How to Create Gantt Charts in Excel

Microsoft Excel remains nan go-to action for galore businesses to execute information calculations and create charts based connected nan results.

The Gantt floor plan is simply a useful guideline that isn’t people disposable successful Excel. Great for task guidance and milestone tracking, Gantt charts tin thief companies amended visualize operations and streamline existent processes.

In this piece, we’ll dive into nan basics of Gantt charts and research their benefits, past supply a step-by-step guideline to creating them successful Excel, on pinch immoderate useful examples. Before long, you’ll beryllium capable to use Excel for illustration a pro.

What are Gantt charts?

The Benefits of Gantt Charts

How to Create Gantt Charts successful Excel

Gantt Chart Examples

What are Gantt charts?

On nan left-hand side, nan Y-axis of nan floor plan lists circumstantial activities. At nan top, nan X-axis of nan floor plan shows time.

There’s nary fixed portion for clip — it could beryllium measured successful weeks, days, hours, aliases minutes, depending connected nan tasks you’re tracking. In Excel, each task gets its ain row.

As you tin spot successful nan illustration supra from Microsoft, task 1 starts astatine clip portion 0 and runs until conscionable earlier task 2, which proceeds until task 3 begins.

It’s worthy noting that tasks tin overlap — nan intent of nan Gantt floor plan isn’t to find nan bid of tasks but to supply an easy measurement to spot what’s happening, when, and really galore processes are happening astatine once.

The Benefits of Gantt Charts

Gantt charts connection respective benefits, including nan following.

At-a-Glance Project Progression

Gantt charts fto you spot erstwhile projects began, really acold on they are, if they’re reached circumstantial milestones, and if they overlap pinch different projects.

This makes it imaginable to amended understand really agelong processes will return and if concurrent processes whitethorn origin friction.

Actionable Insight

These charts besides supply actionable penetration for task guidance staff. Because teams tin spot task commencement dates and timelines at-a-glance, they tin pinpoint imaginable bottlenecks and make changes.

In practice, teams mightiness observe that 3 processes are owed to commencement connected nan aforesaid day. By staggering commencement dates slightly, they tin debar imaginable capacity issues.

Improved Time Management

Consider a Gantt floor plan showing aggregate tasks pinch nan aforesaid commencement day and squad responsible for them. If near alone, this task model could discarded time, arsenic 1 squad is overworked, and others whitethorn not person capable connected their plate.

A amended knowing of what’s happening, when, and why tin thief companies amended their clip management.

Reduced Risk of Resource Overload

Projects stock a excavation of finite resources. The much projects happening simultaneously, nan bigger nan assets drain and nan greater nan consequence of assets overload.

Gantt charts connection a measurement to comparison process assets needs and make adjustments that thief support projects connected track.

While each Gantt floor plan differs, communal features see task, taskbars, and milestones owed dates. Charts whitethorn besides see sub-task bars aliases usage barroom shading to bespeak really acold a task has progressed.

How to Create Gantt Charts successful Excel

Despite their usefulness and ubiquity, Gantt charts don’t person a built-in template successful Excel. As a result, users request to either download a pre-built Gantt floor plan aliases build their own.

Here’s a step-by-step guideline to creating a Gantt floor plan successful Excel.

1. Enter your task data.

The first measurement successful creating a Gantt floor plan is entering task information into a emblematic Excel spreadsheet. In our example, we will participate 3 information columns: Task Name, Start connected Day, and Duration. The consequence should look thing for illustration this.

2. Make a stacked barroom chart.

Next, we’re going to create a stacked barroom chart. To do this, prime nan information successful nan Start connected Day file (with nan header). Then, nether “Insert,” prime “Bar Chart”, past “2-D Bar”, past “Stacked Bar” to get this.

3. Enter your long data.

To participate long data:

• Start by right-clicking connected nan chart.
• Choose “Select Data.” This will unfastened a “Select information source” model containing nan “Start connected Day” series.
• Click nan “Add” Button nether “Legend entries (series),” past sanction your caller bid Duration.

Now, click nan icon adjacent to wherever it says “Series values,” which will unfastened a caller “Edit series” window.

Select nan information from your Duration file (without nan header) and your Start On Day column, past click OK to adjacent nan window, and click OK again to adhd nan bid to your chart.

4. Add your task descriptions.

Now we’re going to adhd task descriptions. This starts nan aforesaid measurement arsenic nan past step: Right-click connected your floor plan to unfastened nan “Select information source” window, past prime “Start On Day” successful nan left-hand “Series” list.

Next, prime “Edit” connected nan correct “Category” list. This will unfastened an “Axis labels” window. Select nan cells successful your Task column, past click OK connected nan “Axis labels” window, past OK connected nan “Select information source” window.

4. Fix nan Order

Finally, we’re going to hole nan bid of our tasks. To do this, right-click connected nan database of Tasks connected nan near broadside of nan floor plan to unfastened a menu, past click “Format Axis.” From this menu, nether “Axis Position,” cheque nan “categories successful reverse order” box.

And location you person it — a custom-built Gantt floor plan successful Excel.

Gantt Chart Examples

If you for illustration to download an existing template, location are aggregate Gantt options successful nan Microsoft floor plan templates database. Some awesome Gantt examples include:

Date Tracking Gantt Chart

This Data Tracking Gantt floor plan template is wholly customizable pinch your ain images, titles, and text. It offers an easy measurement to way cardinal tasks without having to build your Gantt floor plan from nan crushed up.

What we like: This Gantt floor plan is elemental and streamlined. It has plentifulness of room for tasks, commencement dates, and durations to thief you amended negociate tasks.

Simple Gantt ChartThis Simple Gantt floor plan is precisely that: Simple and easy to understand. It tin besides beryllium tailored to different personification groups, specified arsenic employees, managers, and stakeholders. You tin see photos, graphics, aliases caller fonts.

What we like: In summation to basal task information, this floor plan besides adds nan expertise to break projects down by phases (denoted by nan different-colored sections) and who is responsible for each task.

Agile Gantt Chart

This Agile Gantt floor plan illustration provides color-code task categories and ocular reminders to thief Agile teams meet deadlines.

Given nan ongoing feedback loop that underpins Agile methodology, Gantt charts specified arsenic this are instrumental successful task tracking.

What we like: The color-coded bars supply contiguous ocular feedback, while nan expertise to quickly people and stock this floor plan successful Excel helps amended squad collaboration.

Going nan Distance pinch Gantt

Gantt charts are a awesome measurement to way task schedules and spot at-a-glance wherever overlaps hap and wherever it whitethorn beryllium basal to make schedule changes.

While Microsoft Excel doesn’t travel pinch a built-in Gantt generator, you tin spell nan region pinch Gantt charts by building your ain from scratch pinch our step-by-step guideline aliases downloading an Excel template that lets you customize information and headings connected demand.