Gantt charts are probably the most vital challenge administration instruments there are. That’s why challenge managers use them to handle initiatives of all sizes throughout industries akin to development, manufacturing, advertising and marketing and lots of extra.
Since they’re so vital, folks use a wide range of instruments to create them. On this information, we clarify how you can make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint.
Gantt Chart Template for PowerPoint
Making a Gantt chart in PowerPoint is a time-consuming process that is perhaps overwhelming for some customers, so we’ve created a free PowerPoint Gantt chart template that will help you with this course of. In case you discover templates helpful, you may additionally be concerned with our library of free project management templates for Phrase and Excel. There’s a template for each step of your challenge.
Get your free
Gantt Chart Template For PowerPoint
Use this free Gantt Chart Template For PowerPoint to handle your initiatives higher.
&nbsb;
Why Create a Gantt Chart in PowerPoint?
The principle cause to make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint is that most individuals in your group are more likely to be conversant in this software program. PowerPoint helps you create a easy Gantt chart that most individuals will be capable of perceive. As well as, PowerPoint is a typical software program that most individuals each inside and outdoors of your group are probably to make use of, which makes sharing recordsdata simple.
Nonetheless, PowerPoint isn’t challenge administration software program and subsequently PowerPoint Gantt charts serve just one goal, which is to offer a visible illustration of your challenge for a presentation. One of many important drawbacks of them is that they must be manually up to date each time and lack many options that challenge managers want.
In case you’re searching for a completely featured Gantt chart, attempt ProjectManager. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart permits you to plan, schedule and observe your initiatives from begin to end. Its options embody assigning duties to workforce members, figuring out process dependencies, monitoring prices, discovering the important path, and way more. ProjectManager additionally provides different challenge administration instruments akin to kanban boards, real-time challenge dashboards, timesheets and challenge stories.
Having mentioned this, PowerPoint Gantt charts can nonetheless be helpful each time planning a presentation to your workforce members and even challenge purchasers. Now, let’s bounce into the steps to make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint.
The way to Make a Gantt Chart in PowerPoint Step-By-Step
This PowerPoint Gantt chart tutorial will enable you make a Gantt chart in PowerPoint from scratch. Observe the steps beneath to create a PowerPoint Gantt chart that reveals duties, their due dates and period. Or in case you want, you possibly can merely obtain our free Gantt chart template for PowerPoint.
Choose “Clean” Format
Let’s get began by opening PowerPoint and making a clean presentation.
- a. Click on on the format button on the prime left facet of your display screen.
- b. Choose “clean” from the dropdown menu as proven beneath.
This may take away the title and subtitle textual content bins so you possibly can work on the slide.
Insert a Stacked Bar Chart
Gantt charts are stacked bar charts, so we’ll create a PowerPoint stacked bar chart and customise it with challenge information.
- a. Click on on the “Insert” tab on the prime left facet of your display screen.
- b. Click on the “Chart” icon.
- c. As soon as the “Insert Chart” pop-up seems, choose the bar chart from the checklist of chart sorts.
- d. Then choose the stacked bar chart as proven beneath.
- e. Click on the “OK” button.
After following the steps above, a stacked bar chart ought to seem, together with a desk to enter information. The desk could have some values by default. You’ll must edit them to customise your PowerPoint Gantt chart.
Enter Knowledge for Your Stacked Bar Chart
Now that you just’ve created a stacked bar chart, you’ll must populate the desk with challenge duties, their due dates and their estimated duration. To take action, observe these steps:
- a. Rename the cells below column “A.” For this instance, we’ll merely name them process 1, process 2, process 3 and process 4.
- b. Rename the cells on row 1 as proven beneath to indicate the duties’ due dates and period.
Format Your PowerPoint Gantt Chart Knowledge Desk
- a. First, choose the “begin date” and “finish date” values on columns B and C.
- b. Proper-click on the chosen cells. A dropdown menu will seem. Now click on on “Format cells…”
- c. Choose Date from the class checklist.
- d. Select the pattern as proven beneath.
