Did you know that while Henry Gantt is credited with inventing the Gantt chart in the 1910s in the U.S., a Polish engineer named Karol Adamiecki actually developed a very similar method earlier (in the 1890s), calling it a harmonogram. Because Adamiecki published in Polish and Russian, his work was less known in the West, so Gantt got more credit.

This week’s edition is slightly different. I’m sharing a resource I created for my graduate research students that I thought might be helpful to others navigating the complexities of multi-year research projects. To make planning clearer and coordination smoother, I designed a research timeline tool for multi-year projects.

Though Gantt charts began in early industrial projects, research by Geraldi and Lechler (2012) shows they remain effective for managing structural complexity in projects when tasks are well-defined and time-dependent. Their analysis found that timeline tools enhance planning comprehensiveness and accountability, particularly valuable for researchers juggling confirmation milestones, data collection phases, and thesis writing deadlines. Their analysis distinguishes between structural and dynamic complexity, highlighting that timeline tools support the former by improving transparency, planning depth, and accountability. This is particularly relevant for researchers coordinating multiple work packages, milestones, or thesis components. However, they caution that for dynamic aspects, such as evolving research questions or shifting data collection contexts, rigid schedules can hinder adaptability. Used thoughtfully, Gantt charts serve best as scaffolds for structured clarity rather than fixed scripts.

I’ve created this free Research Timeline Planner with Gantt Chart specifically designed for PhD students, postdocs, and research teams managing multi-year projects. It comes pre-populated with a complete example you can adapt, and includes detailed instructions in the…..instructions tab.

I hope you find it useful.