Gantt Chart: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• A Gantt chart organizes activities. It lists tasks and subtasks in logical groupings. It also shows who is responsible for each, and dates for starting and completing each task.
• The visual format is easy to read and understand. Gantt charts give managers and team members a visual overview of when activities will occur, and whether they are dependent upon completion of other tasks.
• It helps to set reasonable time frames. Breaking down activities into detail and assigning a due date for each creates a better, more accurate forecast of when the entire project will be complete.

On the other hand, these are the characteristics of Gantt charts that users most often cite as negatives.

Cons:

• It can become too complex for larger projects. A good project management software program, such as SmartDraw, won't have trouble handling a large project. However, if you find that your project is too large for your Gantt chart to function well, consider breaking it into multiple Gantt charts.
• It can be somewhat inflexible. This is a complaint commonly heard from managers who use inflexible project management programs, or try to create their own Gantt charts by hand or using a spreadsheet. SmartDraw lets you view and edit your Gantt chart in a mind map view. Any changes you make in one view will be also update the other view, automatically, thus alleviating the inflexibility issue.
• It must be constantly updated. Projects involve surprises and changes must be made. SmartDraw is designed to make these changes as quick and effortless as possible.