A Gantt chart is a graphical representation of task duration against time progression.

Henry Laurence Gantt (1861-1919) was a mechanical engineer, industry advisor and management consultant. H. L. Gantt developed first examples of Gantt charts in 1910th. Gantt charts were used as a visual tool to illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Accepted as a commonplace project management tool today, it was an innovation of world-wide importance in that time. Gantt charts were used in large construction projects like the Hoover Dam started in 1931, and the interstate highway system started in 1956.

Henry Gantt's contribution to the management process is honored today with the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal. The award established in 1929 is given for distinguished achievements in management and for service to the community.

Nowadays gantt charts are widely used for planning and scheduling projects. Gantt Chart allows you to estimate how long a project should take, to see how remedial action may bring the project back on course, lay out the order in which tasks need to be carried out, help manage dependencies between tasks, determine the resources needed, monitor progress. You can also immediately see what should be done at some point in time.

ConceptDraw Project 3 is a unique program, designed to help successfully plan and keep track of any number of projects simultaneously. Working in business means there's often a need to work on several projects at the same time, each with a different focus and limited resources. With the help of ConceptDraw Project 3 it's easy to manage the resources being shared by different projects, as well as create linkages between them. Download gantt chart software ConceptDraw Project.

Common features of modern software for gantt charts:

• Drag and drop operations with gantt chart items
• Changing the work calendar from popup menus
• Easy resizing rows and columns of a gantt chart with the mouse
• Zooming gantt chart in and out
• Quick jumping to other views and master tables
• Customizing the text displayed on the gantt chart
• Displaying on the gantt chart overdued tasks in a visual form
• Representing time constraints between project tasks