Gantt Charts for Small Teams – What to Include (and What to Skip)

Most people who try to use a Gantt chart stop using it within a few weeks.

It's understandable, because the tool they chose was likely built for a project office running change-control meetings with hundreds (if not thousands) of employees.

They aren't always the best option for a four-person team that needs to know what's due by when, and who owns it.

Research on project management software found that Gantt charts often show up on two near-opposite lists:

• They're one of the most-ignored features among those who already have one
• They're one of the most desired tools for those who don't

So, what's the gap between using a Gantt chart and true adoption? It's often an issue of scope rather than software.

The reality is that the Gantt charts that come with the most popular project management tools aren't what people want. Too many features, too many views – not enough simple and practical effectiveness.

What Should a Small Team's Gantt Chart Include?

Gantt charts are incredibly powerful when used properly. Stick to the basics, and you'll quickly find that even a small team can upgrade their processes with a simple Gantt setup. But try to use every possible feature or tool, and you'll quickly overwhelm yourself to the point of abandoning it altogether.

A small team's Gantt chart really only needs five main things:

1. A task list with true owners: Put a single name on each task rather than assigning everything to “the team”. If two different people could assume that a task is someone else's job, then there's no real assignment.
2. Start and end dates for each task: Gantt charts work because of their timeline-style design. The magic happens when you can see everything that's happening in parallel with what may be about to collide.
3. Two to four key milestones: Too few markers leave things vague. Too many is overkill. Pick the key moments that are worth noting for clients or your team, such as “Design Approved” or “Site Live”.
4. Dependencies that will cause delay if missed: Many tasks don't depend on another task being completed. The best Gantt chart is built around a couple of dependencies that could cause things to bottleneck if they aren't done on time.
5. One shared view that everyone sees: Many teams give up on Gantt charts because only half the group is actively using them. Make sure there's a simple, shared view that everyone can see and make sense of from start to finish.

These five elements put a Gantt chart in the sweet spot of effective-yet-simple. If your chart has more structure than this and people on the team aren't using it, then you may have a structure problem.

What Should a Small Team Skip on Gantt Charts?

If you search “How to build a Gantt chart” online, you'll likely find guides that walk you through tons of different tools and features. And Gantt charts are effective because they can be customized and optimized for nearly any project or process.

The problem comes when the things you need a Gantt chart to do are swallowed up by features that would better fit an enterprise team. Try to use them when you don't truly need them, and you'll see engagement with the chart plummet.

A few Gantt chart tools or features to skip (until your team is ready) include:

• Resource leveling and capacity planning. Small teams likely don't need this level of deep analysis. If you already know what Sam is doing because you talked to him this morning, that's likely good enough.
• Granular sub-tasking. If a single task has eight or more subtasks, then you're looking at a full project in and of itself. Give this task its own row rather than a nested list that's easy to overlook.
• Time-tracking fields and multiple status options. These look useful, but are often too much for a small team. Stick to a few options for task status (“On track”, “At Risk”, “Done”) and manage time tracking where it makes most sense.
• Baselines. It may seem counterintuitive, but a recent project management report found that even organizations with dedicated project offices (with thousands of employees) leave around a third of their projects unbaselined. Your four-person team likely isn't missing much by skipping this too.

A Small Team Gantt Chart Example

Sometimes seeing a Gantt chart for small teams in action can help you see just how little you need to run an effective project.

Imagine a three-person consultancy team is building a new website for a client. The task list includes:

1. Hold Discovery Call
2. Create Sitemap for Approval
3. Draft Wireframes
4. Design
5. Build
6. Content Handoff
7. QA
8. Launch

Each task is assigned to a single owner and has specific date ranges. The project itself has only two milestones: “Design Approved” and “Site Live” – simple enough.

The only dependency is that the Build task can't begin until the Design task is completed. Everything else in the project runs in parallel, or doesn't matter enough to fully map to the Gantt chart.

That is a fully functional Gantt chart that keeps everyone aware of the project's status at a glance. If a bottleneck occurs, it's easy to pinpoint where it's happening and who to check in with to get things back on track.

It took longer to read this paragraph than it would take to build this Gantt chart itself – exactly how a great Gantt chart should operate.

Simple Beats Complete, Every Time

A simple Gantt chart for small teams doesn't have to model your entire project to be worthwhile. It simply needs to answer two questions at a glance:

• What's currently due?
• Who owns it?

When it's that simple, your team is much more likely to use it daily. That's the key to using project management and productivity tools for the benefit they bring rather than just their functionality.

That's the idea SimpleGantt is built on: a simple Gantt chart that can be spun up in seconds – tailored to the tasks and processes that most small teams, freelancers, and small businesses need to operate and deliver.

If you're tired of Gantt charts that require more work than the project itself, it's time to give a simple Gantt chart a try.