A milestone marks the accomplishment of a predetermined set of tasks, activities, or events that culminate into noteworthy point in time. Unlike a task, a milestone has no duration on a project schedule – it is simply marked as a point in time. Here are two examples of milestones and the tasks/activities/events leading up to them –
Project Type: Developing a New Product
Milestone: Product Design Released for Tooling and Production
Conditions for Milestone Completion:
- Design fully tested and approved by Marketing and Quality teams
- Drawings complete and released in system
- Capital Appropriate Request approved
- Product Safety Assessment complete
Project Type: Re-Organizing a Corporate Team
Milestone: Communication Plan Finalized
- Re-Org plan approved by all functional leaders, Director level and above
- Organization charts complete
- HR risk assessment updated
- Communication media and content reviewed/approved by EVP of Human Resources