What a Gantt chart template should give you
A phase structure, editable durations, dependency logic, and milestones. A template that is only a list of task names with dates is a picture of a plan, not a plan you can check.
Schedule template
Gantt chart template with phases, dependencies, and an editable Gantt version.
Download a CSV Gantt chart template with phases, task rows, durations, and dependency references, then open the same structure as an editable Gantt chart in GanttPilot.
8 phases, 34 task rows, dependency references, and example durations you are meant to replace. Use it as a starting structure, not a finished plan.
The task table behind the chart
Every row has a duration and, where it matters, a dependency. Read the Depends on column first: that is the part of a Gantt chart template you cannot get from a picture of one.
| Phase | Task | Duration | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initiation and Scope | Confirm project goal and success criteria | 2 days | - |
| Initiation and Scope | Identify stakeholders and decision owners | 2 days | 1 |
| Initiation and Scope | Define scope, deliverables, and exclusions | 3 days | 1 |
| Initiation and Scope | Agree budget envelope and constraints | 3 days | 3 |
| Planning and Baseline | Break scope into work packages | 3 days | 3 |
| Planning and Baseline | Estimate durations and effort | 3 days | 5 |
| Planning and Baseline | Map dependencies between work packages | 2 days | 5 |
| Planning and Baseline | Assign owners and resources | 2 days | 6, 7 |
| Planning and Baseline | Review critical path and float | 2 days | 6, 7 |
| Planning and Baseline | Baseline the schedule and communicate dates | 2 days | 4, 8, 9 |
| Design and Approvals | Draft design or solution outline | 6 days | 10 |
| Design and Approvals | Internal design review | 3 days | 11 |
| Design and Approvals | Stakeholder approval and sign-off | 4 days | 12 |
| Procurement and Setup | Confirm long-lead items and suppliers | 5 days | 13 |
| Procurement and Setup | Raise purchase orders and contracts | 5 days | 14 |
| Procurement and Setup | Prepare environment, site, or workspace | 6 days | 13 |
| Procurement and Setup | Onboard team and confirm access | 3 days | 13 |
| Build and Delivery | Deliver work package 1 | 12 days | 16, 17 |
| Build and Delivery | Deliver work package 2 | 12 days | 18 |
| Build and Delivery | Deliver work package 3 | 10 days | 18 |
| Build and Delivery | Receive and check supplier deliverables | 5 days | 15 |
| Build and Delivery | Integrate work packages | 6 days | 19, 20, 21 |
| Testing and Review | Prepare test and acceptance criteria | 3 days | 13 |
| Testing and Review | Functional testing | 8 days | 22, 23 |
| Testing and Review | Fix defects and retest | 6 days | 24 |
| Testing and Review | Quality review and stakeholder walkthrough | 4 days | 25 |
| Launch and Rollout | Launch readiness check | 3 days | 26 |
| Launch and Rollout | Training and documentation | 5 days | 26 |
| Launch and Rollout | Go-live or rollout | 3 days | 27, 28 |
| Launch and Rollout | Post-launch monitoring window | 5 days | 29 |
| Closeout and Handover | Close open items and corrections | 5 days | 30 |
| Closeout and Handover | Final acceptance and sign-off | 3 days | 31 |
| Closeout and Handover | Handover to operations or owner | 3 days | 32 |
| Closeout and Handover | Lessons learned and project close | 2 days | 33 |
What each phase is for
The structure runs from scope through planning, design, procurement, delivery, testing, launch, and closeout, so the plan has somewhere to put approval time, lead times, and rework.
| WBS | Phase | Typical tasks | Why it matters | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Initiation and Scope | Goal, stakeholders, scope, deliverables, constraints | A Gantt chart drawn before scope is agreed will be redrawn. Fixing what is in and out of scope first is what makes the later dates worth publishing. | 5-10 days |
| 2 | Planning and Baseline | Work breakdown, estimates, dependencies, owners, critical path review, baseline | This is where the Gantt chart is actually built: work packages, durations, and the dependency logic that decides which dates can move and which cannot. | 8-15 days |
| 3 | Design and Approvals | Draft solution, internal review, stakeholder sign-off | Approval time is real schedule time. Leaving it out is one of the most common reasons a plan slips in its first month. | 10-18 days |
| 4 | Procurement and Setup | Suppliers, purchase orders, environment or site setup, team onboarding | Lead times and access usually decide when delivery work can start, regardless of when the plan says it should. | 8-15 days |
| 5 | Build and Delivery | Work package delivery, supplier deliverables, integration | The longest phase, and the one where parallel work packages either overlap cleanly or overload the same people. | 25-45 days |
| 6 | Testing and Review | Acceptance criteria, testing, defect fixes, retest, stakeholder walkthrough | Testing is not one task. Fix-and-retest loops need their own rows or the finish date will be optimistic. | 12-25 days |
| 7 | Launch and Rollout | Readiness check, training, documentation, go-live, early monitoring | Go-live is a milestone, but readiness, training, and the watch period around it are the work that protects it. | 8-15 days |
| 8 | Closeout and Handover | Open items, final acceptance, handover, lessons learned | Closeout keeps acceptance and turnover visible instead of trailing off after the launch milestone. | 8-15 days |
What makes a Gantt chart template worth using
Most Gantt chart templates are a grid of coloured bars. The useful part is the logic underneath, which is what these notes explain.
