Milestones are tools used in

project management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...

to mark specific points along a project

timeline A timeline is a list of events displayed in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representing t ...

. These points may signal anchors such as a project start and end date, or a need for external review or input and budget checks. Some contracts for products include a "milestone fee" that may be paid out when certain points are achieved. In many instances, milestones do not impact project duration. Instead, they focus on major progress points that must be reached to achieve success.

Using milestones in scheduling

Milestones can add significant value to project scheduling. When combined with a scheduling methodology such as program evaluation and review technique or the

critical path method The critical path method (CPM), or critical path analysis (CPA), is an algorithm for schedule (project management), scheduling a set of project activities. A critical path is determined by identifying the longest stretch of dependent activiti ...

, milestones allow project managers to much more accurately determine whether or not the project is on schedule. By constraining the dates associated with milestones, the critical path can be determined for major schedule intervals in addition to the entire project. Slack/float can also be calculated on each schedule interval. This segmentation of the project schedule into intervals allows earlier indication of schedule problems and a better view into the activities for which completion is critical. Milestones are like dashboard reviews of a project. A number of activities, which were planned at the beginning of the project with their individual timelines, are reviewed for their status. This process also gives an opportunity to check the health of the project. Milestones are frequently used to monitor the progress, but limitations to their effectiveness exist. They usually show progress only on the critical path, and ignore noncritical activities.

Resources ''Resource'' refers to all the materials available in our environment which are Technology, technologically accessible, Economics, economically feasible and Culture, culturally Sustainability, sustainable and help us to satisfy our needs and want ...

are commonly moved from noncritical activities to critical activities to ensure that milestones are met. This gives the impression that the project is on schedule, when actually some activities are being ignored.

References

External links

Articles on Project Milestones

Integrated Defense AT&L Life Cycle Management Chart
the U.S. DoD form of this concept. Schedule (project management) {{business-stub

Using milestones in scheduling

See also

References

External links