How to create a Gantt chart in Microsoft Project

Create a Gantt chart in Microsoft Project in seven steps

The commands refer to Project desktop (Project Professional, Project Standard and the desktop app included in Planner and Project Plan 3 and 5). The ribbon names are the English ones.

1. 1

   Create the project and set the start date

   Choose File › New › Blank Project. Then open Project › Project Information and enter the Start date: every task will be scheduled from there.

2. 2

   Switch new tasks to Auto Scheduled

   By default new tasks are Manually Scheduled and their dates don’t move. Click “New Tasks” in the status bar, or go to Task › Auto Schedule, so that Project calculates the dates for you.

3. 3

   Enter the tasks

   In the Gantt Chart view type one task per row in the Task Name column. Write the work in the order it happens; you will group it into phases in a moment.

4. 4

   Add the durations

   In the Duration column type 5d for five working days, 2w for two weeks or 0 for a milestone. Avoid typing start and finish dates by hand: they would become constraints.

5. 5

   Create phases with Indent

   Select the tasks of a phase and use Task › Indent Task (Alt+Shift+Right Arrow). The row above becomes a summary task whose bar spans its subtasks.

6. 6

   Link the tasks

   Select two or more tasks and click Task › Link the Selected Tasks (Ctrl+F2) for a finish-to-start link. Double-click a link line to change the type (SS, FF, SF) or add lag.

7. 7

   Show the critical path and save a baseline

   In Gantt Chart Format tick Critical Tasks: the tasks without slack turn red. When the plan is approved, choose Project › Set Baseline to compare later progress against it.

Settings that make the Gantt chart reliable

• Working calendar

  Project › Change Working Time sets working days, hours and holidays. Durations count working time only, so a wrong calendar shifts every date.

• Few constraints

  A date typed in Start or Finish creates a “Start No Earlier Than” constraint. Keep constraints for real external dates and let links do the rest.

• Milestones

  A task with zero duration becomes a milestone and is drawn as a diamond. Use them for approvals, deliveries and contract dates.

• Timeline

  View › Timeline adds a summary bar above the chart: drag key tasks onto it to get a slide-ready overview.

• Progress

  Task › 0%–100% records percent complete; with a baseline saved, View › Tracking Gantt shows the planned bars next to the current ones.

• Sharing

  File › Export › Create PDF/XPS produces a PDF of the chart; File › Save As › XML creates a file that other tools, Planitude included, can open.

The same Gantt chart, free, in Planitude

Planitude uses the same scheduling method as Microsoft Project, in the browser and free for the whole team.

1. 1

   Import your .mpp file, or start blank

   Import the .mpp file: tasks, phases, links, calendars, baselines and resources arrive as they were. Or type the tasks in the grid, paste them from Excel, or start from a template.

2. 2

   Durations, phases and links as in Project

   5d or 2w in the Duration column, Tab to indent, drag between bars to link. FS, SS, FF and SF links with lead and lag, and constraints when you need them.

3. 3

   Critical path and baseline included

   Critical tasks are red at every change, without enabling anything. Save a baseline and see the variance of each task as a ghost bar.

4. 4

   Share it with everyone, and send it back if needed

   Invite the team with no per-seat fees, or send a read-only link. Whoever still uses Project receives a Microsoft Project XML export that opens and saves as .mpp.