How is a Gantt chart used in planning and scheduling?

A Gantt chart is a crucial tool in project management that visually represents project activities across a timeline, effectively illustrating both the start and end dates for each task. This visual representation allows project managers and stakeholders to quickly grasp the progress of the project, understand how tasks overlap or depend on each other, and identify any potential scheduling conflicts.

By displaying the entire project timeline and activities graphically, Gantt charts facilitate effective communication among team members and stakeholders regarding how individual tasks contribute to the overall project goals. This helps in better planning and resource allocation, as well as in tracking progress against deadlines.

The other options pertain to different aspects of project management. Listing project risks and mitigation strategies focuses on risk management rather than scheduling. Categorizing projects based on financial metrics deals with financial analysis rather than activity timing. Defining roles and responsibilities pertains to human resource management instead of scheduling tasks along a timeline.