The GANTT Procedure

Getting Started: GANTT Procedure

In order to draw a Gantt chart, at the very minimum you need a Schedule data set. This data set is expected to be similar to the OUT= Schedule data set produced by PROC CPM, with each observation representing an activity in the project. It is possible to obtain a detailed Gantt chart by specifying the single statement

PROC GANTT DATA= SAS-data-set ;

where the data set specified is the Schedule data set produced by PROC CPM.

As an example of this, consider the software development project in the "Getting Started" section in Chapter 2, "The CPM Procedure." The output schedule for this example is saved in a data set, INTRO1, which is displayed in Figure 6.1.

Project Schedule

Obs	activity	succesr1	succesr2	duration	descrpt	E_START	E_FINISH	L_START	L_FINISH	T_FLOAT	F_FLOAT
1	TESTING	RECODE		20	Initial Testing	01MAR04	20MAR04	01MAR04	20MAR04	0	0
2	PRELDOC	DOCEDREV	QATEST	15	Prel. Documentation	01MAR04	15MAR04	11MAR04	25MAR04	10	10
3	MEETMKT	RECODE		1	Meet Marketing	01MAR04	01MAR04	20MAR04	20MAR04	19	19
4	RECODE	DOCEDREV	QATEST	5	Recoding	21MAR04	25MAR04	21MAR04	25MAR04	0	0
5	QATEST	PROD		10	QA Test Approve	26MAR04	04APR04	26MAR04	04APR04	0	0
6	DOCEDREV	PROD		10	Doc. Edit and Revise	26MAR04	04APR04	26MAR04	04APR04	0	0
7	PROD			1	Production	05APR04	05APR04	05APR04	05APR04	0	0

Figure 6.1: Software Project Plan

The following code produces the Gantt chart shown in Figure 6.2.

  
    proc gantt lineprinter data=intro1; 
    run;

The DATA= option could be omitted if the INTRO1 data set is the most recent data set created; by default, PROC GANTT uses the _LAST_ data set.

Line-Printer Gantt Chart

                MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR MAR APR APR APR         
          Job    01  03  05  07  09  11  13  15  17  19  21  23  25  27  29  31  02  04  06          
                -+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-          
                |                                                                         |          
            1   |*=======================================*                                |          
                |                                                                         |          
            2   |<-------------------<--------->...................>                      |          
                |                                                                         |          
            3   |<->...................................<.>                                |          
                |                                                                         |          
            4   |                                        *=========*                      |          
                |                                                                         |          
            5   |                                                  *===================*  |          
                |                                                                         |          
            6   |                                                  *===================*  |          
                |                                                                         |          
            7   |                                                                      *=*|          
                |                                                                         |          
                -+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+-          
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
                                               LEGEND                                                
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                     
                               Symbol     Explanation                                                
                                                                                                     
                               <---->     Duration of a Normal Job                                   
                                                                                                     
                               >....>     Slack Time for a Normal Job                                
                                                                                                     
                               *====*     Duration of a Critical Job

Figure 6.2: Line-Printer Gantt Chart

You can produce a high-resolution graphics quality Gantt chart by specifying the GRAPHICS option instead of the LINEPRINTER option in the PROC GANTT statement. Graphics mode is also the default display mode. The resulting Gantt chart is shown in Figure 6.3.

  
    proc gantt graphics data=intro1; 
    run;

Figure 6.3: Graphics Gantt Chart

Finally, you can draw a Logic Gantt chart by defining the precedence information to PROC GANTT in AON format using the ACTIVITY= and SUCCESSOR= options in the CHART statement. The Logic Gantt chart is shown in Figure 6.4.

  
    proc gantt data=intro1; 
       chart / activity=activity successor=(succesr1-succesr2); 
    run;

Figure 6.4: Logic Gantt Chart

For further examples illustrating typical invocations of the GANTT procedure when managing projects, see Chapter 1, "Introduction to Project Management."

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