If you are new to Structure or want to create a new Gantt chart separate from any of your existing structures, we recommend using the Gantt Chart Template in the Structure Wizard. In a few simple steps, you can define your work breakdown structure (WBS), timeline, dependencies and other parameters which will be used for generating the Gantt chart.

If you plan to use Structure.Gantt for sprint planning, you may want to try our Agile Gantt Chart Template.

To open the wizard, go to the top Structure menu and click Create Structure.

Select the Gantt Chart template and click Next.

The Structure Wizard will walk you through the creation of your Gantt chart, including defining scope, WBS, dependencies, scheduling, and resources.

Define Scope

With Structure.Gantt, you can combine multiple projects and agile boards into a single, easy-to-read chart—or you can create highly-focused charts that only show select issues from one or more projects.

To define your scope:

  1. Select at least one Project or Agile Board to import issues from. You can include as many projects and/or boards as you need—Structure.Gantt makes it easy to work with multiple projects at one time.
  2. Determine how you want multiple projects/boards displayed. If you want to view them separately (organized in different folders), make sure the Put each project or board into a separate folder checkbox is checked. Otherwise, all issues will be placed together.
  3. Select which issue types to include. By default, all issue types will be included. You can choose between Jira issue types or use JQL Query to limit the issues included. (You can change your selection later.)

Work Breakdown Structure

Structure allows you to arrange issues based on the relationships that exist in Jira, in order to create a visual representation of the hierarchies.

If you’re working on a large project and/or multiple projects, there’s a good chance you have tasks that also include sub-tasks and epics that span multiple stories. Structure.Gantt can automatically arrange your structure and chart, so you can easily visualize how larger parts are broken down into smaller pieces—and how the work is broken down.

On the Work Breakdown Structure screen, you can select the following types of relationships to be represented in your chart:

  • Sub-tasks – This places sub-tasks under their parents.
  • Agile Hierarchy – This will put stories under the epics they belong to.
  • Advanced Roadmaps Hierarchy – If you are using the Atlassian Advanced Roadmaps (formerly Portfolio) add-on, Structure can visualize the hierarchy you have in your Advanced Roadmaps plans.
  • Issue Links – If you use issue links to create hierarchy in Jira, Structure can visualize this hierarchy too. You can also specify the link type and direction. For example, if you have a link showing that issue A "contains" issue B, issue B will be added as a child of issue A in your structure.

Dependencies

Structure.Gantt uses Jira links to represent dependencies between issues.

By default, Finish to Start dependencies are displayed on your Gantt chart. To configure other types of dependencies, click the Additional dependency types link. (If you’re not sure what dependencies you’ll need, you can adjust dependencies settings at any time using Gantt configuration).

Scheduling

Structure.Gantt can use Jira time tracking fields (Original Estimate or Time Spent + Remaining Estimate) or Story Points to schedule tasks within your timeline.

On the Scheduling screen, you can specify how your timeline will be calculated and displayed:

  • Work Estimates – Select whether you will use Time Tracking or Story Points to create work estimates.
    • If you use Story Points, enter an Hours Ratio (how long a single Story Point typically takes to complete) and Structure.Gantt will convert your Story Points into hours when calculating your timeline. 
  • Manual Scheduling/Dates Visualization – By default, Structure.Gantt automatically places items within your timeline based on estimates and dependencies; however, you can override this with Manual Scheduling. If you wish to use Manual Scheduling, select the fields where Start Date and Finish Date data will be located.

Resources

Structure.Gantt allows you to track your resource requirements throughout a project, so you can see at a glance when resources are over-tasked or available for additional work.

On the Resources screen, select whether or not you wish to track resource allocation and, if so, the field you will use to assign resources. You can choose from a variety of Jira fields or use a custom field or formula. Many of our customers use the Assignee field, so they can track individual workloads.

You can also use both at the same time by setting up a Formula for the resources, but that is only possible using Gantt configuration.

Calendar

By default, Structure.Gantt uses the predefined "Standard" work calendar to schedule items in the chart. If you have removed or changed the name of this calendar, an additional screen will appear asking you to select which calendar should be used. In either case, you can edit the calendar later via Gantt Configurations.


Congratulations! You’ve just configured your first Gantt chart. Click the Save Settings button, and the structure, its view and the corresponding Gantt chart will automatically be created.

Here are a few additional resource to help you get started:

To be able to create Gantt charts (even for existing structures) you need to have the appropriate permissions set for your account. To create a Gantt chart for a structure that you created, you must have permission to create new structures . To create a Gantt chart for a structure you did not create, you need Control access. If you are unable to create a Gantt chart for a structure, speak with your system administrator.