Gantt charts are probably the most versatile challenge administration instruments there are as they can assist plan, schedule and monitor initiatives. Nonetheless, not all Gantt chart software program has the options wanted. That’s why we’ve reviewed among the best Gantt chart software alternate options to assist make a extra knowledgeable determination.
On this weblog, we’ll go over the important thing options and execs and cons of a Canva Gantt chart, in addition to some alternate options that can be utilized as an alternative.
What Is Canva?
Canva is an internet graphic design software that permits customers to edit pictures and movies for inventive briefs, shows, web sites and plenty of different inventive initiatives. For instance, it may well assist design printed merchandise, make a emblem for a enterprise or create social media content material.
The software program makes use of a drag-and-drop interface to make the design course of simpler. Since its introduction in 2013, Canva has added providers reminiscent of a print product platform and video enhancing software. It has a free mannequin, however customers can unlock premium options and improve to Canva Professional for skilled design instruments.
This has made Canva probably the most fashionable graphic design instruments utilized by inventive enterprise house owners. It’s easy sufficient to make use of that freshmen could make a fast graphic on a collaborative platform. The online-based software has common updates and additions which are consistently enhancing its performance.
Does Canva Have a Gantt Chart?
Gantt charts are foundational instruments for managing work. Whereas Canva focuses on graphic design and providing customers a easy and efficient method to make fast designs, it falls quick on challenge administration. It depends on the graphic creation of shows and different visible instruments. Nonetheless, it falls quick when managing these initiatives with important instruments, reminiscent of Gantt charts.
Gantt charts are made up of two elements. On the left is a spreadsheet that lists all of the challenge duties, their period and associated prices and sources. On the proper, this information is populated on a visible timeline that exhibits your complete challenge on one web page. Gantt charts can then plot milestones, hyperlink dependencies and extra, giving managers better management when planning, managing and monitoring initiatives.
Associated: Best Gantt Chart Software Rankings
Canva has templates and design instruments that may mimic a Gantt chart, however lack the options that challenge managers want to make sure their initiatives are delivered on time and inside finances. Design apps like Canva aren’t constructed for that type of work.
Quick Reply: Sure, Canva Has a Gantt Chart
Canva doesn’t have a built-in Gantt chart function however has free and paid productiveness and doc enhancing instruments reminiscent of tables, graphs and charts that can be utilized to make a fundamental Gantt chart. To take action, export the Canva Gantt chart as a picture or PDF format and fix it to a challenge documentation or presentation slides.
Lengthy Reply: Canva’s Gantt Chart Lacks Key Options for Undertaking Administration
Canva has Gantt chart templates to record duties and edit timelines and bars. These Gantt chart templates also can add particulars, reminiscent of milestones and assignees. However as a result of Canva depends so closely on templates there’s restricted customization. This restricts inventive freedom and, extra importantly, limits the worth of utilizing an actual, sturdy Gantt chart.
Sadly, there are extra disadvantages to creating a Gantt chart in Canva, that are to be anticipated when utilizing graphic design software program for making a project planning software. Listed here are a few of them.
- Creating and sustaining the Gantt chart is a labor-intensive and time-consuming course of
- Canva Gantt charts don’t have any project management options reminiscent of linking activity dependencies, figuring out the vital path or monitoring progress
- Canva information can’t be exported as Excel or CSV information, that are the usual for many Gantt chart software program
- There are not any spreadsheet formulation, which implies making calculations manually
- Want a paid plan to make use of most Canva Gantt chart templates
That’s plenty of disadvantages. It might imply the distinction between a profitable challenge and a failure. Don’t take that threat. ProjectManager is award-winning challenge and portfolio administration software program with highly effective Gantt charts which are straightforward to make use of. They’ll do all the pieces a traditional Gantt chart can do, reminiscent of organizing duties, sources and prices, however transcend the fundamentals. Customers can hyperlink all 4 kinds of activity dependencies to keep away from expensive delays, filter for the vital path to establish important duties and set a baseline to trace deliberate effort in opposition to precise effort in actual time to remain on schedule and preserve to the challenge finances. Get began with ProjectManager immediately without spending a dime.
