A milestone, also known as a schedule milestone, represents an important intermediate goal in a project and divides a project plan into several stages. If a milestone is defined by a date, it is often referred to as a schedule milestone. This ensures that project phases do not exceed a certain time frame and that, for example, delivery dates or deadlines are met. The term is mainly used in classic and hybrid project management. In agile project management, however, the term is not used.
According to DIN 69900:2009, a milestone is an "event of special significance".
The PMBOK® Guide, 4th Edition, defines a milestone as a "significant point or event in the project".
According to PRINCE:2009, a milestone is "a significant event in the time course of a plan, for example the completion of important work packages, the conclusion of a technical phase or a management phase".
Milestones are therefore significant in terms of both time and content and should therefore be clearly described. This means that a milestone
In short, a milestone, unlike an activity, has no duration. A milestone is understood as a point in time with a date that can act as a starting point or deadline.
An activity has a start and an end date and therefore a duration.
Milestones are important checkpoints for evaluating the progress of a project and ensuring that the project remains on track in terms of time and content. Milestones are set when something is completed, something is started or a decision is made on the further course of the project.
Typical examples of milestones in a project are:
Milestones are also useful reference points for other project stakeholders such as customers or external service providers and should be communicated clearly and directly. Milestones can have a motivating effect, ensure quality and help to increase adherence to deadlines.
In practice, it has proven to be a good idea to give milestones a title and a result to be achieved. You should also consider who is responsible for assessing the achievement of the milestone. As a rule, this task falls to the project management or the project planner. This is how milestones can be formulated:
| Milestone | Result(s) | |
| Project start | Kick-off meeting | Minutes are available and have been sent to all project participants |
| Project application approved | Approval is available, project status is "approved" and all project participants have been informed of this | |
| Test phase | Test phase completed | Software test results recorded in checklist, evaluated and decided for/against software |
| Test phase completed | Test results documented and sent to Team B | |
| Procurement process | Offers obtained | Offers are available in written/digital form and have been sent to decision-makers |
| Procurement process comleted | Order(s) have been triggered and order confirmations stored in the project folder | |
| Project completion | Project completed | Project completion report has been created and sent to all project participants |
| Project completed | Product acceptance has been completed and documented by the customer |
For a milestone to be considered successfully reached and completed, it must be achieved on time and in full. This means that everyone who has to complete tasks to achieve the milestone must report back in good time. The project managers can then assess whether the submitted results are satisfactory and whether the milestone can be ticked off as completed.
In project controlling, the milestone trend analysis helps to visualize the effects of delays on the entire project. It examines the postponement of milestones in the project and thus provides information on whether sub-projects are on schedule or whether the entire project plan is jeopardized by their delay, for example.