Gantt charts: A centenary appreciation

With the proliferation of microcomputer based project management packages Gantt charts have enjoyed a revival in their use. Although Henry L. Gantt is recognized as their developer their origins and provenance are less well known. Gantt was a close associate of Frederick W. Taylor and an advocate of Scientific Management. His paper describing the use of “graphics” for general production planning appeared alongside Taylor's Shop Management in 1903 and was an integral and critical component of Taylor's system. Without Gantt's charts to plan the workloads for men and machines both in departments and throughout the factory Taylors system would have been unworkable. The focus of this paper is to describe more fully their development and early history; and review their contemporary uses and future prospects.