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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 following single statement:

PROC GANTT DATA= SAS-data-set ;

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 8.1.

Figure 8.1 Software Project Plan
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

The following code produces the Gantt chart shown in Figure 8.2.

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.

Figure 8.2 Line-Printer Gantt Chart
Line-Printer Gantt Chart

                       MAR   MAR   MAR   MAR   MAR   MAR   APR                
                Job    01 04 07 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 03 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                      
                                                                              

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 8.3.

proc gantt graphics data=intro1;
run;

Figure 8.3 Graphics Gantt Chart
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 8.4.

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

Figure 8.4 Logic Gantt Chart
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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