The Effects of a Modified Gantt Chart Depicting Schedule Risk

Date of Award

Fall 2003

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering

Program/Concentration

Modeling and Simulation

Committee Director

Mark W. Scerbo

Committee Member

David A. Dryer

Committee Member

Carryl L. Baldwin

Call Number for Print

Special Collections LD4331.E53 H67 2003

Abstract

The tools and methodologies used to manage projects continue to evolve. A popular project management tool for monitoring a project's schedule is the Gantt chart. The Gantt chart provides information about projected start and end times for each task of a project. A critical limitation of the Gantt chart, however, is its inability to depict uncertainty surrounding the project schedule, or project schedule risk. The present study investigated the effectiveness of three alternative formats for depicting schedule risk. The three presentation formats used were a table, a table with a traditional Gantt chart, and a table and a modified Gantt chart that includes a triangular distribution to represent schedule risk. Eighteen undergraduate students viewed three PowerPoint slideshow presentations containing thirty questions each. The independent variables of task type (single or multiple) and question type (specific date, contingency, or distribution) resulted in six question categories. The measures of effectiveness for each presentation format were accuracy and speed. Results showed the modified Gantt was more effective for conveying schedule risk on distribution and contingency questions than the other two formats. These findings could have important design implications in the how future project management applications convey schedule risk.

Rights

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DOI

10.25777/8ka3-7x69

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