In the competitive era of today, businesses manage a lot of projects at a time. Handing different projects is not easy. Especially when the level of complication and difficulty has increased. The main reasons why various projects fail are lack of insightful data, poor planning, and miscommunication. This is exactly where the project management charts come into the picture. The charts can help in the effective management of the different projects. They can help in meeting the expectations of the projects and ensuring better outcomes.
However, different projects demand the use of different types of charts. In this guide, you will find the most popular project management charts that are used by businesses.
A Brief Introduction to Project Management Charts
Project management charts are the assistive tools that help in making the key data relating to projects easy to read, use, and interpret. They are the visual representation of the vital data of projects. The charts highlight all the important aspects of the projects. They offer a comprehensive view of the key information of projects like details of specific tasks, deadlines, milestones, and key resources. The charts can help in figuring out the relationship between different resources and tasks.
How Do Project Charts Help in Effective Project Management?
Project management comes with a lot of complexities and challenges. The project management charts allow the managers to effectively organize huge amounts of data into easily readable form. It can provide them with valuable insights relating to the progress of the project. The charts help in resource management, task management, project planning, team collaboration, and progress tracking. They help in effective management and successful completion of the different projects.
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Top 15 Popular Project Management Charts Used by Managers
Now that you have a basic idea of project management charts, let’s explore the different types of project management charts.
1. Gantt Chart (Roadmap Project Chart)
When it is about the project management control charts, the Gantt chart tops the list. Gantt chart is used for providing a roadmap view of the different milestones and goals of a project. It is a horizontal bar chart that shows the progress of tasks along with the time allotted to complete those tasks. In the x-axis of the project management Gantt charts, the project milestones and time passed are shown. On the other hand, on the y-axis, the tasks are shown. It is ideal for managing tasks, reporting the progress of the projects, and aligning the stakeholders involved in the projects. The best thing about this chart is that you can easily make a Gantt chart. Simply, by using a Gantt chart template, you can make the chart in much less time. You can also make use of Gantt chart software to prepare the chart.
2. Timeline View (Gantt Project Chart)
As the name suggests, the timeline view chart shows the actual and planned progress of a project, right from the start to the end. It can provide you with a quick glance of the critical events and milestones of a project. Moreover, tracking the progress of a project is quite easy by using this chart. If you are working on a project that has a strict deadline, then using this chart is the best option. One of the major benefits of using this chart is that it is very flexible. It can provide you with a detailed view of hundreds of tasks. In short, you can get a bird’s eye view of the project with this chart.
Kanban Board (Agile Project Chart)
A Kanban Board is basically a workflow visualization that consists of task cards and status columns. The status column displays the status of the different tasks. It can be ‘In progress’ or ‘To Do’. On the other hand, the task card shows the specific task that is to be completed. The best thing about this chart is that it is customizable and flexible. That means you can design the chart to perfectly fit your project. It helps in the effective collaboration of the teams for visualization of the progress of the project. It can also allow you to easily determine the potential bottlenecks and make the changes before it’s late.
PERT Chart (Most Popular Project Management Diagram)
PERT chart is one of the most popular project management charts that is used by managers. The full form of PERT is Project Evaluation and Review Technique. It is a diagrammatic chart that consists of arrows, circles, and lines used in order to show the activities and milestones in a project. It is ideal for charts that involve a number of tasks with uncertain deadlines. Using this chart allows you to keep track of all tasks and activities. In order to prepare the chart, you can use the PERT chart template. Here is a PERT chart example.
Work-Breakdown Structure (WBS) Chart
The work-breakdown structure is another popular project management chart that is widely used for project planning. It can offer you a hierarchy of tasks to be completed in a project. The first level in the WBS chart highlights the main task or the project at hand. The following levels show the smaller tasks that are involved in the project. This chart helps simplify complex projects and allows for better planning. It also enables the breaking down of the project budget. It is best to use this chart when a project can be broken down in a logical manner.
6. Flowchart
The flowchart is one of the very commonly used PMP charts. The project management process flow chart uses boxes and other shapes, different colors, and arrows in order to visually represent a project’s progression. When you are working on smaller projects, flowcharts are the ideal option to use for data visualization. It helps in simplifying the workflows and providing all the team members with a clear picture of the project. It represents the different processes and steps involved in a project in a very logical manner.
