What is a Gantt chart, and when would you use one in Tableau?

A Gantt chart plots bars along a timeline to show the duration and sequence of discrete tasks or events, making it the natural choice whenever "how long did this take, and when" is the question.

Columns: [Start Date] (continuous)
Rows:    [Task Name]
Marks:   Gantt Bar, Size = [Duration]

• The Gantt Bar mark type sets each bar's starting position based on a date field on Columns.
• The bar's length is controlled by dragging a duration measure (e.g. days to complete) onto the Size property of the Marks card.
• Rows typically hold the task, project phase, or resource name, so each row shows one continuous bar (or a broken series of bars for recurring tasks).

Common use cases include project timelines (task start/end dates), employee scheduling (shift start/duration), and equipment usage logs — anywhere the core story is "this thing was active from this point for this long," which a Gantt chart shows more intuitively than a plain table of start and end dates ever could.

Invest now in Acorns!!! 🚀
Join Acorns and get your $5 bonus!

Acorns is a micro-investing app that automatically invests your "spare change" from daily purchases into diversified, expert-built portfolios of ETFs. It is designed for beginners, allowing you to start investing with as little as $5. The service automates saving and investing. Disclosure: I may receive a referral bonus.

Invest now!!! Get Free equity stock (US, UK only)!

Use Robinhood app to invest in stocks. It is safe and secure. Use the Referral link to claim your free stock when you sign up!.

The Robinhood app makes it easy to trade stocks, crypto and more.

Webull! Receive free stock by signing up using the link: Webull signup.