Comparison
Spreadsheet Gantt charts
or scheduling software?
For a short project with a handful of tasks, a spreadsheet Gantt chart is free, familiar and enough. Once tasks depend on each other and dates keep moving, scheduling software saves hours. ZeroPlan is that kind of software, in development and not released yet.
In development: ZeroPlan
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Where a spreadsheet is better
Excel and Google Sheets both have free versions, almost everyone knows them, and a Gantt template takes minutes to fill in. For a class project or a simple plan, that's often all you need.
- Free, familiar and available now
- Easy to share, comment on and print
- Complete freedom over layout and extra columns
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Where a spreadsheet struggles
In a spreadsheet the bars are drawn from dates you type. When one task slips, nothing else moves unless you've written formulas for every link, and the critical path isn't worked out for you. With dozens of tasks, keeping it right by hand gets slow and error-prone.
- Dependencies are manual, or fragile formulas
- No automatic critical path or float
- Costs and progress live in separate sheets
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What ZeroPlan is being built to do
ZeroPlan is project management software from Black Zero Labs. In development and under testing: scheduling with dependencies and the critical path, costs and earned value, reports, task lists in and out, and undo for every change. It isn't released, and no file types are promised yet.
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Which to choose
Use a spreadsheet for small, simple plans, or when everyone involved already lives in one. Move to scheduling software once tasks depend on each other and you need to know which slip will move the finish date.
Apps used
The apps behind it.
The apps are designed to open the same project, so nothing has to be exported between them. You'll install only the ones you use.
Questions
Good to know.
Yes, with formulas for the forward and backward pass, and it's a good way to learn the method. It needs care to maintain as tasks change; scheduling software does it for you.
Task lists can go in and out in development builds, but the supported formats aren't confirmed yet. They'll be stated at release.
Usually, yes. If the project has many linked tasks or your course asks for a critical path, scheduling software makes it easier.
Early access
When the plan
outgrows the sheet.
ZeroPlan is in development. Nothing can be downloaded or bought yet. Join the waitlist and we'll write when it opens.
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