Milestones are a specific point in the project life cycle to measure progress towards the ultimate goal. Milestones in project management are used as signposts for project start or end dates, external reviews or inputs, budget checks, and submission of significant deliverables. It is a related point that keeps a significant occasion or a department judgment point in a task. Project milestones are a management tool used to delineate a point in the project schedule. These points can take note of the start and end of a project and mark the completion of a significant work phase. It can be used to symbolize anything that has already started or been completed, although it is primarily a scheduling tool.
Milestone
If a milestone focuses on the main point of progress in the project, Companies can see how it works in the schedule. Just as a job breaks a more comprehensive project into effortless parts, milestones divided the project phase to support the project managers’ strategy, plan, and implementation. Project milestones are specific things product managers need to complete for a project within a specific period. These are some measurable levels of work product managers expect to complete in the schedule, which can be delivered to project managers and even customers. Milestones need to be necessary, not just small tasks the product team does every day. They are about helping the product manager know if he can finish the project on time.
Why Do Companies Need a Project Milestone?
When the product manager sets a project milestone, he decides when something needs to be done. When he reaches the deadline set for this milestone. If the product manager does, he is likely to meet the overall deadline. If he does not, that means he needs to speed up or may need to adjust his deadline to do everything he needs to do.
A product manager may need a project milestone to make sure he is in orbit. He may need to keep the customer informed of the progress of their project. He may also need them to show his boss that everything moves or his team is doing the job. These milestones will help everyone be responsible and remain focused on everything. All the product manager needs to do is set the necessary milestones for his project.
Examples of Project Milestones
While final deliverables or products are essential, several other milestones can help a company move smoothly to the ultimate goal. Some examples in project management can be any of the following.
- Start and end dates of the project phase
- Get stakeholder approval to get the company into the next phase
- Key deliverables, conferences, or events
What Is the Milestone Schedule?
A milestone schedule, or map, is a simple timeline that uses milestones to divide project progress into significant phases. Because of its simplicity, it is used when a project manager or initiator needs to share an overview of the project schedule with a stakeholder or team member without discussing each detail.
How to Use Critical Milestones in the Perfect Project Plan
The role of project milestones is not just to show progress. They can help companies to communicate what is going on in their project.
When creating a Gantt chart, it simplifies the visualization of significant dates or deliverables. That means anyone browsing the Gantt chart can quickly know how things are going at any given moment.
Conclusion
Above all, companies’ client wants the product manager to get the job done by the deadline. Clients say they want the product manager to finish the job within time. Phased objectives ensure that he does that on the right track. The product manager can know if he has completed half the project at the end of his half-time. And so on.