The Importance of Gantt Charts Gantt charts graphically represent projects and the many tasks that comprise them, organizing the tasks typically over a time dimension.

Each individual task listed on a Gantt chart shows both is length or time duration and its relationship to other tasks, or as they are often called, task dependencies.

These types of graphs are commonly used in all types of projects so that members of project teams and project managers can ascertain which tasks are related to one another, the duration of the tasks and the previous or prerequisite requirements of one task relative to another.

The graphical approach to aligning tasks over time make Gantt charts highly effective at planning, scheduling, and monitoring progress of a project over time.

Gantt charts are highly effective at quickly communicating what a given projects'' status is, what additional resources may be needed now and in the future, and where project tasks will require prioritization due to significant overlap in tasks or activities.

Gantt charts illustrate how reasonable deadlines are for projects as well, as each task, shown horizontally against a measure of time across the bottom of the chart, instantly shows how much time a given task will take.

The accumulated time for an entire project can also be quickly seen by adding up the time taken for each task as well.

In many Gantt charts, resources are also listed for each task.

When these are added it's clear if additional resources will most likely be needed to complete the overall project, or if there isn't enough work for a given resource to complete on a specific project and can be assigned to another.

In short, Gantt charts provide a graphical presentation of the many tasks that comprise a project, and simplify the complex sequencing of tasks by showing them over time.

As a result, Gantt charts are pervasively used throughout project management.