Add the Precise Due Dates for Your Duties
Delete all of the default values that had been mechanically generated to your PowerPoint Gantt chart. Add the due dates for every of your challenge duties. On this PowerPoint Gantt chart instance, we’ve chosen random dates from January as proven within the picture.
6. Create a System to Calculate the Length of Every Activity
To create your process period method, click on cell D2, then enter a “=” image. Subsequent click on on C2, add a minus image “-” after which click on on cell B2. Copy and paste this method into all cells in column D of your desk.
After creating this method and pasting it into all cells in column D, your desk ought to appear like this. It now reveals the period for every process based mostly on their begin and finish dates. The knowledge you enter on this information desk will populate your PowerPoint Gantt chart.
Format Your Stacked Bar Chart
Now that you just’ve added the challenge duties, due dates and process period to your information desk, it’s time to do some formatting to show your stacked bar chart right into a Gantt chart for PowerPoint.
- a. Click on on the filter icon on the proper facet of the stacked bar chart
- b. Unmark the “Finish date” checkbox
- c. Click on the “Apply” button
When you’ve taken the steps above, the stacked bar chart ought to appear like this.
It’s time to cover these blue bars to show the stacked bar chart right into a PowerPoint Gantt chart.
- d. Click on on one of many blue bars, which can choose the entire blue bars. Then, right-click one of many blue bars you’ve chosen
- e. Click on on the “Fill” button
- f. Choose “No fill”
At this level, your PowerPoint Gantt chart ought to appear like this. As you would possibly discover, the duties are within the fallacious order in order that they must be organized.
Set up Challenge Duties within the Proper Order
- a. Double-click any process title
- b. Click on the bars icon on the proper facet of your display screen
- c. Click on “Axis Choices”
- d. Click on the “Classes in reverse order” checkbox
Customise Your PowerPoint Gantt Chart
Now that you’ve a working Gantt chart for PowerPoint, you would possibly wish to make adjustments to the way it appears. You possibly can edit the title and select a unique coloration for every taskbar to make it simpler to distinguish.
Modifying the title
To edit the title, click on twice on the title and enter a brand new title. For this instance, we’ll go along with “PowerPoint Gantt Chart.”
Modifying the bar colours
- a. Click on twice on the bar you wish to edit. Be sure solely certainly one of them is chosen. Then, right-click it.
- b. Click on on the “Fill” icon
- c. Choose a coloration
After taking all these steps, your PowerPoint Gantt Chart ought to appear like this. You might now add further duties or edit their due dates if wanted by opening the info desk.
ProjectManager’s Gantt Chart Is Higher Than PowerPoint Gantt Charts
Whereas our PowerPoint Gantt chart template is a useful instrument, it may possibly’t compete with a completely featured, on-line Gantt chart. As said above, ProjectManager’s Gantt chart is a challenge administration instrument designed that will help you plan, schedule and observe initiatives of any measurement. It’s the right instrument to create project schedules, monitor your challenge and collaborate together with your workforce in actual time. Listed below are a few of its key options.
Observe Progress & Prices
ProjectManager’s online Gantt chart reveals the % of completion of every process in actual time so you recognize can precisely observe the progress of your challenge. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart additionally helps you observe prices based mostly on the hourly price of every of your workforce members.
Set Activity Dependencies
As a challenge supervisor, you could have a transparent understanding of task dependencies with a view to create a practical, correct challenge schedule. It’s because process dependencies decide the order wherein duties ought to be accomplished. For instance, some duties can’t begin except a previous process has been accomplished. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart permits you to outline 4 varieties of process dependencies so you possibly can schedule any challenge.
Discover the Vital Path
Discovering the critical path of a challenge is an important challenge planning step as a result of the important path permits challenge managers to estimate the anticipated period of a challenge. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart mechanically finds the important path based mostly in your duties and their due dates so that you don’t must make any calculations.
ProjectManager is strong challenge administration software program outfitted with a number of challenge administration views that will help you handle each side of your challenge. Select between Gantt charts, kanban boards, challenge dashboards and different award-winning challenge administration instruments. Get started for free today.
