A gantt chart is made up of several different elements. So let’s take a quick look at 8 key components so you know how to read a gantt chart:
- Task list: Runs vertically down the left of the gantt chart to describe project work and may be organized into groups and subgroups
- Timeline: Runs horizontally across the top of the gantt chart and shows months, weeks, days, and years
- Dateline: A vertical line that highlights the current date on the gantt chart
- Bars: Horizontal markers on the right side of the gantt chart that represent tasks and show progress, duration, and start and end dates
- Milestones: Yellow diamonds that call out major events, dates, decisions, and deliverables
- Dependencies: Light gray lines that connect tasks that need to happen in a certain order
- Progress: Shows how far along work is and may be indicated by % Complete and/or bar shading
- Resource assigned: Indicates the person or team responsible for completing a task