WBS and Gantt Chart

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an outline of the time, materials, and funding needed to complete the objectives of a project. It can also distribute responsibilities among team members. WBSs can be made to look like flow charts or tables depending on the preferred visual representation and the amount of tasks.

Figure 1. An example of a work breakdown structure with a visual flow of information.
Source: http://www.criticaltools.com/projwbs.htm

A Gantt Chart is a visual representation of the time required to complete each portion of a project from start to finish. It can also label who is responsible for each task. In the following example of a Gantt Chart, each row represents a different task. The vertical columns represent time increments. A line is drawn from left (start) to right (finish) symbolizing the amount of time it will take to complete a task. Task time increments can overlap. The advantage of using this chart is that you can measure progress and determine if the project is on time by pointing at the current date and drawing an imaginary vertical line down the chart. All of the tasks to the left of the line should be completed. All of the tasks that meet the line should be in progress. All of the tasks to the right of the line are yet to be started. In most charts a horizontal timeline is filled in to represent progress or percent of the task completed. If an important event will occur during the project such as an inspection or presentation, these can be noted on the Gantt chart with designated symbols instead of horizontal lines. These events are referred to as milestones.

Figure 2. An example of a Gantt chart.

Source of information and Figure 2: http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me4054/assignments/wbsgantt.html