How to create a Gantt diagram with Microsoft Excel

Gantt Chart is one of the popular project management tools, helping users to plan, identify resources, and schedule necessary tasks. So how to create a Gantt diagram? This article will help you create Gantt Chart right in Microsoft Excel.

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Project management is an essential platform to help you meet all business goals within a given time limit. It ensures that the business plans to implement an appropriate strategic goal. Whether you run a small or large company, a good project management tool is needed to shape your mission and successfully accomplish your goals.

What is a Gantt Chart?

Gantt Chart is a bar chart / bar chart that illustrates an overview of the tasks and estimated time for each job to complete a project. This diagram shows the task in vertical axis, in vertical time.

Gantt Chart summarizes the necessary project implementation stages, the key tasks to be completed in stages. In essence, it is a "picture illustrating" project plan, helping people easily track the entire work to be done over time, promoting creativity, fast coordination. As a result, team members know how to implement and manage the overall project optimally. Most project managers prefer the Gantt Chart because of its simplicity, ease of design, and help them make effective decisions when performing tasks.

So how to create a Gantt diagram? This article will help you create Gantt Chart right in Microsoft Excel .

Create a project schedule table

Open the Excel spreadsheet and create a task list in the project in order with the start and end date of the task. Enter the data in the corresponding column as shown below. In it, Start Date: start date; End Date: end date; Description: Description of the mission and Duration: Time.

Now click on any empty cell on the worksheet and navigate to the Insert tab in the Excel ribbon. Click the Bar diagram icon . Select the Bar chart style from the drop-down menu. This will create a blank diagram for you.

Right-click on the blank diagram, and then click Select Data from the drop-down menu, the Select Data Source window will open.

In the Select Data Source window , click Add under Legend Entries (Series) . This will open the Edit Series window .

In Edit Series , move the mouse pointer to the blank field in the series name and click on the Start Date in the newly created table in Excel.

Now move your cursor down to Series value in the Edit Series window . Click on the spreadsheet icon at the bottom of the Series value field, a small Edit Series window will open. Now click the first day in the Start column from the table and hover over the last day of the Start Date column to add the project start date to the Gantt Chart.

Click the spreadsheet icon again to return to the Edit Series window > click OK .

Add time to the Gantt diagram

After adding the start date to the Gantt chart, next, add the task execution deadline to the Select Data Source window . Here, click Add under Legend Entries (Series) to reopen the Edit Series window .

In this window, move the cursor to the blank area in the series name> click on the Duration in the worksheet in Excel. Now scroll down below the Series value . Click the spreadsheet icon at the bottom of the Series value field . This will open an Edit Series popup .

Now click on the first data in the Duration column in the table and drag down the last row of data in the column to add the time to perform the project tasks to the Gantt Chart.

Click on the spreadsheet icon again to return to the Edit Series window > click OK .

In the Select Data Source window , click the OK button to build Gantt Charts .

Add task description to the Gantt diagram

Follow the instructions to add a task description to the Gantt diagram. In the Gantt Chart, right click and green bar> select Data from the drop down menu to open Select Data Source . Click the Edit button in Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels to open the Axis Labels window.

Click on the spreadsheet icon in this window, select the first data in the Description column of the worksheet created in Excel and drag the mouse to the position of the last data row in the column.

Once done, click the spreadsheet icon again at Axis Labels > click OK in the Select Data Source window .

Format diagrams

The final step is to format the diagram so that it resembles the Gantt Chart. To do that, turn the blue parts into transparent bars to show only the orange part as follows:

Right-click the green bar in the Gantt diagram> select Format Data Series from the menu to open this window.

Click on the Paint icon , then select No fill .

In the Border , select No Line .

You will see the Gantt diagram reverses the order. To change this, click the task located on the vertical axis in the diagram to open the Format Axis window.

Click the Bar diagram icon, select Categories in the reverse order in the Axis Position submenu.

Here is your Gantt diagram:

It's done. Good luck!