All three are valid parts of project management. ## definitions Gantt charts show project components with their dependencies across time. From the Gantt chart you can identify the critical path for the project. A timeline is often a simplified gantt chart using only major stages of the project, e.g. Analysis / Development / Testing / Deployment. A Pert chart enables analysis of the tasks created by the [[work breakdown structure (wbs)]] for the project - it will typically include factors such as - dependencies (what tasks this one is dependent on and which tasks are dependent on this one) - earliest start time - latest start time (difference is the window for starting) - earliest completion time - latest completion time (difference is the window for completion) - estimated duration of the task in relation to resources eg. 2 day / 2 people = 4 person days ## order Typically a project would follow this pattern and order... 1. work breakdown structure 2. pert chart 3. gantt chart 4. timeline The first three are used within the project team and the timeline is used to explain timescales to those outside of the team. ## who Here is that list again, this time with who is responsible for these project artifacts... 1. work breakdown structure - analyst and development team leader 2. pert chart - development team leader and developer and tester with help from analyst 3. gantt chart - project manager 4. timeline - project manager ## how and tools When I learnt about all of this (back in the 1980s) we used index cards on a large pinboard wall. This meant we could move things around before committing to them. It predated decent software for the task but is still a good step (if you have access to a large pinboard wall). Microsoft Project - ughh. easy to create a gantt in this but very difficult to replan when something changes. Microsoft Excel - not as nice to look at but much easier to manipulate. Google Sheets using timeline add in - perfect for simple timelines and results can integrate well with google docs, slides, email etc..