Step-by-Step Instructions for Making a Gantt Chart in Excel
I like Excel. I use it daily. In companies and homes all over the world, people use Excel for everything – from a makeshift calculator to tracking massive projects. Given the software's omnipresence, it’s no wonder so many people try to repurpose it for tasks that Excel was never meant to do.
To demonstrate, I created this How to Create a Gantt chart in Excel tutorial. I'll show you how to create an Excel Gantt chart, then I'll demonstrate how the Smartsheet online Gantt chart software makes this far easier.
1. Create a Task Table
2. Build a Bar Chart
On the top menu, select Insert, and then click on the Bar chart icon. When the drop-down menu appears, choose the flat Stacked Bar Chart, highlighted in green below. This will insert a blank chart onto your spreadsheet.
Add Start Date data.
- Position your mouse over the empty Excel chart and right click. Then, left click on Select Data. The Select Data Source window will appear.
- Click on the first Start Date, 3/2 in my example, and drag your mouse down to the last Start Date. After the
right dates are highlighted, click on the icon at the end of the Edit Series form. The window will close and the previous window will reopen. Select OK. Your start dates are now in the Gantt chart.
Next, add the Durations column using the same procedure you used to add the start dates.
- Under Legend Entries (Series), click on Add.
- Click on any bar in the chart, then right click, then open Select Data.