Gantt charts can help developers get a clear view of when tasks start and when they need to be finished. They can also provide project managers and developers transparency on task dependencies and overall project progress. This guide will reveal the top Gantt chart tools for developers that can help you easily plan and manage tasks and projects.
What Are Gantt Charts?
Before we jump into our list of the top Gantt chart tools for programmers, we must define what Gantt charts are and how they can specifically benefit you. Many refer to the Gantt chart as a tracking method for project management since its format (a bar chart stacked horizontally) lets you visually track your tasks and project progress via a timeline. Speaking of timelines, some call the Gantt chart the “modern timeline,” even though it was launched way back in the early 1900s by Henry Gantt, a management consultant.
Gantt charts are typically composed of three elements: the date and time/duration (minutes, hours, days, weeks, months), tasks/items (the actual activities taking place), and the owner (the person in charge of completing the task ). Taking all of those elements into account, developers and project managers can gain several insights when looking at a Gantt chart, such as:
- Which tasks must be completed first
- Which tasks will be completed later in the project
- The general sequence of overall task completion
- Which tasks take the longest to complete
- Which tasks will require the most resources to complete
- Task dependencies that show how specific tasks may rely on one another
Perhaps most important, a developer can use a Gantt chart to see how essential their task completion can be to a project’s success.
What are the Benefits of Gantt Charts?
Gantt charts make it easier for developers to see what tasks they must complete and when. They can use Gantt charts to see how long it will take to complete specific tasks, who is working on what, and what tasks are linked to one another.
Beyond those essential insights, Gantt chart software can streamline work processes by simplifying project planning and management. Some development projects can get quite complex and come with various moving parts. As complexity increases, a Gantt chart can help you pinpoint its critical path to determine what tasks must be tackled to complete a project. Without this, a single task could delay an entire sequence of linked tasks, causing a developer or team to miss their deadline.
By seeing the critical path via a Gantt chart, developers can avoid the time-consuming process of having to brainstorm and manually separate which tasks are critical for project completion from those that are not. Thus, the Gantt chart makes it much easier to prioritize and sequence tasks, link them (if necessary), and set deadlines and milestones.
Another issue with planning complex projects is that they can seem daunting to developers. With a Gantt chart, developers can chop huge projects into smaller, more manageable ones that are easier to tackle and complete.
Gantt charts are also great for collaboration. You can share Gantt charts with team members, other departments, and stakeholders to keep everyone on the same page regarding progress and project timelines.
If you want to learn about other options for developer collaboration tools, check out our tutorial: Top collaboration tools for software developers.
Gantt Chart Programmer Tools
While you could reap the various Gantt chart rewards from these modern timelines in their simplified forms, you can get more bang for your buck and better insights via computers.
Here are some of the top Gantt chart tools for developers.
ProofHub
ProofHub offers several views to let you manage your projects your way. Besides table, board, and calendar views, ProofHub has a Gantt chart view that gives you the power to visually plan and map out your projects every step of the way. Developers can set task dependencies with ProofHub’s Gantt charts, plus use their insights to detect roadblocks and beat deadlines.
Besides solid Gantt charts, ProofHub is highlighted by unlimited users through both of its pricing plans, making it budget-friendly for larger teams looking to get the most bang for their buck. Add in a simple, user-friendly interface and multiple integrations, and ProofHub has several reasons to make developers look its way.
You can learn more in our ProofHub Review.
nTask
nTask has drag-and-drop interactive Gantt charts that are super simple to create, even for beginners. Adding tasks, creating subtasks, scheduling due dates, and setting task dependencies are a breeze, and you can include task descriptions for added detail.
Gantt charts in nTask also help you identify the critical path in your workflow, let you assign issues to team members directly via Gantt view, and integrate with over 100 popular applications to avoid context switching that can destroy developer focus.
Check out our nTask Project Management Review for more information.
instantaneously
As you can tell by its name, instantaneously is project management software that relies heavily on Gantt charts. While a bit “busy” for some at first glance, Instagantt’s drag-and-drop interface is easy to use and allows for seamless Gantt chart creation and editing.
Developers can split complex tasks into subtasks with Instagantt for better project planning and execution. To avoid overloading team members, there is a workload management tool to help project managers keep everything balanced.
Gantt charts may be the primary view or highlight of Instagantt, but the PM software also gives you other views to get work done (Kanban, Board, etc.) Delays are avoided via Instagantt’s reporting tools that pinpoint potential bottlenecks, and the software also supplies budgeting tools to keep your projects financially sound.
Redbooth
Development teams can use Redbooth’s vast array of features to improve collaboration, manage tasks, and complete projects quicker. Its Timeline View helps developers track projects via eye-catching Gantt charts that can be created without fuss thanks to drag-and-drop functionality. Redbooth’s Gantt charts are among the easiest and most enjoyable to work with, as they let you add new tasks, change dates, set filters, create task dependencies, and address potential bottlenecks with minimal work.
Redbooth offers much more than just great Gantt charts, though, as the PM software also supplies developers with Zoom integration for HD meetings, chat, detailed productivity reports to see time spent on tasks, dashboards that increase focus, and customizable Kanban boards for those looking to plan and track projects efficiently.
TeamGantt
Small development teams may want to turn to TeamGantt for their Gantt chart and project management needs. You can enjoy some of TeamGantt’s core features at no cost through its free plan for under three users. The software has a ton of Gantt chart templates to get you started out of the box with minimal setup, and it has Android and iOS apps that sync with Outlook, Google Calendar, Slack, Trello, etc. for seamless integration and added functionality all in one place.
Learn more in our TeamGantt Project Management Software Review.
ClickUp
If you want more than just basic Gantt charts and want to enjoy multiple bells and whistles, ClickUp may be your ideal PM software. Developers can create dynamic Gantt charts with ClickUp using drag-and-drop functionality to link tasks and view dependencies. The project progress feature gives you a precise percentage to show how close you are to completion for better scheduling, and you can assign tasks to multiple assignees.
Another Gantt chart-related highlight worth mentioning is ClickUp’s automatic critical path calculations that make prioritizing tasks a cinch. And it also has time management capabilities that allow developers to track how long it takes to complete tasks to better meet deadlines in the future.
Learn more in our Review of ClickUp.
