Working with Gantt Charts

The following guide will help you get started working with Gantt charts. For additional information on the topics discussed, see our User's Guide.

Scheduling Tasks

Tasks can be scheduled automatically or manually.

Automatic Scheduling 

In this mode, tasks are automatically placed on the Gantt timeline based on your project start date, task estimates, predecessors, and dependencies:

• Earliest tasks (tasks with no dependencies) are started on the project start date

• Task lengths (and bar sizes) are estimated based on time tracking (by default)

• If tasks are dependent on another task to start, they are scheduled accordingly, and those dependencies are illustrated in the chart

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Manual Scheduling

Manual scheduling allows you to schedule items based on the values in a Jira field or by dragging tasks across the timeline.

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When you set a task's Start or Finish Date, it is considered to be scheduled manually. This means it will stay at the defined position regardless of its dependencies. If you remove the Start/Finish Date for a task, it will be automatically scheduled again.

For more information, see Scheduling Tasks.

Adjusting Task Duration

Task durations are calculated based on each task's work estimate, the Work Estimates Configuration, and the calendar.

To adjust a task's duration:

1. Edit the task's work estimate fields, or

2. Drag the side of the task bar.

For more information, see Adjusting Duration.

Dependencies

Dependencies are defined based on Issue Links. Changing dependencies within the Gantt chart creates or removes links between issues.

Creating Dependencies

To create a dependency between two tasks, drag from one task to another. The type of dependency you create will depend on the sides of each task you use:

• Finish to Start - Drag from the right side of one task to the left side of the other

• Finish to Finish - Drag from right side to right side

• Start to Finish - Drag from left side to right side

• Start to Start - Drag from left side to left side

Removing Dependencies

To remove a dependency:

1. Click the link arrow between two tasks to display the Dependency Properties

2. Click Remove

For more information about working with and configuring dependencies, see Dependencies.

Scheduling Conflicts

Scheduling conflicts are noted on the timeline. For example, for finish-to-start dependencies, if a task is manually scheduled for a date earlier than its predecessor's Finish Date, Gantt will flag this conflict.

To deal with the conflict, click the task and select one of the following actions:

• Auto Schedule - This will switch the task to the Automatic Scheduling mode, clearing its Start Date or Finish Date and scheduling the task based on its predecessor and the dependency type.

• Respect Link - This will change the task Start Date to coincide with the predecessor's Finish Date. The task will stay in the Manual Scheduling mode.

Next Steps

To learn more about working with Gantt charts, adjusting Gantt chart settings, or using advanced features like resources, milestones, and baselines, check out our User's Guide.