The best way to Make a Canva Gantt Chart Higher With ProjectManager
Don’t let Canva preserve the facility of a Gantt chart past attain. Get a completely useful Gantt chart that may do far more than the bare-bones ones customers make in Canva. Observe these steps to create a greater Gantt chart in ProjectManager.
1. Begin a Free Trial
Take a free trial with ProjectManager. There’s no bank card data wanted. As soon as signed up, customers have 30 days to kick the tires and discover the options of ProjectManager. There are Gantt charts, in fact, but additionally activity and useful resource administration options, threat administration instruments and real-time dashboards and customizable studies to observe and management initiatives to ship them efficiently.
2. Import Undertaking Duties Into ProjectManager
As an alternative of manually including duties into Canva, you may immediately import a number of columns of challenge information from current Excel spreadsheets, CSV information and even Microsoft Undertaking information.
3. Choose Choices
Now, determine if this can be a brand new challenge or if it ought to be added to an current challenge. If it’s new, title it, and if it’s being added to a challenge notice whether or not to maintain or delete the present information.
4. Create a Strong ProjectManager Gantt Chart with Extra Options Than a Canva Gantt Chart
A popup window will say, “Success!” exhibiting that the challenge has been imported. It’s now an actual Gantt chart in ProjectManager. Go searching and see what our Gantt chart can do. It’s filled with options, might be shared with the staff and in addition hyperlinks to the opposite challenge views (kanban boards, activity lists, calendars, and so forth.) and informs different options, such because the dashboard, studies and workload chart.
ProjectManager’s Gantt Chart Does Extra Than a Canva Gantt Ever Might
Now it’s time to have a look at ProjectManager’s Gantt chart and see what it may well do. There’s no motive to ever return to Canva as a result of our Gantt chart seamlessly integrates with the remainder of our challenge instruments. Meaning customers can monitor time and prices, stability workload and far more.
Set Milestones & Observe Baselines
Milestones are represented by diamond icons. They’re used to point vital challenge dates, reminiscent of the tip of 1 part and the start of one other. They can assist monitor progress, however for a extra highly effective monitoring software, set a baseline. As soon as the baseline is captured on the Gantt chart, customers get real-time information on how the challenge is doing. They’ll see deliberate prices in opposition to precise prices and deliberate progress in opposition to precise progress in actual time to assist ship the challenge efficiently. Plus, it’s straightforward to filter for the vital path. There are not any time-consuming and sophisticated calculations wanted. Strive that on Canva.
Filter by Precedence, Dependencies & Extra
The Gantt chart might be filtered in any variety of methods to permit challenge managers to give attention to the knowledge they wish to see. For instance, they’ll filter by precedence to make sure these duties are being executed in a well timed vogue. It’s additionally attainable to filter by dependencies to keep away from delays. Canva can’t do this. An enormous distinction between Canva and ProjectManager is that customers can hyperlink all 4 kinds of activity dependencies. There are additionally custom-made tags to make duties simpler to search out. It’s straightforward to assign staff members to duties, see their availability and higher handle sources.
What Can You Use a Canva Gantt Chart For?
Canva Gantt charts are simplistic and solely enable for fundamental activity administration and scheduling. Customers can plan and schedule challenge duties, monitor their progress on timelines and visualize the challenge in a single place. Whereas these Gantt charts might be useful in particular conditions, they aren’t practically as highly effective as project management software.
The best way to Create a Canva Gantt Chart
If you happen to’re nonetheless interested in the best way to make a Canva Gantt chart, we’ve outlined what it’s best to know. There are two primary strategies for making a Gantt chart in Canva. Use a free or paid Canva Gantt chart template or make one from scratch. Right here’s a fast overview of each of those approaches.
Use a Canva Gantt Chart Template
Utilizing a template is the simplest method to make a Gantt chart in Canva.
1. Select a Gantt Chart Template From Canva’s Library
First, log into the Canva account and use the search field to search for a Gantt chart template.
There are a whole lot of Gantt chart templates in Canva’s library. Nonetheless, a few of them aren’t free and require a paid plan. Additionally, it’s vital to note that almost all Gantt chart templates out there in Canva’s library are uploaded by customers, so there may be some errors.