Why the durations here are ranges, not promises
The example dates produce a 90-120 day chart so the shape is visible immediately. They are placeholders. Replace them with your own estimates before showing the chart to anyone who will hold you to it.
Why dependencies matter more than dates
Dates are easy to change and easy to get wrong. Dependency logic is what tells you which dates are allowed to move on their own and which ones drag the finish date with them.
Dependencies to check before you publish dates
These are the links that decide whether the finish date is real. Check them before the chart goes into a status report.
Scope drives everything after it
Tasks 3 and 5 sit under most of the chart. If scope or the work breakdown changes, durations and dependencies downstream have to be rechecked rather than dragged.
Approval gates are schedule tasks
Design sign-off blocks procurement and setup. Review time belongs on the chart as its own row, with a duration, not as a zero-day milestone.
Procurement lead time is often the real constraint
Supplier deliverables run in parallel with build work. The integration task waits for both, which is where an optimistic delivery date usually breaks.
Test and fix is a loop, not a line
Fix defects and retest depends on functional testing finishing, and the walkthrough depends on the fixes. Collapsing these into one bar hides the most common source of slip.
Launch is protected by the tasks around it
Readiness check and training both feed go-live. Post-launch monitoring then feeds closeout, so acceptance is not signed while issues are still open.
Resource notesA Gantt chart shows time, not whether anyone is free to do the work.
- The delivery team is the constraint through work packages 1 to 3; check whether the three packages were meant to run in parallel before assuming the dates hold.
- The project manager appears in initiation, planning, and closeout. Those are usually the phases that get squeezed when the same person is running delivery.
- Design and QA sit at the front and the back of the chart. If the same specialists cover both, testing tends to start late.
- Stakeholders and approvers need reserved windows. Approval tasks with no named owner are the ones that slip quietly.
Three ways to start from this template
Take the CSV into a spreadsheet, open the same structure as an editable Gantt chart, or describe your project and let AI draft the task rows for you.
- Download the CSV to edit phases, tasks, and durations in Excel or Google Sheets.
- Open it in GanttPilot to move dates, redraw dependencies, and check the critical path.
- Replace the example scope with your own before agreeing any date with a stakeholder.
- Assign owners, then check resource load before you accept that parallel work packages fit.
Prefer to build it yourself? The online Gantt chart maker starts from an empty chart instead of a template.
Before it becomes a planThe example durations are placeholders. They are not an estimate of your project.
Replace the scope, re-estimate the durations with the people doing the work, confirm approval and lead times, and check the dependency logic still matches how the work will actually run.
Common questions
What is included in this Gantt chart template?
Eight phases and 34 task rows covering initiation, planning, design and approvals, procurement and setup, build and delivery, testing, launch, and closeout. Every row has a duration and dependency references.
Can I download the Gantt chart template?
Yes. The CSV download contains the same phases, task names, durations, and dependency references shown on this page, so it can be edited in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet tool.
Can I open this template as an editable Gantt chart?
Yes. Open in GanttPilot loads the same task structure as an editable Gantt chart where you can move dates, change dependencies, assign resources, and check the critical path before saving it as a project.
Is this Gantt chart template free?
The CSV download and the Gantt preview are free to open. You need an account to save the project, keep editing it, or export it to Excel or Microsoft Project XML.
What is the difference between a Gantt chart template and a project schedule?
A template gives you the structure: phases, typical tasks, and dependency logic. It becomes a schedule once you replace the example scope and durations with your own project and agree the dates with the people doing the work.
Can I use this template for any type of project?
The structure is deliberately generic, so it fits most delivery projects. If your work is construction, plant installation, a shutdown, or a handover, the specialised templates in the library will need less editing.