The chart is named for Henry Gantt a turn of the century manufacturing manager turned management consultant who believed in the methods of Scientific Management. Scientific Management, also known as Taylorism, is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It attempted to maximize economic efficiency in factories and shop floors, by minimizing waste caused by inefficient workers.

The work of Taylor and Gantt was widely discredited and largely abandoned by the 1930s. The theories were so dehumanizing and morale crushing for workers, the implementation were failures.

Scientific management relied on embracing the notion that there was “one best way” to perform a task. It believed that through scientific measurement you could determine the most efficient movement of workers (e.g. the best way to shovel coal) and then prescribe this movement to all workers.

The inherent flaw to Scientific Management was that it did not have clear methods for dealing with technical innovation or continual improvement.

Despite its failure, some parts of Scientific Management survived into modern times, two notables are the use of hourly billing and the Gantt chart.

When I came face to face with Gantt’s handiwork in the mid 90s, it was already 80 years old, a relic conceived for the efficient production of pig iron and gun powder being applied to the creation of software and design.