{"id":8758,"date":"2019-03-06T01:33:41","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T01:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mauriziolacava.com\/?p=8758"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:04:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:04:53","slug":"create-gantt-chart-in-powerpoint","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauriziolacava.com\/en\/create-gantt-chart-in-powerpoint\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create a Gantt Chart in PowerPoint"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Gantt chart PowerPoint: It was 1917<\/strong> and the US was about to enter the First World War<\/strong>. The “Ordnance Corps” division of the army responsible for equipping the troops, at the time led by General William Crozier, was at the center of everyone’s attention. With the imminent declaration of war, General Crozier quickly found himself managing a very complex scenario of mass production of war weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal, weapons and ammunition orders began growing to unimaginable numbers, and no one was able to understand the progress of all arms production activities<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, at Crozier’s request to know the delivery times of new orders, no one was really able to give a reliable answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crozier, however, needed to know when the armaments would be ready because the American army was already operating in war activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, orders quickly passed from a few hundred to millions of requests; the war was a very pressing issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, it was an impossible task, not knowing the progress of all activities, to estimate a delivery date according to production times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional charts<\/strong> allowed the General to manage one item per sheet, but the stacks of charts did not make the task of compiling the information an easy task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, the engineer Herny Gantt<\/span> <\/strong>quite easily <\/strong>managed the factories he ran, thanks to an innovative management method that attracted General Crozier’s attention.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gantt never patented the famous diagram and indeed, made it available to absolutely anyone. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus the general was able to evaluate its effectiveness. Crozier decided to hire Gantt<\/span> as a consultant for the American Army’s “Ordnance Corps” in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gantt immediately set to work, focusing on the realization of a diagram showing the relationship between production performance and delivery promises<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the first few jobs were entered and the chart analysed, the General realized the potential of the tool<\/span> to unequivocally define the responsibilities of any production delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the Gantt diagram, it was finally possible to know if an activity would arrive late, the impact of the delay <\/strong>on others and, consequently, to know and anticipate any delivery delays<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, within a very short time, the Gantt diagram was introduced into the US arsenal, helping in the production of aircraft and other government projects<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gantt’s method has made it possible to ascertain the cause of the diseased industry, just as blood analysis established the cause of malaria.<\/p>\nWalter Polakov, “Principles of Industrial Philosophy”, presented to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in December 1920<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

After its invention, the Gantt diagram immediately found application in many sectors, including industry in addition to military applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the Gantt chart<\/span> was revolutionary at the time of its introduction into the industrial world, today it is one of the most common planning and project<\/span> management tools<\/span> available<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Gantt chart PowerPoint: The components of the Gantt chart<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you think about it, it’s not such a complex instrument; graphically, it is a set of horizontal<\/span> bars that represent the progress of the activities over time. The bars shows the start and end date<\/span> of activities and duration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Gantt, you can clearly understand the dependencies between the activities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine having two activities: an activity “A” and an activity “B”<\/strong>, if the activity “B” needs the term “A” to begin, on the Gantt the dependence will be easily identifiable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, if it goes late “A”, the delay will automatically affect “B”, creating a cascade of issues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, this is the concept of dependence between activities that therefore arise as sequential activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We can say that the Gantt chart<\/strong> crosses two main dimensions: the activities and the time allocated to their development<\/strong> (see figure below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officially, the graphics code of a Gantt chart<\/span> provides the use of the following elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Timeline<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 Shows the duration of activities in hours, days, weeks, months, quarters, semesters, years, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Vertical lines<\/strong> \u2013 Indicates current progress if broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Arrows<\/strong> \u2013 Link two activities and show that one is dependent on the other (that is, it begins when the first one ends).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Milestone<\/span><\/strong> \u2013 Shows key points of the project<\/span>. For example, they could be moments of delivering results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Bars<\/strong> \u2013 Show the complete duration of an activity. The bars can be colored according to their progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So, in short, the Gantt chart<\/strong><\/span> lists activities <\/strong>(horizontal<\/span> bars) and milestones<\/span> <\/strong>(triangles in the example) distributed along a timeline<\/span> highlighting dependencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Gantt chart PowerPoint: The advantages of the Gantt diagram for project management<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The strength of the Gantt diagram is its ability to dynamically represent the set of activities over time, which, if viewed together, summarize the progress of the entire project<\/span> at a glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Unlike statistical diagrams or other graphs commonly used to present information about the past, Gantt charts<\/span> are dynamic and project<\/span> all the activities over time, giving a vision of what happened in the past and what will happen through future objectives.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These are the words of Henry Gantt, who described the dynamism of the famous diagram. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best features of the Gantt chart<\/span> is the ability to view the activities of the entire project<\/span>, both those already completed and those planned in the future, at a single glance.