With scattered teams across different locations becoming the new normal, project management tools are becoming essential for remote work. At Zoho Projects, we’re always looking for ways to simplify your project management experience. Et voilà! We’ve upgraded and refurbished our Gantt chart feature to include more capabilities, making it easier than ever to work with it. Here’s what you can do with our new Gantt interface.
The Gantt chart, as intended: An effective planning and tracking tool for your project timeline
Gantt charts are known as powerful tools in planning and are the go-to method for schedule management. From the four types of dependencies to the critical path and baseline, the Gantt module in Zoho Projects has all the features you need to plan your project timeline effectively and track your real-time progress.
However, we at Zoho are committed to the long-term project of constantly improving your experience with us. As such, we’ve introduced a few cool upgrades to make your Gantt chart experience a whole lot better!
Unscheduled (for now) – There are times when you’re not sure when to begin and end a task. Many times, a visual representation of your timeline can help you decide better, so we’ve made it easier for you to schedule tasks in the Gantt chart itself. We’re not talking about opening up your task details page and manually editing the start and end date. In our new UI, your unscheduled tasks are present under the tag “unscheduled” before your actual timeline begins. Just drag and drop an unscheduled task to the timeline to schedule it automatically.
In focus – When it comes to planning, every single detail matters. One miscalculated day can start an avalanche effect, leading to delays in several other dependent activities. One missed dependency could mean the loss of budget and resources. Projects helps you focus on such seemingly minor but essential details by utilizing the new “Full Screen” view in our Gantt charts.
For more information – While the gears in your mind spin, the obvious can get overlooked. Going back to find the task name when you’ve fully expanded the timeline in Gantt view or looking for overdue tasks by calculating the dates in mind can get tedious. Not to worry! You can now customize the data your taskbars show inside the Gantt chart to include information like the start/end date, task owner, overdue status, and task name. Knowing who is in charge of which tasks while scheduling can also help with resource utilization.
To err is human – One of the most anticipated/requested features in Gantt charts is finally here: the UNDO button! Ever pushed a task forward while trying to create a dependency, or accidentally moved them around while trying to find a mistake? We’ve been there and done that, too. Well, we can all rest easy now. Go ahead, try new things and make mistakes. The Undo button can trace back your changes and return your Gantt to the original status.
Going above and beyond: a powerful task management tool by itself
In addition to acting as a planner and project tracker, the Gantt module can also handle your entire project lifecycle. Task management options like reordering tasks, in-line editing, and creating sub-tasks from regular tasks can all be done by dragging and dropping the tasks from the left pane of the Gantt module.
Just like our tasks module, there are also several customization options like custom fields, custom views, and column resizing available in Gantt too. However, there was one crucial aspect of task management missing—the ability to create a work breakdown structure (WBS) from within Gantt. Now, we’re happy to say you can create as many milestones, task lists, tasks and subtasks as needed by clicking the “+” symbol next to a particular work item in the left pane of Gantt charts. Just enter the name, hit “Enter,” and drag it to your project timeline to start working with it!
The current COVID-19 situation is definitely a cause for concern globally, but we’re proud to do our part in helping your work continue to strive ahead with unrelenting spirit. As always, we wish you many happy projects and hope these updates will enhance your Gantt chart experience and make your tasks easier to manage. Try it out and let us know what you think in the comments below!
Stay tuned for more updates, and more importantly, stay safe!
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