Gantts galore

One of the tools we’ve decided to include in the press kit is a Gantt chart, to show that we’ve planned out the entire project and, maybe more importantly, that it has an end.

Once I started transferring the Gantt chart into Excel from Viewpath (see previous post), I realized there would be a problem–since the deliverable for this semester is a 1-3 minute trailer for the film, we basically had two timelines: one for the trailer and one for the entire film. I started out by putting everything into one chart, color coding the points at which the timeline diverged.

Along with the trailer/full film issue, there is another point at which the timeline splits–the time it takes to render the film would be vastly different depending on the number of computers we have available, and whether we decide to use personal computers or send the files to a render farm. The second choice would obviously speed up the process immensely, but would add a cost to our budget. Until we have to make that decision, I left both timelines in so we could see how each choice would affect our delivery date.

Below is the all-inclusive timeline with many pretty colors. It is a wide load. I tried to condense it’s large girth a bit by cutting the week detail out of those months when nothing specifically happened–June through November, indicated with the dot pattern.

Gantt version showing everything in one chart

While condensing some of the months helped, it is still probably too wide to fit on one sheet of paper legibly, so I separated the timelines for the trailer and the full film. I think this is the way to go in the future, and, come to think of it, we probably don’t need to show the trailer timeline to anyone outside the production team.

Gantt version showing timeline for the trailer only

 

Gantt version showing just the timeline for the complete film

Drumroll please…if my calculations are correct (and I’m sure they are fine for now but will change), The Districts will either be complete on December 23, 2011 or January 20, 2012.

Time management tools

We had an interesting discussion in T522: Managing the Creative Process last week about visualizing schedules and timelines. A problem that occurs quite often–one that I’ve run into both in my job at an ad agency and while working on The Districts–is balancing detail with the big picture. Here are a few tools I’ve found helpful:

• A good old-fashioned calendar: A calendar is a language everyone understands. Pros: Can show detail to the minute, shows at a glance everything that needs done each day. Cons: Hard to see tasks that span months, doesn’t typically show duration of a project stage, doesn’t illustrate relationships between steps.
• The dreaded Gantt chart: Great for showing the full length of a project, key stages of the process and how those stages are connected. You can create a Gantt chart manually in Excel, use programs with Gantt chart creation tools like Microsoft Visio and SharePoint, and through a number of online services such as Viewpath. Pros: Shows a project over a large amount of time, shows key steps in a project and their interrelations. Cons: Not much detail, not easy to tell specific dates/times of deadlines.

Part of the Gantt chart from The Districts, created with Viewpath

• A calendar-Gantt hybrid: Use with caution. It can get out of control very quickly. This is something I created for an agency client to bridge the gap between the daily detail of a calendar and the Gantt chart’s ability to show length of tasks. Pros: shows detail, can see everything that’s due each day, shows tasks over time. Cons: still difficult to see tasks spanning months, doesn’t show relationships between steps.

 

Hybrid calendar-Gantt chart created for advertising campaign

 

• Due-date lists: These can be handy for a quick rundown of when tasks are due for completion. There are a lot of blank days on a calendar when nothing happens. Pros: quick, simple, to the point. Cons: can be oversimplified, may skip intermediate tasks, doesn’t give a sense of duration of steps or their interrelations.

So really, it’s up to you to decide what will be most helpful to keep yourself on time and what will be most beneficial to your team. You may need more than one, but just remember that the more ways you illustrate your timelines, the more documents you’ll have to update when things change. And oh, they will change. Don’t kid yourself. This is something I had to learn the hard way.

Bonus: what do you think of this crazy concoction? I was trying to think of a quick way to see four different team members’ availabilities so I could schedule things without asking everyone when they are free every time. I think it might be too complicated, but I can understand it so maybe that’s enough if I’m the only one using it.