Tool 109: Milestones Chart

AKA

Planning Schedule

Classification

Planning/Presenting (PP)

Tool description

A milestones chart displays all activities (milestones) and their corresponding start and completion dates. It is used to manage and monitor a project and can serve as a supporting document when attached to a project status report.

Typical application

• To plan and schedule project activities.

• To track and monitor the progress of a project.

• To aid project status reporting.

Problem-solving phase

	Select and define problem or opportunity
	Identify and analyze causes or potential change
→	Develop and plan possible solutions or change
→	Implement and evaluate solution or change
	Measure and report solution or change results
	Recognize and reward team efforts

Typically used by

	Research/statistics
	Creativity/innovation
	Engineering
1	Project management
	Manufacturing
	Marketing/sales
3	Administration/documentation
	Servicing/support
	Customer/quality metrics
2	Change management

links to other tools

before

• Deployment Chart (Down-Across)

• Action Plan

• Countermeasures Matrix

• Project Planning Log

• Activity analysis

after

• Major Program Status

• Monthly Assessment Schedule

• Objectives Matrix (OMAX)

• What-If Analysis

• Presentation

Notes and key points

• Legend: complete
  incomplete

• Optional: Include a column to provide space for listing who or which team has responsibility for completing each activity.

Step-by-step procedure

• STEP 1 The team first identifies all major activities of the project to be scheduled.

• STEP 2 The team constructs a milestones chart and lists all identified activities in the order of completion. See example Poster Development Process.

• STEP 3 The team estimates the time required to complete each activity and assigns a completion date to each.

• STEP 4 Next, the team draws a horizontal bar for each activity, placing the bar in accordance with start and completion dates in sequential order along the milestones chart, as shown in the example.

• STEP 5 The team then checks all information and dates the chart.

Example of tool application