How to Make a Gantt Chart in Power BI

Creating a Gantt chart to track your project timelines doesn’t have to be a complicated process. While Power BI doesn't offer a native, one-click Gantt chart visual, you can still build a powerful and interactive one in just a few minutes. This tutorial will walk you through two effective methods for making a Gantt chart in Power BI, complete with practical tips to make your project reporting clear and impactful.

What Exactly is a Gantt Chart?

At its core, a Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule over time. It’s the go-to tool for project managers because it turns a boring list of tasks and deadlines into a clear, visual timeline. Each bar represents a specific task, and its length shows how long that task is supposed to take. You can see what needs to happen, in what order, and who’s responsible for it at a single glance.

You’ll use a Gantt chart to:

• Visualize the entire project timeline from start to finish.

• See the start and end dates for every task.

• Understand which tasks depend on others before they can begin.

• Track the progress of tasks and the overall project.

• Allocate resources and manage team workload effectively.

Instead of juggling spreadsheets and to-do lists, a Gantt chart puts everything into a single, easy-to-understand visual, making it essential for any kind of project management.

Preparing Your Data for Power BI

Before you jump into Power BI, getting your data structured correctly is the most important step. A clean, well-organized data source will make the rest of the process much smoother. Your data can be in an Excel spreadsheet, a SharePoint list, a Google Sheet, or any other source Power BI can connect to.

At a minimum, your dataset needs the following four columns:

• Task Name: A short description of the task (e.g., "Draft Website Copy," "Design Mockups"). This will be your primary label.

• Start Date: The date the task is scheduled to begin.

• End Date: The date the task is scheduled to be completed.

• Duration: The number of days the task is expected to take. While you could calculate this in Power BI, having it in your source data is often easier. If you don't have it, you can derive it from the Start and End Dates.

To make your Gantt chart even more insightful, consider including these additional fields:

• Percent Complete: A number from 0 to 100 representing how much of a task has been finished. This is great for tracking progress.

• Resource: The name of the person or team assigned to the task. This helps with resource management.

Here’s what a simple project dataset might look like in a spreadsheet:

Method 1: Creating a Gantt Chart with a Stacked Bar Chart

This method is a clever workaround that uses a standard Power BI visual - the stacked bar chart - to mimic a Gantt chart. It doesn't require any special downloads and is a great way to DIY a solution quickly. It's a bit more manual but works well for simple timelines.

Step 1: Load Your Data

First, get your project data into Power BI. From the Home tab, click Get data and select the source of your file (like Excel or a web source for Google Sheets). Once connected, select your table and click Load.

Step 2: Create DAX Measures for Position and Duration

The trick to this method is to create two bars for each task: an invisible one that acts as a spacer from the start of the project, and a visible one that represents the task's duration. We need DAX measures to calculate these.

First, create a measure to calculate the duration if you don't already have a column for it. Right-click on your table name in the Data pane and choose New measure. Use this DAX formula:

Next, we need a measure to calculate the "blank" space from the earliest project start date to the beginning of each task. This pushes the visible bar to its correct starting point.

Step 3: Build the Chart

1. In the Visualizations pane, select the Stacked bar chart.

2. Drag the chart onto your report canvas and resize it as needed.

3. From the Data pane, drag your fields to the Fields well:

   • Y-axis: Drag your Task Name column here.

   • X-axis: Drag both of your new measures, Days from Start and Task Duration, here. Make sure Days from Start is first in the list.

You’ll now see two bars for each task. The first is our placeholder, and the second is the actual task duration.

Step 4: Format the Chart To Look Like a Gantt Chart

Now, let's make that "placeholder" bar invisible.

1. With the chart selected, go to the Format your visual pane (the paintbrush icon).

2. Expand the Bars or Columns section.

3. You will see colors for each measure. Find the color for Days from Start.

4. Change its color to White or use a transparent Hex code (#FFFFFF00) if available in your version of Power BI.

Voila! The first bar for each task disappears, leaving a floating bar that now looks exactly like a task in a Gantt chart. You can further customize the chart by sorting the tasks on the Y-axis by Start Date, adjusting the colors of the duration bars, and turning on data labels to show the duration of each task.

Method 2: Using a Custom Visual from AppSource (Recommended)

While the stacked bar chart method is resourceful, for robust features like dependencies, milestones, and progress tracking, the best approach is to use a dedicated Gantt chart visual from AppSource. AppSource is Microsoft's marketplace for Power BI visuals created by third-party developers, many of which are free.

Step 1: Get a Custom Gantt Visual

1. In the Visualizations pane, click the three dots (...) at the bottom.

2. Select Get more visuals from the menu.

3. A new window for AppSource will pop up. In the search bar, type "Gantt".

4. You'll see several options. Gantt by MAQ Software is a popular and powerful free choice. Click on it and then click Add.

5. The custom visual will now appear in your Visualizations pane with its own icon.

Step 2: Add and Configure the Custom Visual

This process is far more straightforward because the visual is built specifically for this purpose.

1. Click on the new Gantt chart icon in your Visualizations pane to add it to your report canvas.

2. With the visual selected, look at the Fields well. It will have designated slots for all the data a Gantt chart needs.

3. Drag your data columns from the Data pane into the appropriate slots:

   • Task: Task Name

   • Start Date: Start Date

   • End Date: End Date

   • Duration: Duration (Days)

   • % Completion: % Complete (This will show progress bars inside each task bar).

   • Resource: Resource (This helps display who is assigned to each task, often in a column or tooltip).

As you drop in the fields, the Gantt chart will build itself automatically. It's much simpler than the DAX workaround, and the result is more functional right out of the box.

Step 3: Customize the Visual

Custom visuals come with extensive formatting options that go beyond the standard charts.

• Go to the Format your visual pane.

• You can customize things like task bar colors (even using conditional formatting based on status or resource), data labels, milestone markers, and a vertical "Today" line to show the current date in relation to your deadlines.

• Explore sections like Task Completion to show progress clearly or Date type to customize the timeline's scale (days, weeks, months).

Final Thoughts

That's how you can make a dynamic Gantt chart in Power BI. You can use the built-in stacked bar chart for a quick and simple timeline, or you can leverage a more powerful, purpose-built custom visual from AppSource for advanced project management features. Both methods turn your project data into a clear and actionable report.

We know that connecting data, building measures with DAX, and configuring reports can quickly eat up valuable time. At Graphed, we’ve created an AI data analyst to automate this whole process. Instead of manually creating visuals, you can connect your data sources - like project management boards, timesheets, or financial trackers - and simply ask in plain English, "Create a Gantt chart showing our product launch tasks by team for the next quarter." Our tool instantly builds the live, interactive dashboard for you, saving you a ton of time and complexity.