I think that even though Gantt charts are meant to document all of the related activities for a project, I think overall flexibility is key to delivering a project.

Sort of related: A common thing that happens at my job is that project teams know their drug file date a few years in advance. While that is helpful, sometimes it causes the project team to “tinker” with the manufacturing process development a bit too much. Essentially, the amount of time the team has until file always manages to get filled up with work items (whether they are necessities or not). With a resource crunch, the directors are putting pressure on the project managers to try to condense all project activities down to “free up” that staff for a period of time to work on other projects. So if a file date is in 2019, the project manager is pressured to prioritize and accomplish all the project goals by end of 2018, freeing up a year of time. So Gantt charts are great at visually planning things, but the project managers need to be flexible and creatively prioritize certain activities over others. Gantt charts are great for this though, because they can give you a good estimate of how much time you can save by eliminating/abbreviating certain activities.

– Laura Wehmeyer