What information is conveyed by horizontal bars in a Gantt chart?

In a Gantt chart, horizontal bars represent the duration of tasks. Each bar's length indicates how long a specific task is scheduled to take from start to finish. This visual representation helps project managers and teams quickly assess how various tasks progress over time, identify the overall project timeline, and visualize any overlaps or gaps between tasks. The positioning and length of the bars allow for easy tracking of which tasks are ongoing and which have been completed, making them an essential tool for effective project management.

Understanding the duration of tasks via Gantt charts is vital for meeting deadlines and effectively allocating resources throughout the project lifecycle. This focuses on the timing and scope of work involved rather than other aspects of project scheduling, such as dependencies between tasks or milestones, which are represented differently in the chart.