Work Plans
Milestones
Milestones are the important moments that show a key stage of a project has been reached. They mark the point when a major piece of work is finished, such as a client approving a design or a final file being ready to publish.
A milestone takes no time itself. It is not an activity you schedule for an hour or a day; you reach it when the related tasks and activities are complete. For example, in a school podcast project, “all episode scripts approved by the teacher” is a milestone. Writing and reviewing the scripts take time, but the approval point is simply the checkpoint that shows that work is done.
Checkpoints for progress
Milestones act as checkpoints. They let you check whether key stages are complete and whether the project is on track. When a milestone is reached, the work leading up to it is finished. If that happens on the planned date, the project is on track; if it is missed, you can investigate what is late and take action before the final deadline.
| Milestone | Work completed to reach it |
|---|---|
| All episode scripts approved | Drafting and teacher review finished |
| Final audio mix approved | Recording, editing and sound checks finished |
| Series ready to publish | Client sign-off and file checks finished |
Do not confuse a milestone with a task or activity: a task has a duration, while a milestone has zero duration.
Practise this
OCR Creative iMedia · Work Plans