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the contingencies on the agenda and the plans are only estimates of how we hope things will go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, there are always discrepancies in the times and activities that affect the project<\/span>, and that the diagram can easily show if it is kept updated, thus the need to constantly update the Gantt chart<\/span> over time as the project<\/span> evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>Gantt chart PowerPoint: With which tools do you implement and update your Gantt charts?<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The most common answers to this question are usually: Excel, PowerPoint, Project or some tools<\/span> specifically created to create Gantt charts<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analyzing the literature, though rather dated (as you may have guessed from the quotes, Gantt charts<\/span> as a tool<\/span> are more than a few decades old), introduced one thing that made me smile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a particular chapter of the book, The Gantt Chart<\/span> – A working tool<\/span> of Management<\/span><\/strong> <\/em>(Wallace Clark, 1922), which explains how to graphically<\/strong> create a Gantt chart<\/span>, but the interesting thing is that in 1922, the way it was realized was with paper and nib (see figure below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When we realize a project<\/span>, we complain about the complexity of creating and managing Gantt diagrams, but I have to admit that seeing the sheet collector with handmade diagrams really makes me appreciate the current solutions, even the most artisan ones!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess you don\u2019t update your Gantt charts<\/span> with paper and pen, right?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you face the problem of having to update the Gantt every time there is important news about the projects<\/span><\/strong>, which has to be communicated to decision makers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How difficult is it to achieve Gantt in PowerPoint, which is then the main tool<\/span><\/strong> used to create presentations in business environments in the modern world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also use Gantt chart tools in the cloud or an app but in the end, honestly, how many times do you have to paste the diagram in your presentation by taking a screenshot of the app?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually, you often see a copy from Excel<\/span>, pasted directly into PowerPoint. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, however, this technique causes the import of hardly-legible and difficult-to-handle tables on PowerPoint, side by side with graphs in a manner often like a summary.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, as soon as you try to enlarge the characters, all the cells jump and it becomes impossible to fix them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the above image<\/span>, the table from excel has been copied and transformed in an attempt to resize the columns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The graph<\/span><\/strong> was copied side by side, and then we tried to make the activity lines coincide with the bars of the graph<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here comes the second technique<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After copying from Excel<\/span>, pasting it into PowerPoint as an image<\/span>  generates a result often worse than the first case because, to enlarge the numbers, you are faced with images<\/span> enlarged manually, making them grainy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, every time you have to update<\/strong> the Gantt<\/span><\/strong> chart to present a project<\/span> update, you must retrieve the source excel file in which the Gantt was originally created, modify it by integrating the updates, and then make a nice copy\/paste in PowerPoint, applying one of the two techniques previously covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a more streamlined and professional result, it may be helpful to rely on a specialized PowerPoint presentation design agency<\/a> that knows how to handle these elements effectively and ensure visual clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/span>The Gantt chart in PowerPoint presentations<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Gantt chart<\/span> is a synthetic representation<\/strong> of a project<\/span><\/strong> that allows decision makers to understand the state of progress, to identify any delays and then to predict the consequences<\/strong> by means of a clear representation of the links between the activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowing how the activities are linked to each other, it\u2019s easy to understand the consequences of a possible delay on some activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the purpose<\/strong> of a Gantt graph<\/span> is to support and make strategic decision-making more efficient<\/strong>, there will always be a time when the Gantt diagram can be presented, and today presentations are generally, unequivocally, from a PowerPoint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how could you draw or import a Gantt chart<\/span> in PowerPoint clearly and efficiently?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The challenge is to realize in a practical way a Gantt diagram in PowerPoint, including the possibility of updating it as the project<\/span> evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In PowerPoint, moreover, you need to work with shapes in order to make the diagram graphics consistent with the style of the presentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I copied an image<\/span> from an external tool<\/span>, albeit excel, you would be constrained in graphic editing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So you need a tool<\/span> that allows you to work with PowerPoint forms by creating a Gantt chart<\/span> automatically for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since you are not the only one with this issue, I added the functionality to easily create Gantt charts<\/span> directly in the MLC PowerPoint Addin<\/span>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do not know it, this is my personal PowerPoint Addin<\/span>, in which I add all the features that speed up and significantly improve the quality of my presentations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this article, I will not comment on all the other features. If you are curious to discover them, I suggest you visit the dedicated section of the site: click here to see the MLC PowerPoint Addin page.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, I added the functionality<\/strong> to create Gantt charts<\/span> and I would like to concentrate on this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When you click<\/span> on the “Gantt diagram<\/strong>” button, an easy-to-understand window opens up, showing a series of essential options for creating your next diagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As soon as you open the window, you are in the tab called “Task<\/strong>“, where you can create your activities simply by writing the name, and defining the start and end date<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can select the date<\/span> with a simple click from the calendar, or enter it by writing in the window, respecting the format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I prefer to select it from the calendar!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also assign a color to the activity to create groups of activities that are visible at a glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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At this point you can choose the level of detail of the timeline<\/span>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n