Most manual scheduling methods
use Gantt or PERT charts (or
both) as the primary means of displaying
a schedule. Both are visual
tools that make it easy to see the
entire schedule for a project at a
glance. A Gantt chart is basically
a bar chart of activities along a
linear time scale. It contains a list
of discrete tasks, such as "Frame
exterior walls," and horizontally
graphed bars that represent the
amount of time the task will take
to complete. A PERT (Program
Evaluation Review Technique)
chart displays tasks as a series of
interconnected boxes that form a
graphic picture of the relationships
between tasks.
Computerized scheduling has
several advantages over a manual
system. Not only can you build a
schedule