The conventional Gantt schedule chart is designed primarily for the purpose of displaying the current planning of activities on a program. It is not well suited to depicting the ebb and flow of events in the life of a program as a variety of forces influence the project over time. In reality, such a chart contains only one dimension of time: that momentary vision of the future that exists in the collective mind of the program management. By adding a dimension-that of historical time-the evolution of management's view of the future can be displayed. Furthermore, in this new two-dimensional environment, important trend information becomes visible and quantifiable for the first time, enabling managers to make better-informed judgments concerning the credibility of the current program schedule. The two-dimensional time format liberates us from the conventional perception of time as being linear and unidirectional, and allows us to see time in its two distinct components. One axis of time is the past-the domain of deeds already done. The other element of time is the future, which exists in the separate dimension of human imagination and planning. Together they form the surface of time, and it is only on this two-dimensional surface that our journey between the past and the future can be properly mapped out.
展开▼
