8 min read

Feature

Looking for a way to simplify complex projects and use more dynamic features to enhance your workflow? We love using Gantt charts here at monday.com to bring our projects to life! The Gantt chart is flexible and responsive to the twists and turns of your project's development. Let's check out how to use it together as a board view or as a widget in a Dashboard!

What is a Gantt chart?

A Gantt chart is one of the most classic and useful ways of showing activities displayed against time! A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that shows a project’s planned schedule and its tasks or events between a start and finish date. Each bar in the Gantt chart represents a task, while the dates are laid out horizontally. 

How it works

Let's review the anatomy of the Gantt! On the left side, there is a list of all board items with their names and dates. The items are showcased in bar form, with arrow lines showing the dependencies between items! The entire view works like a grid, where the items are listed vertically against a horizontal calendar. If you hover over an item, the entire row is highlighted to get an easy visualization at a glance.

Setting up the Gantt

The Gantt View works together with the data in your board to bring you a clear, colorful, and organized visualization of your project's plan! Let's get started! 🎉 

See what columns are needed for the Gantt chart

• The Timeline Column  & Date Column - to input the dates/timelines of our tasks and phases
• The Dependency Column - to set which tasks are dependent on other tasks (if your project has dependencies)

These columns are not mandatory, but enhance the Gantt experience:

• The People Column - to assign our tasks to our teammates
• The Status Column - to update the status of our tasks

Once all of your data is plugged into these columns, you are ready to add the view to a board or as a widget to a Dashboard! 

Add the Gantt View to a board

To add the Gantt View to your board, click on the located at the top of your board (it will say "Add View" when you hover over it) and select "Gantt" from the dropdown menu:

You can also add a new board view by clicking on "Board Power-Ups" in the upper right corner of your screen. Select "Board Views" and choose "Gantt" from the Views Center:

Tip: Interested in setting the Gantt as your default board view? Click on the three dot menu next to "Gantt" in the board view section and select "Set as board default" from the dropdown menu. To learn more about board defaults, check out the "Board Default" section in this article. 

Add the Gantt widget to a Dashboard

To add the Gantt widget to a Dashboard or Dashboard View, select "Gantt" from the widget options:

Settings and Customization

Fully customize your Gantt so you can visualize your project in the way that works best for you! Click on the three dot menu in the top right of your Gantt and select "Settings" from the dropdown menu to access the customization options:

• Choose Timeline columns

Choose which Timeline Columns you want displayed on your Gantt. For instance, if you have more than one Timeline Column, Date Column, or Week Column, you can choose the particular ones you want showcased:

Tip: Subitems are now supported in both the Gantt Board View and the Gantt widget! Choose which subitem columns you want displayed in the "Choose Timeline columns" section in Settings. 🎉 

• Choose how to group your Gantt

Showcase items in your Gantt by group, board, or columns to give you the visual overview that works best for you. For example, if you have your groups categorized in project phases, you can see all your tasks in chronological order at a glance. Choose your preference in the "Group by" section of the Settings dropdown menu.

• Label your items in various ways

Choose to label your items in whatever way you want! Your items can be labeled according to group, item name, board, owner, status, or no label at all, to name a few! Find all options in the "Label by" section of the Settings dropdown menu:

• Color your items

Visualize your Gantt according to your color preferences! Go to "Color By" in the Settings dropdown menu to color your Gantt according to group, column, board, or no color setting at all. The colors shown are the colors you already have chosen for your board's Main Table View. 

Tip: Include a color legend at the bottom of your Gantt so you can see what corresponds to each color to understand the visual clearly. Click "Show Color Legend" in the "View Settings" option in the Settings dropdown menu.

• Show group summary

A group summary shows the total amount of time, using specific dates, of each group showcased in your Gantt. The "group" in this case refers to how you choose to group the items or tasks in your Gantt and does not necessarily mean the groups of your board. For example, if you choose to group your tasks by the Status Column, then you will see a summary of each of the labels in your Status Column! Select "Show Group Summary" in the "View Settings" section of your Settings.

