If you were asked to name three key components of Microsoft Excel, what would they be? Most likely, spreadsheets to input data, formulas to perform calculations and charts to create graphical representations of various data types.
I believe, every Excel user knows what a chart is and how to create it. However, one graph type remains opaque to many - the Gantt chart. This short tutorial will explain the key features of the Gantt diagram, show how to make a simple Gantt chart in Excel, where to download advanced Gantt chart templates and how to use the online Project Management Gantt Chart creator.
The Gantt chart bears a name of Henry Gantt, American mechanical engineer and management consultant who invented this chart as early as in 1910s. A Gantt diagram in Excel represents projects or tasks in the form of cascading horizontal bar charts. A Gantt chart illustrates the breakdown structure of the project by showing the start and finish dates as well as various relationships between project activities, and in this way helps you track the tasks against their scheduled time or predefined milestones.
Regrettably, Microsoft Excel does not have a built-in Gantt chart template as an option. However, you can quickly create a Gantt chart in Excel by using the bar graph functionality and a bit of formatting.
Please follow the below steps closely and you will make a simple Gantt chart in under 3 minutes. We will be using Excel 2010 for this Gantt chart example, but you can simulate Gantt diagrams in Excel 2019, 2016 and Excel 2013 exactly in the same way.
You start by entering your project's data in an Excel spreadsheet. List each task is a separate row and structure your project plan by including the Start date, End date and Duration, i.e. the number of days required to complete the tasks.
Duration = End Date - Start Date
Duration = End date - Start date + 1
You begin making your Gantt chart in Excel by setting up a usual Stacked Bar chart.
As a result, you will have the following Stacked bar added to your worksheet:
Now you need to add one more series to your Excel Gantt chart-to-be.
The Select Data Source window will open. As you can see in the screenshot below, Start Date is already added under Legend Entries (Series). And you need to add Duration there as well.
The resulting bar chart should look similar to this:
Now you need to replace the days on the left side of the chart with the list of tasks.
At this point your Gantt chart should have task descriptions on the left side and look something like this:
What you have now is still a stacked bar chart. You have to add the proper formatting to make it look more like a Gantt chart. Our goal is to remove the blue bars so that only the orange parts representing the project's tasks will be visible. In technical terms, we won't really delete the blue bars, but rather make them transparent and therefore invisible.
Click on the list of tasks in the left-hand part of your Gantt chart to select them. This will display the Format Axis dialog for you. Select the Categories in reverse order option under Axis Options and then click the Close button to save all the changes.
The results of the changes you have just made are:
Your Excel chart is starting to look like a normal Gantt chart, isn't it? For example, my Gantt diagram looks like this now:
Though your Excel Gantt chart is beginning to take shape, you can add a few more finishing touches to make it really stylish.
As you remember, originally the starting date blue bars resided at the start of your Excel Gantt diagram. Now you can remove that blank white space to bring your tasks a little closer to the left vertical axis.
In the same Format Axis window that you used in the previous step, change Major unit and Minor unit to Fixed too, and then add the numbers you want for the date intervals. Typically, the shorter your project's timeframe is, the smaller numbers you use. For example, if you want to show every other date, enter 2 in the Major unit. You can see my settings in the screenshot below.
Compacting the task bars will make your Gantt graph look even better.
And here is the result of our efforts - a simple but nice-looking Excel Gantt chart:
Remember, though your Excel chart simulates a Gantt diagram very closely, it still keeps the main features of a standard Excel chart:
Tips:
Download this Gantt chart example.
As you see, it's not a big problem to build a simple Gantt chart in Excel. But what if you want a more sophisticated Gantt diagram with percent-complete shading for each task and a vertical Milestone or Checkpoint line? Of course, if you are one of those rare and mysterious creatures whom we respectively call "Excel gurus", you can try to make such a graph on your own, with the help of this article: Advanced Gantt Charts in Microsoft Excel.
However, a faster and more stress-free way would be using an Excel Gantt chart template. Below you will find a quick overview of several project management Gantt chart templates for different versions of Microsoft Excel.
This Excel Gantt chart template, called Gantt Project Planner, is purposed to track your project by different activities such as Plan Start and Actual Start, Plan Duration and Actual Duration as well as Percent Complete.
In Excel 2013, 2016 and 2019, just go to File > New and type "Gantt" in the Search box. If you cannot find it there, you can download it from Microsoft's web-site - Gantt Project Planner template. This template requires no learning curve at all, simply click on it and it's ready for use.
This is an Interactive Online Gantt Chart Creator from smartsheet.com. As well as the previous Gantt chart template, this one is fast and easy-to-use. They offer 30 days free trial, so you can sign with your Google account here and start making your first Excel Gantt diagram online straight away.
