Gantt Charts

What is a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt chart is a visual project management tool that displays tasks or work items along a timeline. It shows start and end dates, task dependencies, milestones, and progress, making it easy to see who is working on what, when, and how tasks overlap.

From a UX Director perspective, Gantt charts are less about micromanaging designers and more about strategic planning, cross-team coordination, and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality experiences.

1. Planning and Scheduling UX Work

Gantt charts help map all UX activities—research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, and design handoffs—onto a project timeline:

• Visualize the sequence of design tasks and dependencies

• Ensure research and discovery happen before prototyping

• Allocate resources based on designer availability and skill sets

• Identify potential bottlenecks in multi-team projects

Example: When redesigning a complex onboarding flow, a Gantt chart showed research happening in week 1-2, wireframes in week 3, prototyping in week 4, and usability testing in week 5. Dependencies were clearly marked so design didn’t begin until key research insights were available.

2. Managing Cross-Functional Dependencies

UX design rarely happens in isolation. Gantt charts help coordinate across Product, Engineering, and Go-to-Market teams:

• Highlight where design output is required for engineering to start development

• Show when marketing or content teams need design assets

• Track milestones such as design review approvals and final handoff dates

Example: For a multi-feature release, the Gantt chart flagged that a prototype had to be finalized by week 3 for engineering to start sprint 4. This allowed early escalation when research took longer than expected, keeping the project on track.

3. Tracking Progress and Milestones

A Gantt chart provides leadership and stakeholders with a visual snapshot of progress:

• Task completion percentage is visible at a glance

• Key milestones (e.g., design reviews, approvals, usability tests) are highlighted

• Risks, such as delays or dependencies, are immediately apparent

Example: During a product refresh, weekly updates to the Gantt chart showed which UX tasks were completed, in progress, or at risk. This allowed the team to adjust priorities dynamically and keep leadership informed without lengthy status meetings.

4. Resource Allocation and Capacity Planning

Gantt charts help balance workloads across team members:

• Identify overlapping high-effort tasks and adjust schedules

• Plan for team absences, peaks in design activity, or concurrent projects

• Visualize how additional hires or contractors could accelerate delivery

Example: The Gantt chart revealed that two high-priority features were scheduled for the same designer in week 5. By redistributing tasks to another team member, we avoided burnout and kept the project on schedule.

5. Communicating UX Plans to Executives

For leadership, Gantt charts provide a high-level visual summary of timelines, progress, and dependencies:

• Easy to see overall UX delivery roadmap

• Highlights critical milestones and risks

• Supports cross-functional discussions and alignment without needing to dive into Jira stories

Example: Before a major release, the Gantt chart was shared with executives to show research, prototyping, and engineering handoff dates, allowing leadership to allocate additional resources to critical path items.

Takeaways

Gantt charts are essential for:

• Strategic planning: Map design work, dependencies, and milestones clearly

• Cross-functional coordination: Align UX with Product, Engineering, and Marketing

• Risk management: Identify delays, bottlenecks, and task conflicts early

• Transparency: Provide stakeholders and executives with a clear, visual timeline

• Scalable execution: Ensure UX processes are predictable and repeatable across multiple teams