Milestones

Last updated Jun 5, 2023

An important point within the project schedule that indicates progress and usually signifies the completion of a deliverable or phase of the project.

Why milestones are important:

• Setting milestones gives you a clear understanding of the amount of work your project will require.
• Milestones help you keep the project on track.
• Milestones help uncover areas where you might need to adjust scope, timelines, or Project resources to meet your goals
• Reaching milestones can seriously motivate your team, and illustrate real progress to your stakeholders

Milestone must be completed on time and in sequential order.

• The first step to setting a milestone is to evaluate your project as a whole.
  • Leverage the Project charter
• Pick important progress
• Once you’ve determined your milestones, the next step is to assign each one a deadline
  • Also consider the need of stakeholders

Setting tasks can help you clearly define milestones. You can do this in two ways:

• Top-down scheduling: In this approach, the project manager lays out the higher-level milestones, then works to break down the effort into project tasks. The project manager works with their team to ensure that all tasks are captured.
• Bottom-up scheduling: In this approach, the project manager looks at all of the individual tasks that need to be completed and then rolls those tasks into manageable chunks that lead to a milestone.