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Using Milestones Effectively. How do we measure progress?. We ask ‘Hi, How is it going?…’. And this can be a very useful human interaction, for example…. But it is NOT a progress-measuring device!. What is a Milestone?.
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How do we measure progress? We ask ‘Hi, How is it going?…’ And this can be a very useful human interaction, for example…. But it is NOT a progress-measuring device!
What is a Milestone? A significant event in the schedule of a project, usually the completion of a deliverable Whatuse is a milestone? If specified properly, it is the only way that a project manager can be sure that work has been done satisfactorily
So now, how do we measure progress? We ask ‘Hi, where is the xyz thing’ And there can only be one of two answers: ‘it is here’, or ‘it is not here’. Our challenge is to make this enquiry sound motivating, not grasping !
Tasks and milestones Milestone A: report completed to company standard, and signed off by the Project Board Task A1 Task A2 Task A3 Milestone A Task B1 Task B2 Task B3 Task B4 Milestone B zzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzz zzzz zzz zzzzz zzzzz
The full formality… New claims processing system implemented: According to specification AA123 Tested by Bill Smith, Manager of Claims Team Signed off by Mary Jones, Claims Director Milestone Name, in noun/verb format Acceptance Criteria Testing Method Authorised person to sign off
Implications Who will check/sign off the deliverable? Is the standard already defined? Are the team members trained to meet that standard? Milestones often create tasks…
Where do they come from? the Project Definition documents your experience your colleagues, team members, customers, boss, support personnel suppliers, ‘regulators’ manuals, guidelines, methodologies