γ2.2 Creating GANTT Charts with MS Word Tutorial

About GANTT Charts

  • When they hear project plan, most project managers think Gantt chart. A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that displays tasks over time. Visually someone can tell how long projects will last and which components occur concurrently.
  • Many ways exist to create Gantt charts. This tutorial explains two. Using Microsoft™ Word is the simplest, but is also the least feature-rich. Microsoft™ Excel is the best option particularly with Office 2007 or newer, because as data is edited throughout, the project the chart automatically updates.
  • The most widely used product in industry is Microsoft™ Project. Other free programs (e.g., GanttProject) have useful features

 

Creating A GANTT Chart with MW Word

  1. Change orientation to landscape
  2. Insert a new table with the following characteristics. 
    Rows equals the number of days available plus one.
    Columns equal to the number of the months multiplied four. Plus one.
  3. Highlight the table and choose Properties.
  4. Change the Preferred width to 100%.
  5. From the Column tab, click Next Column and adjust Column 1 to 30%. Click OK.
  6. Highlight all but the left aligned cell. Right click and Distribute Columns Evenly.
  7. Label the top left column Tasks. List the tasks of the project to be included.
  8. Each month will occupy 4 columns. In the top row, highlight the second through fifth columns. Right click and choose Merge Cells.
  9. Continue merging groups of four cells across the top row. NOTE: If the columns do not appear to be the same width, highlight those, then right click and choose Distribute Columns Evenly.
  10. FIll in the months that represent the duration of the project, abbreviating or reducing the text size if necessary.
  11. Add start and end date information to each task.
  12. Highlight the cells that represent the approximate dates for each task, then under Table Tools and Design choose a color. You may wish to choose colors that alternate or represent who is responsible for each task.
  13. Set Up Complete