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Cause-Effect Project Charts
The cause-effect project chart is another important project management organizational chart. It allows the project manager to effectively plan for different problems that may come up during the project execution. The charts highlight all the potential causes of a specific problem. This makes it easier for the project manager to efficiently determine the issue and find effective solutions to resolve them. The cause-effect chart is best used for problem-solving and brainstorming. It allows the team members and project management to come up with proactive solutions to solve different issues in a project.
8. Burn-up or Burn-down Project Charts
If you want to specifically get a view of the progress of a project, using the burn-up or burn-down project chart is the ideal option. The burn-up chart sheds light on the amount of work that has already been completed. On the other hand, the burn-down chart shows the works that are yet to be completed. Such information can be quite helpful for the project managers and enable them to effectively complete tasks within the set deadlines. It allows the manager to make the necessary adjustments to ensure completing the tasks on time. The chart is ideal for project tracking.
9. Bar Chart
The bar chart in project management is widely used by project managers. When you want to visualize just one aspect of a project, using the bar charts proves to be an ideal option. The main reason for the increasing use of bar charts is that they are very versatile, simple, and easy to interpret. On one axis, the variables that are to be measured are present. On the other axis, the measurement units are present. It helps in compiling large volumes of data is easy and simple understandable forms. The best thing about this chart is that it can be easily created in a few minutes with the use of the software.
10. Pareto Chart
A Pareto chart is a project management chart that incorporates features of a bar graph and line graph. It combines a number of data sources in one chart. The horizontal axis of the Pareto chart PMP consists of variables to be measured. The vertical axis consists of the measurement units. This chart is mainly used in order to identify the complications and problems in a project. You can create the Pareto charts using spreadsheets.
11. Pie Chart (Ideal Project Management Charts)
Pie charts are commonly used project management chart that illustrates simple data. This chart is circular in shape, like a pie. It breaks down different aspects of the project and shows them as segments of a circle. It is ideal for projects that can be broken down into different categories in a very logical manner. The benefit of using this chart is that it can be easily created and shared with others. It is quite user-friendly and, therefore, widely used for project management.
12. Control Chart
If you want to map out a process over time, then a control chart is the best option to use. It is ideal for monitoring a particular process or task. The chart consists of a lower limit, an upper limit, and an average middle line. This chart allows the project managers to easily identify the deviations or fluctuations of a process and gain insight into the potential issues. It helps in effectively identifying the issues and resolving them faster.
13. Matrix Diagram
A matrix diagram is used in order to show relationships between various elements or groups of elements. The matrix diagrams come in different forms. While some diagrams compare two groups against a common standard, others compare different elements to each other. This chart is mainly used when handling the complex projects that have a number of interdependent processes or elements. The benefit of using the matrix diagram is that it is easily customizable to fit the requirements of your project. You can just select a common format and prepare your own matrix diagram.
14. Critical Path Diagram (CPM)
The critical path diagram highlights the vital tasks of a project in a sequential manner. It helps the project managers to gain an idea of the actual task duration and set deadlines and budgets for the completion of projects. It aids in effective tracking and completion of the projects. This chart is generally used during the project planning phase. The benefit of using the critical path diagram is that it simplifies project management and highlights the most important tasks of a project.
15. Cumulative Flow Project Charts (CFD)
The cumulative flow project charts provide a view of the cycle time and the work in process. These charts are visually appealing and brightly colored. They can help you track the progress of the projects and identify the potential bottlenecks. It allows the project managers to effectively handle large volumes of data.
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What are the Benefits of Using Project Management Charts?
There are a number of benefits of using the project management charts. Some of the prominent benefits are:
- Better collaboration
- Efficient organization
- Transparency
- Easy tracking of the progress of the projects
- Elimination of the bottlenecks
- Better resource and time management
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Conclusion
Now that you know all about the project management charts, it is time to use them. With the project management charts, you can successfully handle different projects. It can help in saving a great deal of time and effort. In order to become a pro project manager, make sure to enrol in the knowledgeHut’s project management course.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Which is better Gantt or PERT chart?
Gantt charts are better for tracking and monitoring the progress of the projects.
2. What are the charts you have used in your project?
The different charts used in project management are Gantt charts, bar charts, pie charts, flowcharts, Pareto charts, and PERT charts.
3. Why are Gantt charts a popular management tool?
The Gantt charts are popular as they provide a view of the tasks involved in the projects against time.
4. What is the main difference between CPM and PERT?
The main difference is that CPM mainly focuses on reducing time for project completion while PERT focuses on cost-cutting.
5. What is the best way to track projects?
The best way to track projects is to use the Gantt charts.
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