Talk:The Gantt Chart

Latest revision as of 21:04, 28 September 2015

Anna: I like your topic idea and that it focuses on a single project management tool. It also seem that you have read and understood the structure requirements.

[edit] Feedback from reviewers

[edit] Review 1, Nannats

Hi s103183 :-)

• Generally, the whole article is easy to understand, which is nice. But be aware of the language do not become too much ’spoken’ language, and too long sentences.
• I like the example with the light – also easy to understand :-)
• I think it is good that you suggest real tools for creating Gantt Charts.
• You mention The Critical Path Method, which is nice! You could consider to link to the Wiki article about the Critical path method. The same as for the WBS.
• There are some spelling errors - watch out for these :-)
• You should consider the layout of the sentence under figure 1 ("to the Gantt Chart by using arrows as shown in Figure 3.”), to make it easier for the reader to read.
• The figure 2 is taking up a lot of space. Maybe you could remove some of the white frame in the figure.
• I was a little confused about figure 3, so it might be an idea to explain what a predecessor activity and a successor activity is.
• I think the video is god, but as your article is a bit short, you could consider writing the guide on how to create a Gantt Chart yourself.

Keep up the good work :-)

[edit] S113815, Review 2. [2206 words]

Dear S 103183.

After reviewing your article, I have following comments: First of all, I think the article is consistently well-written and explains a tool which is very useful in the field of project management. There structure of the article seems to follow the guidelines from the assignment.

I have made some comments and tried to make some suggestions to make the article even better, they are as followed:

History of the Gantt Chart

• … “during World War One and is today known as "the Gant Chart"[2]. “ You miss a t in Gantt. :)
• “"I believe that computer-based project management has set the subject back 20 years". [6] “ You use a quote from a 14 years old article. Is that quote still relevant?

Basic understanding

• ..” The different activities can be dependent on one another which means that one activity may not begin before another activity has finished. This does not mean that multiple activities can not be worked on at the same time it merely means that some activities might be connected.” I guess that there are other dependencies than the “finish-start”. (https://www.google.dk/search?q=cpm+dependencies&rlz=1C1CHWL_da__638DK638&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=637&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIjcCmuKeLyAIVYzJyCh3RFwbl#imgrc=Huejzitp6md9JM%3A) Maybe you should consider explain the different types of dependencies?
• “… can begin after a certain oercentage of its predecessor activity has been completed.” Typing error: percentage, not oercentage. :)

The Gantt Chart in practice

• I really like the figures. Nice and descriptive.
• “It is grucial that the duration of each…” .” Typing error: crucial, not grucial. :)
• Comment to figure 1: Where is the dependencies between the different task showed?
• The last line in the explanation of figure 2 has dropped down below Figure 1. I think it would look better if it is placed below the rest of the text.
• Figure 3 is very small compared to the others. Maybe another figure would be better here?
• I think that it would be nice to add a section on how to use the Gantt Chart as control tool to monitor the projects, in terms of progress, stage reporting etc.

Limitations

• “It can get very complicated for big projects. Especially if it is on a computer where you have multiple pages of tasks etc. The more information the more bars, connecting lines, color codings etc. has to be put into the Gantt Chart. If you use a computer and the Gantt Chart takes up more space than a single screen it is quite easy to lose the overview thus making the Gantt Chart very hard to decipher”. How do you back this statement up? As far as I know, a lot of professional planners are using Gantt Charts to schedule large projects – also with success?
• Another limitation could be the missing link to the location. The Gantt Chart don’t give an overview of processes and the location they are carried out. This might lead to conflicts. [See location-based scheduling].

Tools for creating a Gantt Chart

• I guess it is hard to make a detailed Gantt Chart schedule in Vison or Excel?
• I think that the most used Gantt Chart program is Microsoft Project (you miss that on your list). All the construction companies I know uses this program.

