Main concepts
Gantt chart
A Gantt chart is a bar chart on the right side of the screen that visually displays the project schedule on a timeline. This chart outlines the tasks undertaken on the vertical axis and time intervals on the horizontal axis.
Project tasks are converted into horizontal bars, showing Start and End dates, dependencies, deadlines, project phases, progress, task executive, etc.
Timeline
A project timeline is a graphical representation of a project schedule from start to finish. A timeline lists certain activities arranged in order to achieve the project objective.
Task
A task is a single unit of work that needs to be undertaken. It is a small essential step of work in a multi-step project. It has a specific purpose related to project completion. Tasks may be linked together to create dependencies.
Tasks can be assigned to a single resource or a group of resources. All tasks have start and end dates by default.
In GanttPRO, you can work with the following types of tasks:
- A parent task is a task that forms a group of subsequent tasks inside.
- A child task is a piece of work that needs to be done within a group headed by a parent task.
- A subtask (the same as a child task) is a piece of work that needs to be undertaken within a group headed by a parent task.
- A sibling task is a task of the same level as a previous one.
Task bar
A task bar is a project activity that is illustrated as a horizontal bar on a timeline. Arrows connecting different activities show dependencies between them. Bar length reflects the actual task duration. A coloured part of a task bar displays its progress.
Milestone
A milestone is a significant point of zero duration that is visualized on a chart as a diamond-shaped checkpoint. It marks key events in a project life cycle.
A milestone separates different projects phases and focuses on major project progress points. For example, project approval, external review, first phase complete, etc.
Milestones can be linked with other tasks or milestones via dependencies.
Dependency
A dependency is a logical relationship between two activities in a project.
Project
A project is a sequence of tasks that form a specific plan for achieving a particular goal.
Project portfolio
A project portfolio is a group of several separated projects displayed on a single screen. The portfolio's hierarchy can be collapsed or expanded.
The primary purpose of the portfolio is to give a high-level view of your projects.
Project grid
A project grid is a project table on the left side of the screen divided by rows and fields.
Fields
Fields vertically divide a project grid, separating different categories of information relevant to the task. They can be shown or hidden, stretched or shortened, and also reordered.
Workload
The workload is a table showing how estimated working hours are distributed across the project team. It highlights the places where resources are underloaded, optimally loaded, and overloaded.
Weekends, days off, and custom hours are also depicted in the workload table.
Gantt chart view
Gantt charts are powerful tools that provide you with a broad and comprehensive view of the project: its tasks, dates, deadlines, dependencies, assignees, and more details.
Grid view
Project grid includes tasks and all the information linked to them: statuses, priorities, cost, duration, estimation, time log, progress, and others.
Board view
Boards are great tools to visualize and plan your workflow with cards distributed in columns. With a drag & drop feature within the Board view, you can easily distribute project tasks among columns representing particular stages of project development, status, priority, etc.
Portfolio view
By grouping a set of projects in a portfolio, you will get top-level control of all of them at once in real time. Within this view, you can quickly check the status and updates on the projects and get access to any detail.