Just something I thought was a little interesting – I couldn’t find any free Gantt chart web-based apps that were easily shareable (preferably in Google Docs). So, I built one using Google sheets. It’s not perfect, and only has very basic functionality. It’s a perfect chart for running through basic timing and milestones (particularly for a research project, which is why it’s geared toward organizing a dissertation). Click below to make a copy of the link for your own usage. It does assume a level of familiarity with Excel/Sheets and the familiarity with formulas.
All you need to do is the following:
- Add new rows if needed
- Edit/Add dates if needed across columns
- Copy down formulas in your new rows/columns from existing (included the hidden column H), make sure to special paste formulas only so the formatting doesn’t get thrown off
- Set your start date / due date (A light blue line will generate)
- Set the percentage done in the PCT OF TASK COMPLETE column (A dark blue line will generate to fill up based on percentage completed)
The only annoying thing I’ve come across is that the light/dark blue lines in the chart sometimes overlap slightly across rows by a single pixel. Google Sheets just doesn’t have complex enough conditional formatting to fix such things.