Software Project Management (KOE-068)

UNIT-4 (Lecture-3)
VISUALIZING PROGRESS
Once data has been collected about project progress, a manager needs some way of presenting
that data to greatest effect. Some of these methods such as Gantt charts provide a static picture, a
single snapshot, whereas others such as time line charts try to show how the project has
progressed and changed over time.

The Gantt Chart

Gantt chart is a type of a bar chart that is used for illustrating project schedules. Gantt charts can
be used in any projects that involve effort, resources, milestones and deliveries.
At present, Gantt charts have become the popular choice of project managers in every field.
Gantt charts allow project managers to track the progress of the entire project. Through Gantt
charts, the project manager can keep a track of the individual tasks as well as of the overall
project progression.
There are dozens of Gantt chart tools that can be used for successful project tracking. These
tools usually vary by the feature offered.

The simplest kind of Gantt chart can be created using a software tool such as Microsoft Excel.
For that matter, any spreadsheet tool can be used to design a Gantt chart template.
Advantage
The ability to grasp the overall status of a project and its tasks at once is the key advantage in
using a Gantt chart tool. Therefore, upper management or the sponsors of the project can make
informed decisions just by looking at the Gantt chart tool.

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 Software Project Management (KOE-068)

The software-based Gantt charts are able to show the task dependencies in a project schedule.
This helps to identify and maintain the critical path of a project schedule.
Disadvantage
For large projects, the Gantt chart tool should be supported by other means of documentation.
For large projects, the information displayed in Gantt charts may not be sufficient for decision
making.

The Slip Chart

A slip chart is an alternative favored by some project managers who believe it provides a more
striking visual indication of those activities that are not progressing to schedule. The more the
slip line bends, the greater the variation from the plan.
Additional slip lines are added at intervals and, as they build up, the project manager will gain an
idea as to whether the project is improving subsequent slip lines bend less or not. A very jagged
slip line indicates a need for rescheduling.

Ball Charts
A more prominent way of showing whether or not targets have been met is to use a ball chart.
The same is illustrated in Figure. In this version of the ball chart, the circles indicate start and
completion points for activities. The circles initially contain the original scheduled dates.
Whenever revisions are produced, these are added as second dates in the appropriate circle until
an activity is actually started or completed.

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 Software Project Management (KOE-068)

Circles will contain only two dates, the original and most recent target dates, or the original and
actual dates. Where the actual start or finish date for an activity is later than the target date, the
circle is colored red (dark grey in Figure) - where an actual date is on time or earlier than the
target then the circle is colored green (light grey in Figure).
The advantage of ball charts over Gantt and slip charts is that they are relatively easy to keep up
to date. Only the dates and possibly colors need to be changed, whereas the others need to be
redrawn each time target dates are revised.

Timeline Chart
One major disadvantage of Gantt chart, Slip chart and Ball chart is that they do not show clearly
the slippage of the project completion date through the life of the project.
Knowing the current state of a project helps in revising plans to bring it back on target, but
analyzing and understanding trends helps to avoid slippage in future projects. The timeline chart
is a method of recording and displaying the way in which targets have changed throughout the
duration of the project.

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