Milestone List
A milestone list identifies all project milestones and indicates whether the milestone is mandatory (required by contract) or optional (based on project requirements or historical information).
Explanation
A milestone is a significant point or event in the project that has zero duration. Milestones do not consume resources or time; they mark the completion of a key deliverable, phase, or decision point. The milestone list is an output of the Define Activities process and catalogs all such points for the project.
Milestones can be mandatory or optional. Mandatory milestones are those required by contract, regulation, or organizational policy, such as a contractual delivery date or a regulatory approval checkpoint. Optional milestones are established by the project team based on historical information or project needs, such as the completion of a design review or the end of a testing phase.
The milestone list serves as an input to the Sequence Activities process and is commonly used in high-level schedule reporting. Milestone charts provide executives and stakeholders with a summary view of the project timeline without the detail of a full Gantt chart. Milestones are also used as checkpoints for go/no-go decisions during phase gate reviews.
Key Points
- •Milestones have zero duration and represent significant project events
- •Can be mandatory (contractual) or optional (team-selected)
- •Output of the Define Activities process
- •Used for high-level reporting and phase gate reviews
Exam Tip
Remember that milestones have zero duration. If an exam question describes a "milestone" with a duration, it is actually an activity, not a milestone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Define Activities
Define Activities is the process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables.
Milestone Chart
A milestone chart is a schedule presentation that identifies only the start or completion of major deliverables and key external interfaces, displaying milestones on a timeline.
Activity List
The activity list is a comprehensive list of all schedule activities required on the project, including an activity identifier and a scope of work description for each activity.
Schedule Baseline
The schedule baseline is the approved version of the schedule model that is used as a basis for comparison with actual results to determine if corrective or preventive action is needed.
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Part of
Schedule Management
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