Project Roadmap vs. Gantt Charts - Which one to use for your project and why? (Top 10 Templates Included)

In the competitive corporate ambiance, we need to make our business stand out from the rest of the players. Business involves several people who need to be on the same page and work towards achieving a common goal; the success of the project! 

 

For a project manager, it is crucial to juggle between tasks and keep an eye on all the activities to ensure smooth and scheduled progress of the project. A small delay in a job can affect the whole workflow, the repercussions of which can be damaging to the business. Meeting deadlines and presenting the update to the team members as well as the client is made more accessible by the use of efficient project management tools.

Related read: 50+ Project Management Templates That Will Make Your Next Project a Cakewalk

These tools help the manager to plan effectively, monitor the project’s progress, resource management, and budget tracking. From an employee’s perspective, project management tools enable efficient time management, keep a tab on the dependencies, and induce a smooth collaboration.

 

Two of the most popular project management tools are Project Roadmaps and Gantt charts. Let’s have a quick look at each of them.

 

Project Roadmap

 

Project Roadmap is a graphical representation that provides a bird’s eye view of the whole project. It gives information about the project objectives, milestones, and deliverables. 

Features of Project roadmaps

1. Beneficial in showing the key milestones during product development
2. Includes time element and state a deadline for the completion of the project
3. Guides team members about the coming steps
4. Helps in visualizing goals and analyzing the project 
5. Give a sense of direction

Application: Macro perspective of the project. 

 

Gantt Chart

 

Gantt Chart comprises the list of activities against a suitable time scale. Each activity/task is represented by bars in a simple view scheduled overtime. It explains the start date, duration, and end date of the activity. 

Features of Gantt charts 

1. Visualizes a working timeline linearly 
2. Includes information about the cross-functional team schedules
3. Give insights into the task dependencies and overlapping of activities
4. It answers the ‘What next task to be done?’ and ‘What are the beginning and end date?’ of a particular activity

Application: Micro perspective of activity of a project.

 

“When to use a project roadmap and when to use a Gantt chart ?”  This question often bugs a project manager.

 

Project Roadmap vs Gantt Charts

 

1. Project Roadmap showcases the vision, initiatives, deliverables of a project at a  macro-level. Gantt Chart gives detailed information about the time frame of each activity of a project.
2. Project Roadmap reflects the completion of a project and hence determines success. Gantt Chart illustrates the outcome/delivery of each task of the project.
3. Project Roadmap is not updated frequently concerning day to day activities. Gantt Chart is continuously updated as it is dependent on the linear work timeline and a shift in one timeline affects the upcoming project activities.
4. Project Roadmap is used to keep stakeholders updated. Gantt chart is used by team members to track the progress of project activities.

 

Conclusion

 

Gantt chart records the progress of different stages of a task, whereas a project roadmap describes the evolution of a project. Both project roadmaps and the Gannt charts are crucial for efficient project management in their respective application areas. 

 

As project roadmaps and Gantt charts are essential tools for flawless project management, SlideTeam professionals have curated these Top 10 Project Roadmap and Gantt chart templates. With the help of these attention-grabbing templates, you can present important business information effectively!

 

Top 10 Product Roadmap and Gantt Chart Templates to Download

Template 1

 

Download Roadmap Layouts For A Project Template

 

Describe the project milestones and targets interestingly using this editable project roadmap template. With the help of this comprehensively researched complete deck, you can elaborate on the project details and discuss the further plan of action with your colleagues.

Template 2

 

Download Portfolio Gantt Chart Template

 

This complete deck comprises 17 pre-designed project roadmap templates that can be of great advantage for project managers. Employ project portfolio roadmap and product portfolio roadmap templates for demonstrating the different phases of the project or a product.

Template 3

 

Download SEO Half Yearly Project Roadmap Template

 

Document the plan of action of a project by utilizing this visually appealing project roadmap template. You can mention the different phases of the project using this content-ready project roadmap template. The color theme used here is used for better visualization of the various project-related activities.

Template 4

 

Download Gantt Chart Template

 

Gantt chart is useful for stating stepwise completion of the project, and it can be represented by incorporating this professionally designed Gantt chart template. The color coding used in this customizable Gantt chart template makes it easier for team members to execute the activities. Project Roadmap vs. Gantt Charts templates help in easy visualization of tasks.

Template 5

 

Download Business Intelligence Quarterly Project Roadmap Template

 

Business administrators and managers can download this pre-designed project roadmap template and illustrate steps like data analytics, data quality improvement, resource distribution, and data mining algorithm development. IT professionals can employ this pre-built project roadmap template.

Template 6

 

Download Multi Task Project Schedule Gantt Chart For Month Template

 

State the schedule of different projects and the duration of completion by downloading this editable Gantt chart template. You can mention the tasks along with the deadline by downloading this ready-made Gantt chart template. Project Roadmap vs. Gantt Charts templates can be useful for management students as well.

Template 7

 

Download 5 Year IT Project Roadmap Template

 

Incorporate this content-ready project roadmap to describe the path for IT projects. The template is designed to elucidate the IT project milestones and achievements. You can also discuss the future course of action with this eye-catching project roadmap template. 

Template 8

 

Download Quarterly Project Roadmap Timeline Template

 

The project roadmap template is of great use for project managers as it helps to describe multiple tasks and their coordination with each other effectively. Download this content-ready project roadmap template

Template 9

 

Download Eight Stages Task Competition Gantt Chart Template

 

Task competition and its interdependence on other project activities can be depicted by utilizing this pre-built Gantt chart template. List the tasks and their duration with the help of this customizable Gantt chart template. This template is useful in delegating tasks to team members according to their area of expertise. Project Roadmap vs. Gantt Charts templates is essential for striking presentations.

Template 10

 

Download Project Plan Implementation Gantt Chart Template

 

Depict the implementation plan of the project by employing this attention-grabbing Gantt chart template. You can also discuss the various implementation plans with your colleagues by incorporating this editable template.

 

We have discussed Project Roadmap vs. Gantt Charts and templates. Both Project Roadmap and Gantt Charts are useful tools to manage a project effectively. Therefore, download our pre-designed Top 10 Project Roadmap and Gantt Chart Templates that just require a few tweaks here and there to present important project information and relevant details!