Gantt / Timeline view

A Gantt or timeline view lays out tasks as horizontal bars along a calendar. You can see when each piece of work starts and ends, how long it takes, and which tasks have to finish before others can begin. For example, in Asana, ClickUp or Monday.com, a launch plan can show design work finishing before development starts, and a delay to one bar pushes the later ones.

A list of tasks does not show how the schedule fits together. A timeline helps you spot clashes, plan around deadlines and explain to clients or colleagues when something will be ready. It matters for projects with fixed dates and linked tasks, such as launches, events or client deliveries. For ongoing work without clear start and end dates, a board or list is usually clearer, and a timeline can be more effort than it is worth.

• Check whether tasks can depend on each other and whether dates move automatically when one slips.
• Ask whether the timeline view is included in the plan you would buy.
• Test dragging bars to change dates and see whether it is simple on a large project.
• Ask whether you can share a timeline with clients who do not have an account.