Both Kanban and Gantt are topics widely discussed in the project management field. As separate tools, they both offer great benefits that teams and professionals value. However, when it comes to discussing the solutions, we often tend to stick to one – either Kanban or Gantt.

To have a firmer stance on either, let’s explore the benefits these tools have to offer and try to determine which actually has the upper hand. 

Kanban vs Gantt: Origin

Before diving into details on the two solutions, let’s remind ourselves where they originate from. 

The Gantt chart is the older of the two solutions, created and popularized by Henry Gantt in 1910s. Revolutionary when it came out, Gantt chart are still widely used today to plan out projects. 

While some updates were made to the current Gantt charts, the basic idea remained unchanged throughout the years. On the left, we have a list of tasks and on the right we see those tasks visualized on a calendar. 

The Kanban board is a newer tool of the two. While there is no clear date for when the Kanban board was first introduced, its creation is tightly related to the lean system implementation in Toyota by Taiichi Ohno in 1940s. As this type of thinking was popularized, the Kanban board evolved naturally as the next tool to support it.

Modern Kanban boards look very similar to those first used 50 years ago. Columns visualise process steps and cards represent tasks the team is working on.

Kanban vs Gantt: Function

Now that we had a quick reminder of what these tools were created for, let’s see what they thrive at.

The Gantt chart is best for scheduling and planning large projects. Understanding the time constraints and dependencies between different phases. It is most used by project managers to oversee the whole process and monitor if the team is keeping to the schedule.

Despite the fact that Gantt charts have been around for over 100 years, they are still as useful today as they were back then. Many team leaders and project managers use them daily and cannot imagine their work without them. However, when it comes to the daily task management for the team members, such a high-level overview often proves too cumbersome and unintuitive.

The Kanban board on the other hand is a tool mostly used by the team members in their day-to-day activities. It helps track the amount of work to be done and monitor individual tasks as they move through the process steps. By looking at the Kanban board, you can quickly evaluate if the team is on track, as well as spot bottlenecks early.

Thus, it comes as no surprise that the popularity of Kanban boards grew rapidly, especially with the introduction of Kanban board tools. Allowing teams to quickly log into the system, update the information, and continue on working. The task Kanban struggles with is long-term planning, however. As it becomes rather difficult to plan for the coming year on a board that visualizes daily tasks.

As such, both tools have their strong points and weaknesses. While either can be used for the full lifecycle of the project with some sacrifices, one comes to wonder what if we were to merge them and apply a hybrid working approach. 

Kanban and Gantt: Together

Originally Kanban and Gantt were seen as opposites. One promoted a new way for project management – lean way to do things that eliminated waste. The other was rooted in more traditional project management practices with a big focus on planning ahead and sticking to the original plan.

However, today we see that both tools can be used in unison. Taking the best bits of each and apply them to your business needs. With this, the first instinct would be to dedicate Gantt charts for planning and Kanban boards for execution.

With such a division, you would bring visual daily task tracking to complement Gantt charts, and long-term planning to complement Kanban boards. Ideally, both of these tools would be found in one project management solution. Thus ensuring all of the data matches and the team can confidently work in either tool without any troubles.

Would that be something that makes sense to you? Or would you still lean towards one of the two tools? That is a decision to be made based on your process specifics, but having such an option is surely great.

Kanban vs Gantt: Conclusion

While there is still some division between Gantt and Kanban users, with the developing technology and more experience we can actually take the best of both worlds. Planning out our long-term goals in Gantt and tracking the daily progress in Kanban. 

In some cases, using just one of these solutions might still be preferable. However, having the option to quickly choose which tool makes more sense to you is a benefit most would be happy to have.