In my experience I've mostly seen Gantt charts being used to plan out projects, but I think a network diagram could be a useful tool as well, since they can each serve different purposes. Gantt charts are a great tool for assigning team members to tasks and tracking tasks' completion status on a day-to-day basis, which can easily be accomplished using software such as MS Project. However, Gantt charts can be overwhelming to look at, especially for long, complicated projects with lots of sub-tasks and dependencies. A network diagram is a better way to visualize a project. As you said, a network diagram would be advantageous during the initial project planning to map out tasks, but I think it could also be beneficial to have when presenting the overall project to upper management from a more high-level perspective.

Both Gantt charts and Network diagrams aid in presenting project schedules and tasks in a graphical manner. Gantt charts tend to be a bar chart that shows the project schedule while Network diagrams are a flow chart that shows the sequential workflow of tasks. The focus of Gantt charts are tasks and time management throughout the duration of the project. Task start and end dates, resources, progress, and status can all be tracked. Network diagrams focus more on planning out the project before its begun. They aid in identifying all the critical tasks that will be need to be completed for the project as well as the float. 

Since Gantt charts are more in depth while Network diagrams are more high level, if only one tool could be used I would prefer the Gantt chart due to the diverse information it provides in terms of scheduling and task progress. 

As mentioned above, I also believe that both the Gantt chart and network diagram are useful for project teams to have. The way I think of it is: the network diagram is the bigger picture of the Gantt Chart. The network diagram is better for quick glances to see which milestones a project needs to reach. A Gantt chart dives in deeper and shows when and how the milestones will be reached. Both are similar in that they show the milestones that need to be reached. The Gantt chart however, also displays the subtasks that need to be achieved to get to the next steps. Lets say you are renovating your bathroom. The network diagram could look something like: remove old fixtures -> replace plumbing -> update walls/floor -> install new fixtures -> complete. A Gantt chart, on the other hand, would show what day you're removing fixtures, what day you're painting/installing new floors, when you need the plumbing parts ordered by, how many days you have to install them, etc. With this, I think that a network diagram would be useful to come up with the major milestones and then work backwards to fill in and create a Gantt chart with the sub-tasks that need to be completed and their respective timelines.

Echoing what @sm2744 stated, you can use either tool to address different conceptual aspects of the project. A network diagram is a good way to brainstorm dependencies between tasks and milestones. Meanwhile, the planning for execution of a project, including the day to day sequence of tasks, assignees, milestone targets, and dependent tasks are organized in a visually digestible manner using a Gantt chart.

The Gantt Chart is a visual representation of project schedules whereas the Network Diagram is a representation of project workflow. The Gantt Chart may be used to manage project resources, time, and activities. It's used to represent the timelines of various tasks required for a project. The Network Diagram shows the sequential project activities with relation to each other. In my opinion, both methods are essential to project management. By choosing only one method, the project management team may be missing essential details that would be of value such as resource management or the relationship and dependencies between specific tasks.

Hi Sandra,

I think that when you are planning a project it is imperative that the planning of the project should be conducted as thoroughly as possible. So in this case when you pose the question of which structure is better I believe that both structures have their benefits and their shortcomings and by using both in the planning of the project it will ensure that all planning is thoroughly defined and easy to follow. Ghantt Charts are extremely comprehensive as they create a designated schedule for the events and tasks that need to occur in order to bring the project to fruition. This method breaks down the project into main tasks that need to be accomplished and then sub tasks that go towards completing the main tasks. As these are all outlined a timeline is generated as well and accounts for any overlaps that may occur. Furthermore the Ghantt Chart accounts for the order of tasks finishing where one task might not be able to begin until a certain task is completed. Due to this high level of complexity as @es446 mentioned these charts can be daunting to look at as there is a lot of information given all at once. One way to simplify this bulk of information is to break down all the tasks into a Network Diagram. Although the Network Diagram does not account for anything through time, it provides a cohesive structure and flow as to how the project should progress. In my own Capstone team, we had utilized a Ghantt Chart as well as a simplified flow chart that made it easier to visualize the order of the tasks and what needed to get done in what order chronologically. I personally found that using a Ghantt Chart along with a Network Diagram (esque) method was extremely useful as it accounted for the timeline that everything needed to get done as well as the chronological order.