2. Edit the Canva Gantt Chart Template
Then after having chosen a template, edit it additional to visualise the project schedule as proven within the picture beneath. We edited this Canva Gantt chart template to record challenge duties and their due dates on a visible calendar.
That is essentially the most fundamental model of a Gantt chart. Ideally, a Gantt chart ought to monitor many different activity particulars reminiscent of sources, prices, precedence, standing and extra. Sadly, a lot of the project templates in Canva’s library have an analogous degree of element as this template. On high of that, enhancing these Canva Gantt chart templates might be laborious to do, as most of them don’t perform as spreadsheets however reasonably as pictures which enhancing requires numerous handbook work.
Make a Canva Gantt Chart From Scratch
So as to add extra particulars to a Canva Gantt chart than these provided by Canva’s templates, make one from scratch by following the steps beneath.
1. Make a Gantt Chart Grid in Canva
The simplest method to make a Gantt chart grid in Canva is to insert a desk. To take action, open a brand new Canva presentation, whiteboard or doc view and search for a desk utilizing the “Parts” search field on the left aspect of the display screen. By default, the desk will include three columns, so start by enhancing these three columns, one for itemizing your challenge duties and their begin and finish dates.
Now let’s add the fields we referenced, a precedence degree, assignee and estimated value of every challenge activity. To do that, merely click on the three dots of the right-end column of the desk after which click on “Add column.” When accomplished, the Canva Gantt chart grid ought to appear like this.
2. Make a Gantt Chart Timeline in Canva
Now, create the opposite half of the Canva Gantt chart, the stacked bar project timeline. To take action, add 12 columns to the proper and one row on the high.
Then merge these cells till it seems to be like the instance beneath.
Lastly, insert rounded sq. shapes and regulate their measurement to suit every of the challenge activity rows to point their period. Fill out all of the Gantt chart grid cells with the challenge info and regulate the duty bars accordingly.
ProjectManager Has Higher Gantt Charts Than Canva
As said above, ProjectManager is software program particularly designed to plan, schedule and track projects from begin to end, which is the principle motive why it affords a significantly better Gantt chart software than Canva. Let’s zoom into different benefits of utilizing ProjectManager’s Gantt charts.
Superior Gantt Chart Options
ProjectManager is likely one of the finest Gantt chart software program resulting from its superior challenge administration options that can mean you can hyperlink 4 kinds of activity dependencies, allocate sources, establish the critical path of your challenge, monitor challenge prices and far more. Use the duty info panel popup on the Gantt chart to vary precedence ranges, set milestones, add inter-project dependencies and extra.
A number of Undertaking Administration Instruments
Use different project management tools in addition to Gantt charts reminiscent of kanban boards, challenge calendars, activity lists, roadmaps and spreadsheets. Every of those affords a special perspective in your initiatives.
Observe Undertaking Progress, Schedule, Sources & Prices
Actual-time dashboards routinely accumulate information from the Gantt chart in actual time and present challenge metrics in easy-to-read charts for a high-level overview of the challenge standing. Customizable studies get extra detailed info on challenge and portfolio standing, workload, timesheets, variance and extra.
Useful resource administration instruments, such because the color-coded workload chart and staff web page present how work is being distributed amongst staff members so you may reallocate sources to maintain groups working at capacity and improve productiveness.
Extra Free Gantt Chart Templates
Whereas Excel is the preferred alternative for Gantt chart templates, different free productiveness instruments can assist make a Gantt chart.
Whereas all these Gantt chart templates can be utilized to make a easy challenge schedule, they’ll’t compete with the performance provided by challenge administration software program like ProjectManager.
Associated Gantt Chart Content material
We’ve created dozens of blogs, templates and guides to assist perceive the best way to use Gantt charts to handle initiatives. Listed here are a few of them.
ProjectManager is on-line challenge and portfolio administration software program that connects groups within the workplace, out within the discipline and anyplace in between. They’ll share information, remark on the activity degree and keep up to date with electronic mail and in-app notifications. Be a part of groups at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to ship profitable initiatives. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.