Conclusion, Annotated Bibliography, References

• All these sections looks nice – no comments on them. :)

General to the article

• I found a couple of typing errors – I hopefully catch them all.
• I think that your main points are well illustrated with figures. Thus, Figure 3 is a bit small.
• I feel it is possible to add some internal links to other Wiki-articles. For example WBS. This is one of the points the teachers will look into (I guess).
• As you still have 800 words to use, you might consider a longer “Limitations”-part. Or maybe an extra example to strengthen your theory.
• Be careful not to use “spoken language” when you write

All in all a very nice article – and good work. :)

[edit] s140046 review 3

1. Great introduction to article
2. You could easily add links to internal wiki-articles e.g. on Karol Adamiecki.
3. The history section tend to repeat a lot of the introduction.
4. Interesting quote by the project director [6] – It would be interesting to dig into that topic in a discussion section?
5. The article contains few spelling errors/typos which can easily be corrected
6. It would be interesting to know the process for creating a Gantt-chart. You could include Work-breakdown structures, network diagrams, critical path method etc. from the Project manager book.
7. There exist several types of interdependencies for tasks. It would be great to describe the different types of dependencies introduced.
8. I miss a description of slack/buffer and how it is visualized in the gantt chart.
9. I am not sure I follow the red line in the limitations overview. You argue that gantt chart is a blunt tool and describe how it ignore costs. From my perspective it is a visualization tool and has nothing to do with economics?
10. Fine with the annotated bibliography with descriptions.
11. Note that the reference list does not comply with the wikipedia standard - which is showing small reference numbers.

[edit] Replies to the comments from reviewers

[edit] Comments on the feedback from Reviewer 1

• Thanks for the kind words. I am aware that I use ”spoken language” too much when writing and I have done my best to change it for the final delivery.
• Thank you. I also felt it was a nice touch.
• I felt that since it is an article that other students can look at it could maybe be helpful.
• That is a good idea. I forgot all about that when I wrote it, so thanks a lot for reminding me!
• I thought there might be. I did not get to read and correct the article, and because the English dictionary was not installed I had red lines under every word and I had a hard time finding the errors. Hopefully I have caught them all before the final hand-in.
• You were absolutely right about this. I had a hard time finding the sentence, but I have now changed it to something that the reader will hopefully find easier to read/understand.
• I have tried to cut off some of the white area but for some reason even though I remove it in paint on my computer, safe it as a new picture, and upload it, it still stays the same. I even get a warning that the same picture exists even though I have changed the picture and the file name. So unfortunately this is not an option for me right now.
• Thanks for pointing this out. I have now added a description of what a predecessor and successor activity is by using the activities from the example with the light.
• I would like to keep the video as a lot of people like to see how it is done including myself. If I want to know how to create something in a program etc. I find it very easy if I can find a guide on youtube. I have however added a short step-by-step guide on how to make a Gantt Chart.

Thanks a lot for your feedback. I found it helpful as you pointed out some errors and areas where I needed to improve. You have indeed helped me in the creation of this article and the help is much appreciated.

[edit] Comments on the feedback from Reviewer 2

History of the Gantt Chart

• Thanks for pointing that out. It has now been corrected
• I see your point regarding this quote. To be honest I had forgotten that 2001 was 14 years ago. However, I do feel that the quote gives an important statement, that the use of new technology might seem very tempting but that exaggerating something can turn out to be disadvantageous. I must admit that I am not sure if it is right to keep it in the article, but I have chosen to keep it in the article with a short comment.

Basic Understanding

• You are correct. There are other types of dependencies and thanks a lot for the link! I have added a brief description of the four types of dependencies from your link and made references to where I found them.
• This has now been corrected

Gantt Chart in practice

• Thanks.
• This has now been corrected
• The dependencies is not shows in the figure. Not by arrows or something similar, but it is assumed that they would not plan activities so that it would inflict with the different dependencies. The figure is mostly there to show how a basic Gantt Chart might look. I have tried to explain this better in the text.
• I am not sure I follow this. As I see it the text is placed just like the rest of the text so I have not done anything about this comment.
• I made figure 3 small/tiny on purpose. I wanted a simple figure that showed that an activity can have a predecessor and successor activity. I also feel it is in good contrast to the other figures.
• I do not feel that this is too crucial for the report as I am aiming for a simple description of the Gantt Chart. Also, the modifications I have made according to the feedback I have received, means that there is not that many words left for a section I think would require a significant amount of words.

