your project. Milestones are typically represented on a Gantt chart as black diamonds. Read next: 5 Steps for Identifying Project Dependencies and Constraints 5. Tip: Adding dependencies in Vizzlo works on a ‘dependent on’ basis, so highlight the successor task and add the name of the predecessor. They don’t need the lines to tell them that.

In my experience most people assume that a task that comes after another task is dependent on the first task. I’d advise that you think carefully about whether it is worth putting dependencies on Gantt charts that are predominantly for presentations or communication purposes. Tasks are linked with dependency lines on the chart Here’s a spreadsheet that looks a bit Gantt-y. It’s not strictly speaking a ‘real’ Gantt chart, but it is good enough as as a communication tool for most stakeholders, especially in teams where there is low project management maturity and they aren’t used to looking at the real thing. This spreadsheet version was created with Gantt Excel, a cost-effective plugin that turns Excel into something that functions as a Gantt chart, with virtually no learning curve! DIY versionĪn even simpler option is to use Excel to mock up what looks like a Gantt chart. It’s clean, colorful and shows everything you would expect from a Gantt chart in a very user-friendly way. Here’s an example of how a Gantt chart Excel schedule can look. It’s easy to understand and easy to use, because most stakeholders are already familiar with the concept of spreadsheets. Why use Excel? We need to be realistic about our teams’ and stakeholders’ capability to review and understand Gantt charts at all. But I do have something to share with you that will magically make it into a Gantt chart tool. I’ve been asked that a lot! OK, OK, I know that Excel is not a traditional Gantt chart tool.

BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE HOW TO

Watch this video for a short tutorial on how to create a Gantt chart with Office Timeline PowerPoint plugin.

If you create a lot of status reports in PowerPoint, this is a simple way of designing Gantt charts for communication purposes direct on your slides. It’s as easy to use as the rest of PowerPoint. You can choose dates, set milestones and show progress (showing progress is only an option with the paid version).

BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE SOFTWARE

It’s Gantt chart creator software that lets you create neat Gantt charts from within PowerPoint itself.

BEST EXCEL GANTT CHART TEMPLATE FREE FREE

Office Timeline is a clever free plugin for Microsoft PowerPoint. Let’s get started! Method #1: Make a Gantt Chart with Office Timeline PowerPoint Plugin In the article you’ll also find out what has to go in your Gantt chart to make it fit for purpose, and I’ll share some other tips for working with Gantt charts. It’s a subscriber-only benefit and you’ll get access to over 20 free project management templates and resources to help you keep your projects and career on track. Get a free basic Gantt Chart Excel template in my project management resource library. There’s another graphics package I use to create Gantt charts for presentations as well, Vizzlo. I can help! In this article you’ll learn how to create Gantt charts using PowerPoint and Excel: tools you most likely already have. So what do you use instead? Or what can you use if your project doesn’t warrant a massive Gantt chart? Or if you want to use a Gantt chart but you don’t have any specialist software to create one? The Gantt chart format is often a poor way to communicate to stakeholders. But MS Project, and tools like it, are often overkill for project stakeholders who don’t care about all the detail. I have used Microsoft Project for many years and it creates great Gantt charts. Even if you don’t manage projects but are involved in project teams, or you manage Agile projects – Gantt charts are everywhere.

If you manage projects, you will have come across a Gantt chart.

Best excel gantt chart template free