This Stoplight Gantt chart
example offers the typical Gantt bars and has the added feature
of a Status "stoplight" column indicating how the project is
progressing. In this case, each task displays a baseline
bar (solid blue) below the current plan (striped bar). If
the current plan's end date falls after the baseline plan, then
the stoplight is RED. If the project is complete (as
indicated by the current plan finish date falling before the
current date line and showing completely filled), then the
stoplight is GREEN. Otherwise, the stoplight is YELLOW,
indicating the task is on track with the current plan, but may
still need to be monitored.
Stoplights are often used as a
quick way to display project status, especially for executives
who may want to quickly glance at a project schedule to see how
the project is doing. A stoplight listing might be shown
to a top exec, giving the exec the opportunity to "drill-down"
on the project schedule to get detail on any project which
he/she has a question about.
