What key feature of a Gantt chart facilitates project planning?

A Gantt chart is a powerful project management tool that provides a visual representation of project timelines. This key feature is essential for effective project planning because it allows team members and stakeholders to quickly see the duration of tasks, their start and end dates, and how these tasks overlap or are dependent on one another. By illustrating the schedule in a graphical format, Gantt charts enable better communication about project timelines, making it easier for teams to identify critical paths, allocate resources appropriately, and manage deadlines.

The ability to visualize the entire timeline of a project helps in planning for potential delays, optimizing workflow, and ensuring that all team members are aligned on the project schedule, ultimately leading to more successful project outcomes. This visibility into the timeline is what makes Gantt charts especially valuable compared to other project management tools that may focus more on team roles, budget tracking, or user feedback, which do not directly address the scheduling aspect of project management.