Limitations

• I like this comment a lot as I see it as good constructive critique. First I would like to say that I know a lot of people as well like project managers etc. who make use of Gantt Charts. I do feel however that there is a possibility for the Gantt Chart to be confusing to look at when the project is big. I have read this several times when browsing for source material for this article and also experienced it myself. Maybe because I used the wrong programs but nonetheless, I felt that it could be confusing. I have re-written this point in the limitation part and tried to make it sound less definite.
• Firstly I enjoy that this comment suggest me to link to your article ;-) Secondly I agree that this is also a limitation to the Gantt Chart, and I have added it and linked to your article!

Tools for creating a Gantt Chart

• I have never tried to make a Gantt Chart in Excel. I must also admit that I have only tried to make a simple Gantt Chart in Visio in a previous project and it was very easy. I do not remember how many features there were for creating a Gantt Chart in Visio but I think you can make it fairly detailed. I am not able to download it again and my old computer has crashed.
• I forgot to add this after listening to the video I have in the article where they also mention it. Thanks for reminding me!

Conclusion, Annotated Bibliography, References

• Thanks.

General to the article

• I hope I have corrected them all by now. But thanks for notifying me!
• Thanks for the feedback, and I have made a comment about Figure 3 somewhere in the above text.
• I was planning on doing this but yes, thanks for reminding me and I have added some links to other wiki-articles.
• I do not have as many words left to use, but I have it in mind and will see when I am done modifying my article according to the feedback I have received. Unfortunately I do not have to time to add this but fortunately the article is a bit longer after considering the feedback from the reviews.
• I know I do it a lot but it is somehow hard for me to catch. Hopefully it will be mostly/all gone for the final hand-in.

Thanks a lot for your feedback. I found it very constructive and you had some good points. I also liked that you came with suggestions and a link to help me improving my article. I wish you the best with your own.

[edit] Comments on the feedback from Reviewer 3

• Thank you.
• I have added links to other wiki articles but not for Karol Adamiecki
• I can see that some of the text repeats itself but as I have changed a bit here and there I do not feel that it is necessary to re-write it. Thanks for the comment though :-)
• I found it interesting as well. However I do not see the need for discussing this statement as it is meant as an interesting quote to make people think about it but nothing more than that. I have however added a few words about the quote.
• I hope I have caught them all.
• I have written a short step-by-step guide to make a Gantt Chart. You mention that I could include WBS, CPM etc. but I feel that this would be a bit too much as other students are making articles about these specific topics. I have instead added a link to the wiki articles.
• I have added a short description of the different types of dependencies as the other reviewers also pointed this out.
• I have added a brief description of this in the section ”Basic understanding”.
• I do not see how a ”red line” in the limitation section is needed. Yes my last sentence is that the Gantt Chart is a blunt tool. Yes I also mention that a Gantt chart ignores costs which i find to be true as you have no information what so ever regarding costs in a Gantt Chart. I agree with you that the Gantt Chart is a visualization tool but it sounds like you miss understand what I mean with ”a blunt tool”. It is merely an expression meaning that if you have not planned your activities or done any preparation work before you make a Gantt Chart, the Gantt Chat will be useless. There needs to be a certain amount of imformation ready, thus you need to have done a lot of planning before making a Gantt Chart. You also say that it has nothing to do with economics which is exactly why I have put costs in as a limitation since a Gantt Chart does not cover this aspect.
• Thanks a lot for mentioning this as i was not aware of it. It has now been corrected.

Thanks a lot for your feedback as it has made me think about how to improve my article. I have tried to improve it based on your feedback and I hope you will do great with your own article.