Halifax’s EndFirst Plans has launched a software product to add flow-chart like functionality to antiquated Gantt charts -- a project-planning framework that has been widely used since the early 1900s.

Gantt charts are used in project planning across a range of industries, and the most widely used project planning software, such as Microsoft Project, relies on them. But they can be confusing for novices and cumbersome for even experienced users.

The OVERGantt software package works by combining a traditional Gantt chart with a “network diagram,” which is a term that originated before it became known for its use in computer networking and in the context of project planning resembles a flow chart.

“Basically (a Gantt chart) is a bar chart running horizontally, from left to right,” said EndFirst CEO Alan Uren in an interview. “If you have a large project, let's say 10,000 tasks -- and I'm not exaggerating -- you will need to scroll through over 200 pages deep in your (legacy) software to see that plan.

“That makes it very, very difficult to actually follow the logic links, and even follow it on a day-by-day basis, quite frankly. Network diagramming is not restricted by that.”

Where traditional Gantt charts use bars to track progress on each step in a project, OVERGantt adds network diagrams to the bars. Uren said the addition of the network diagrams can decrease the vertical size of a Gantt chart by as much as 80 percent.

The software also has a much simpler interface than other project planning software, and a digital assistant named OLee asks users a series of questions when they make new entries, looking for ways to complete a project more efficiently while preventing errors.

The OVERGantt interface.

Uren, who began his career as a communications officer in the Canadian Navy, went on to found the Halifax office of consulting and training company Priority Management in the 1980s, becoming Priority’s International Program Director for project management.

He retired in 2007, but a business idea he had been toying with for years was showing signs of becoming workable. An engineer friend from New Brunswick had previously pioneered a process called “end first” project management -- planning a project from the end-point back to the start, which many planners find more efficient. With truly usable touchscreen devices beginning to appear from companies like Apple, Uren saw an opportunity to create software that would digitize the process.

Making the software easily usable on mobile devices was key, Uren said, because many of the industries that rely on project management software need the ability for users to work from the field.

In 2018, Uren co-founded EndFirst with Wayne Greenwood, who continues to be the CEO of Priority Management’s Sydney, Australia office. They officially launched OVERGantt last week.

“(Greenwood)'s worked on projects in the billions of dollar range,” said Uren. “So his expertise in what we're building was invaluable.

“I didn't have that level of sophistication yet for the technical aspect of it; I had the idea and the concepts of designing it.”

EndFirst has three employees -- Uren, Greenwood and a programmer in Europe who Uren originally hired as a freelancer after deciding that learning to code at a professional level would consume more time than he could spare while running a business. The duo also work with a half-dozen former colleagues around the world, who are using OVERGantt for training and project management, as well as consulting on project planning and scheduling.

Uren and Greenwood have so far been bootstrapping the company. But Uren did complete Halifax startup hub Volta’s Academy training program for tech entrepreneurs shortly after founding EndFirst.

He recalls Volta CEO Martha Casey, who had just been appointed at the time, seeking him out after he gave a presentation and spending 30 to 45 minutes asking him questions about OVERGantt.

“Gosh, you don’t know... Just that little bit of encouragement goes an awfully long way to keeping you in the game,” said Uren.