The process is very straightforward, you enter your project details in the left-hand table, and as you type a Gantt Chart is being built in the right-hand part of the screen.
Gantt chart template from vertex42.com is a free Gantt chart template that works with Excel 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 as well as OpenOffice Calc and Google Sheets. You work with this template in the same fashion as you do with any normal Excel spreadsheet. Simply enter the start date and duration for each task and define % in the Complete column. To change the range of dates displayed in the Gantt chart area, slide the scroll bar.
And finally, one more Gant chart Excel template for your consideration.
Project Manager Gantt Chart from professionalexcel.com is also a free project management Gantt chart template for Excel that can help track your tasks against their allocated time. You can choose either the standard weekly view or daily for short term projects.
Hopefully, at least one of the above-mentioned Gantt chart Excel templates is well suited for your needs. If not, you can find plenty more Gantt chart templates on the web.
Now that you are familiar with the main features of the Gantt diagram, you can explore it further and create your own sophisticated Gantt charts in Excel to amaze your boss and co-workers : )
379 responses to "How to make a Gantt chart in Excel 2013, 2016 and 2019"
Is there any way to create this GANT Chart based on the 8-hours day?
Just like we do in MS Project, we put duration (in hrs.) and Start date, and Finish date is calculated based on it.
Like If, duration is 8 it should add 2 days to Start date.
Did anyone answer your question? I'm still looking at hourly gannt charts stretched over 3 days.
You can do it by changing the cell format to Date/time so you can see the time.
Also change the duration cell format to custom [hh:mm] so you will see the accumulated hours between tasks.
Notice that the hours calculated are based on 24 hours a day.
Thank you for this. really helpful for a novice.
shaun
0731370322
Thank you for this. I couldn't follow through because at the range selection of edit series dialog for the duration, the range selection buttons look like little upward pointing arrows and to not take me range selection. Where did I go wrong?
THIS is exactly what I needed!! Thank you for spelling it out so anyone can understand and follow along. Much appreciated!
Your teachings are good . Well done. I don't know why my chart is of equal length and it doesn't show the duration length,
Thanks
Great Stuff!!
You're a life saver. Thanks a lot.
Hi,
Great solution. Thanks.
I wanted to add the end date to chart itself, how can I do that?
One of the best way, it is explained. Thanks
Thanks for this information. I will try and practice it on my own. Never knew one could create a Gantt chart from Excel
Thanks, this tutorial saved me a lot of time 👏
Thanks! excellent tutorial, clear and easy to follow.
This is an absolute lifesaver. Thank you so much for this tutorial. Most excellent. Learned something new that I will use for the rest of time. :-)
Will be pleased if you reconsider the computation of the "duration" as used in your example above. it should be ((end date - start date) + 1).
Hi Maggie,
That sounds very reasonable, thank you! I've added your formula for the duration to the corresponding section.
Thank you SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOOO much for posting this guide. I have been clicking on countless links that gave me absolutely nothing! And after about 10 hours of searching, I finally came across your post and my gantt chart is now complete.
Thank you forever!
All I can say is thanks and God bless you!
This was a life saver! Thank you and be blessed!
Hi Svetlana,
Thanks ever so much for putting together this brilliant tutorial on Gantt Chart.
God richly bless you.
Provided Information is very helpful wrt start Date and End Date.
I would like to know that Is there any way to create this GANT Chart based on the hours/day? I am working on a O&M project and i need to know through Gantt Chart that how many itmes /equipment run in series, so that we could calculate the power in hourly basis.
Thanks
Great explanation and easy to follow. Managed to create a great Gantt chart at 4.am on a night shift.
Cracking!
Thank you so much. I wasted two hours watching Youtube just for the gantt chart but, damn, wish I had seen this article earlier. Great content guys. thankyou again.
I went from never hearing about a Gantt chart today (familiarity part of job criteria) to your wonderful details. I have bookmarked this for future reference - amazing this is almost 7 years old and as I notice I am not the only one this year complementing you on this post. thank you
Thank you! These instructions were a tremendous help since I've never built a project schedule. The notes and tips gave me an understanding of the basic components using a spreadsheet to retool it into a visual timeline of the project tasks with just start dates and duration # of days.
I pulled up the Gantt project planner (tool) which may be easier and less tedious formatting than using the Excel Chart Tools in the spreadsheet.
Hoping to create a final version in MS Teams Planner, but need to learn how it works.
The tutorial is just clear, useful and has helped me. Thank you
Great. Excelactly what I needed.
This is fantastic!
Excellent tutorial. I'm using Excel on a MacBook so it's slightly different but easy enough to work out the changes necessary. Don't you just love Excel!
How do we add a vertical line in the chart with the current date?