• View options

Automatically adjust the zoom to show your entire project with the "Auto Fit" option at the top of your Gantt or click the "+" or "-" to zoom in and out. Access full screen mode by clicking on the three dot menu in the upper right corner of your Gantt and choosing "Full Screen":

Tip: Easily expand or collapse the groups in your Gantt chart by using the handy keyboard shortcut "Ctrl + G!"

Show dependencies

One of the best features of the Gantt chart is being able to easily visualize dependencies between your items with arrow lines. The dependency line connects a task with another task that is immediately dependent upon its completion, with the arrow pointing to the dependent task. The arrows help us clearly see the connections between our tasks, but we can easily remove them with the click of the "Show Dependencies" option in the "View Settings" section in Settings:

The beauty of the Gantt is that you can easily shift dependencies if dates change in your project's timeline. You can select any task that has been delayed and shift all their dependent tasks by however many days needed! Just click a timeline bar and drag it the exact number of days it has been delayed, and watch the magic happen! Any changes will automatically be applied to your Main Table View.

Note:  Make sure your Dependency Column is set up so that your Gantt knows which items must be finished before other tasks can get started. This will ensure all the dependent tasks will adjust on the timeline accordingly if there is a critical delay or change in schedule. Read this article for more information!

Add a Baseline

A baseline can be super useful in project management because it is used as a frame of reference to see the current project progression after any delays or changes to the original plan. Take a baseline snapshot in your Gantt by clicking on "Baseline" at the top of your Gantt and then selecting "Add a new snapshot" option in the "Baselines" section in Settings. 

When a baseline is created, our items are turned into a gray snapshot that remains locked in position no matter what happens to the timeline of our items along the way. You can show or hide your baseline screenshots. When our items are on track, they are shown in green. When we delay or extend the length of one of our items, it turns red along with any dependent items. Read this article to learn more about the Gantt chart's baseline feature! 

Oversee your timeline with critical path

A project’s critical path is useful to identify all the individual tasks that must be completed to finish a project on time. When identified, the project manager will have a really clear picture of the actual completion time of the overall project. A critical path makes it easier to visualize your critical tasks, non-critical tasks, and task dependencies, providing you with the clarity you need to manage your project successfully. Check out this article for more information!

Time and Date Customization 

• Select the time frame

Choose to view your Gantt in days, weeks, months, quarters, or years! Just click the dropdown menu at the top of your Gantt:

• Show today indication

The blue bar running vertically through the Gantt indicates today's date! This is a great point of reference so you always know where you stand compared to the start and end dates of your tasks. Click the "Show Today Indication" in the "View Settings" section of your Settings to activate it: 

• Set the first day of the week

Choose whether you want your timeline to display Sunday or Monday as the first day of the week! Click "Edit" next to "Set workdays" in the "View Settings" of your Settings to be directed to your Admin page to change this account setting.

Note:  Only the account admin can choose which day is the first day of the week with the help of this guide and this selection will apply across the entire account. If you are not an account admin, you can reach out to your admin to request a change!

• Show weekends

Keep weekends as part of your calendar or collapse them to visualize the timeline bars of your tasks in terms of workdays only. Click "Show Weekends" in the "View Settings" of your Settings to activate this feature. If you view your Gantt in days, the weekends will show as gray color blocks: 

Set up Milestones

Milestones are important dates that represent a turning point in a project or the end of a specific phase. The Gantt allows us to keep an eye on these dates with a different visual shown as a diamond. To set a milestone in your Gantt, simply select one date and click "Set as milestone" at the bottom of your calendar pop-up window:

Update items directly from the Gantt View

There's no need to toggle between board views to make changes! Click on any of the bars in the Gantt to open up the item's pop-up view. From here, you can make any changes to item details or updates! For instance, easily make an item a milestone straight from the Gantt by clicking on the Timeline Column in the pop-up view and setting the milestone!

Filter and sort items

Filter your Gantt to display only relevant information you want to see! Filters can be applied temporarily or saved for future reference!

Share your Gantt!

Share your Gantt with others via a shareable link or an embed code or export it to Excel! Learn more about sharing your board views here.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our team by using our contact form. We're available 24/7 and happy to help!