Glossary
Milestone
Project milestone, checkpoint
A milestone is an event without duration that marks an important point in a project: a result achieved, the end of a phase or an upcoming decision. It is either reached or not reached.
Typical milestones are:
- Project start and project end, for example "Project charter approved" and "Handover completed"
- Phase ends, for example "Design accepted" at the end of a project phase
- External dates, for example a building permit or a trade fair
A milestone differs from an activity: an activity describes work with a duration ("Prepare new building"), a milestone the state afterwards ("New building ready"). Because milestones have no duration, they don't extend the project. A milestone plan lists all milestones of a project with date and criterion.
In Merlin Project, you create a milestone with Insert › Milestone. Work and duration are always zero, and in the Gantt chart it appears as a diamond. The view Work Breakdown › Milestones compares planned with actual dates.
How-to: The guide How to Define Project Milestones: Guide With Example shows how to write testable milestones and build a milestone plan.
