Gantt Chart Map Display with Dynamic Date Range Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Gantt charts become unwieldy and unsuitable for projects with more than thirty activities due to excessive horizontal and vertical scrolling, making it difficult to manage and view complex project schedules effectively.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of a Gantt chart map display with dynamic controls allows for filtering and scaling of project views by date ranges, providing a high-level overview and reducing scrolling, featuring a graphical user interface with a vertical list of projects, activity timeline, and a scrollable filtering view bar for efficient navigation and management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional Gantt chart is used to display project schedules, then the chart provides a graphical representation of task timelines, but the chart becomes unwieldy and requires excessive scrolling when projects have more than thirty activities
Solution Approach 1:
The Gantt chart is segmented into multiple viewable areas using horizontal and vertical scrollbars, allowing users to navigate through large datasets of thirty or more activities without being overwhelmed by a single large chart. The chart is divided into manageable sections that can be accessed through systematic scrolling mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces additional dimensional controls through horizontal and vertical scrollbars, transforming the traditional two-dimensional Gantt chart into a multi-dimensional navigation system. This allows users to move through time and task dimensions independently, making the chart manageable despite increased complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the Gantt chart includes more activities to capture comprehensive project data, then the project management capability is improved, but the chart becomes unsuitable for most computer displays due to excessive scrolling
Solution Approach 1:
The Gantt chart incorporates dynamic scrolling mechanisms that allow the display to adapt to varying project sizes. The horizontal and vertical scrollbars provide dynamic navigation capabilities, enabling users to access comprehensive project data without requiring the entire chart to fit on the display screen at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The scrollbars act as intermediary navigation tools between the user and the comprehensive project data. These intermediaries enable users to systematically access large datasets by providing controlled navigation through the chart, making comprehensive project management feasible on standard displays.
3Device complexity
If the Gantt chart uses fixed starting coordinates to display bar rules, then the chart structure is simple, but the chart cannot efficiently filter and sort projects by date ranges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces fixed starting coordinates with dynamic filtering controls that allow the chart to adapt to different date ranges. The horizontal and vertical scrollbars, combined with the ability to filter by date ranges, provide dynamic navigation and sorting capabilities while maintaining a relatively simple underlying chart structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A graphical user interface for a Gantt chart map display (100) includes a list of projects (214), a corresponding activity timeline reflecting activity for each project, and a control (210) at a side or bottom area of the Gantt chart map display for manipulating date ranges viewable in the viewable area. The GUI further includes a selected date range control (204) providing a high level view (202) of the corresponding activity timeline displayed in the viewable area (212) above and can provide a high level view of corresponding activity beyond the scrollable view. A dynamic set of controls (205 and 206) enables preset filtered views of the Gantt chart with preset time frames such as days, weeks, months and years or predetermined date ranges entered by a user. The preset filtered view can also automatically re-sort and scale content on the Gantt chart into a viewable area to reduce scrolling.