In order to visualize the timeline of a project, recognize conflicts, and manage dependencies, we will be using a Gantt chart. You can open this template from the Defined section of the DMAIC menu, from the Planning section of the Standard menu, or from Search. Clicking Launch will open the template in a new tab.
Here, you can enter a title, as well as select the days you would like to comprise your work week. By default, Monday through Friday is selected, but you can have a shorter or longer work week as it suits your needs. Then click Create. To add to your Gantt chart, click on the Add Item button in the top left corner. The first step is to give the item a name.
Then choose a type. There are three types of items you can add to your Gantt chart. The default is a task, which is most likely to fit your needs.
This will create a single bar that can be connected to other bars and has a start date and a duration. We will discuss the other types later in this video, but let's start by creating a task. Set the start date and the duration of time. We will discuss parent tasks and projects later in this video.
To finish creating this task, click Save. If you need to edit a task you've created, click on the icon to the left, or double-click on the bar that relates to the task. This will reopen the editing window. You can also edit inline by clicking on the values in the columns to the left.
For example, you can update the assignee by clicking on that cell in the column. And finally, you can drag and drop the task to a start date you are interested in, and then extend the bar to the expected end date of the task. If you would like to change the time frame that your Gantt chart displays, use the dropdown to change the scale. The options are day, week, month, quarter, or year. To create a dependency between two tasks, click on the circle next to the bar and drag it to the circle of the bar you would like to connect it to.
The dependency will prevent the later task from occurring before the earlier task, and if you adjust the start date of the earlier task, the later task will follow along. Once you have started a project, you may be interested in showing the level of completion of your tasks. You can drag the small triangle on the task bar to indicate the percentage of completion of that task. Once you've created your tasks, it's easy to reorder and adjust where the tasks appear in your list. Simply click and drag to reorder.
If you drag a task on top of another task, you will be turning it into a nested task, which creates a parent-child relationship between the two. You can also drag a task out of the nested relationship. Another way to edit the parent of a task is to open its editing window and select a parent from the dropdown.
If you would like to delete a task, that can also be done here in the editing window by simply clicking on delete. There are two other types of items that are included in the Gantt chart for your convenience. A project functions like a folder for your tasks.
The start date and duration depends entirely on the tasks that are inside. Similar to nested tasks, if you have a project item, you can drag and drop tasks into that project. Moving a project item also moves the task therein.
And if you adjust the start and end times of the task within a project, you'll notice that the project bar extends to match the tasks within it. The last type of item to add to a Gantt chart is a milestone, which has a date but no duration. This indicates a point-in-time event.
Finally, if you would like to indicate the critical path of a project, go to the upper right corner and find the tag icon. In this menu, you'll see the option to turn on the critical path. The critical path is calculated by looking at the last task in a project and working backwards through the dependencies to indicate all the tasks that, if not completed in time, would delay the whole project. Milestones and tasks within project items are included in this calculation.
This concludes our tutorial. You can find more tutorials for tools in Engine Room by going to www.moresteam.com slash help slash engine room.