Short term goals · Milestones · Component
The milestone schedule
The dated checkpoints across a piece of work, placed against what each one resolves rather than at even intervals.
The deliverable
What it is
The right moment for a milestone is where you will know something you do not know now. Evenly spaced checkpoints produce status meetings rather than decisions.
A schedule with no milestone in the first third of the work is usually a schedule where the first real information arrives too late to use.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The checkpoints
Each dated point where progress becomes visible and a decision is available.
3 attributes: Due · Resolves · Owner
LearnDependencies
What has to be in place before each checkpoint can be reached.
2 attributes: Depends on · Kind
LearnSlippage
How each date has moved since it was first set.
3 attributes: Original date · Times moved · Latest reason
Learn
A milestone that has moved three times is not a milestone. Recording the movement is what makes that visible in time.
The other components in milestones
Completion criteria
What has to be true to pass each milestone, agreed and recorded before the work begins.
LearnThe go / no-go record
The decision taken at each checkpoint and the reasoning behind it — the only way to tell later whether a project failed or was allowed to continue too long.
Learn