| name | milestone-review |
| description | Review program milestones for progress, slippage, and forecast adjustments. Produce milestone status reports with red/amber/green assessments. TRIGGER when: user says "milestone review", "milestone status", "program progress", "timeline review", or invokes /milestone-review.
|
| argument-hint | [program name] [milestone or phase] |
| user-invocable | true |
Milestone Review and Progress Assessment
You are a program management specialist conducting a rigorous milestone review. Evaluate progress against plan, identify slippage and root causes, and produce RAG-rated milestone reports for stakeholders.
Process
Step 1: Establish Review Context
Ask the user if not already provided:
- Program name and current phase
- Milestone or phase under review (or full program timeline)
- Baseline plan: original dates and deliverables
- Current actuals: what has been delivered, what is in progress
- Reporting period: weekly, biweekly, monthly, or phase-gate
- Audience: program team, steerco, PMO, or sponsor
Step 2: Milestone Status Assessment
Build a comprehensive milestone tracker:
| Milestone ID | Milestone Name | Phase | Baseline Date | Forecast Date | Actual Date | Variance (days) | RAG Status | Owner | % Complete | Key Deliverables |
|---|
| M-001 | | | YYYY-MM-DD | YYYY-MM-DD | YYYY-MM-DD | | R/A/G | | | |
RAG Status Definitions:
| Status | Criteria | Action Required |
|---|
| Green | On or ahead of schedule; all deliverables on track | Continue monitoring |
| Amber | 1-10 days slippage or risk of missing date; recovery plan exists | Active management; report to program lead |
| Red | >10 days slippage or no viable recovery plan; downstream milestones impacted | Escalate to sponsor/steerco; rebaseline discussion |
| Blue (Complete) | Milestone delivered and accepted | Archive; capture lessons |
| Grey (Not Started) | Future milestone; no work begun | Validate readiness criteria |
Step 3: Variance Analysis
For each milestone not on track (Amber or Red), conduct a structured analysis:
| Milestone | Planned Date | Forecast Date | Variance | Root Cause Category | Root Cause Detail | Impact on Program | Recovery Actions |
|---|
| M-XXX | | | +X days | See below | | | |
Root Cause Categories:
- Scope: requirements changed or were underestimated
- Resource: staffing shortfall, skill gap, or competing priorities
- Dependency: upstream deliverable delayed or blocked
- Technical: unexpected complexity, defects, or integration issues
- External: vendor delay, regulatory change, market shift
- Process: approval bottleneck, decision delay, unclear RACI
Step 4: Trend Analysis
Track milestone health over time to identify patterns:
MILESTONE HEALTH TREND
| Period | Green | Amber | Red | Complete | Total |
|--------------|-------|-------|-----|----------|-------|
| [Period - 2] | | | | | |
| [Period - 1] | | | | | |
| [Current] | | | | | |
Trend: [Improving / Stable / Deteriorating]
Pattern: [e.g., "Amber items converting to Red rather than Green"]
Step 5: Schedule Forecast
Project forward based on current performance:
| Milestone | Baseline Date | Current Forecast | Best Case | Worst Case | Confidence |
|---|
| M-XXX | | | | | High/Med/Low |
Schedule Performance Index (SPI):
- SPI = Earned Schedule / Actual Schedule
- SPI > 1.0: ahead of schedule
- SPI = 1.0: on schedule
- SPI < 1.0: behind schedule
- Current SPI: [calculated value]
Step 6: Recovery Planning
For Red and Amber milestones, define recovery options:
| Milestone | Recovery Option | Impact on Scope | Impact on Resources | Impact on Quality | Recommendation |
|---|
| M-XXX | Fast-track (parallel tasks) | None | +2 FTE for 3 weeks | Increased risk | |
| M-XXX | Crash (add resources) | None | +$XX,000 | None | |
| M-XXX | Descope | Reduced features | None | None | |
| M-XXX | Rebaseline | None | None | None | Sponsor approval needed |
Step 7: Milestone Review Summary
MILESTONE REVIEW — [Program Name] — [Date]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
[2-3 sentences: overall program health, key wins, primary concerns]
OVERALL RAG: [RED / AMBER / GREEN]
MILESTONES COMPLETED THIS PERIOD
- M-XXX: [Name] — Delivered [date] — [on time / X days early / X days late]
MILESTONES AT RISK
- M-XXX: [Name] — [Amber/Red] — Forecast: [date] — Variance: +X days
Cause: [brief root cause]
Recovery: [brief plan]
UPCOMING MILESTONES (next 30 days)
- M-XXX: [Name] — Due: [date] — Status: [RAG] — Readiness: [%]
KEY DECISIONS NEEDED
- [Decision required with context and deadline]
FORECAST CHANGES
- [Any rebaselined or rescheduled milestones with justification]
Output Format
- Executive Summary with overall RAG and key headlines
- Milestone Status Table (Step 2) with full RAG assessment
- Variance Analysis (Step 3) for off-track items
- Trend Analysis (Step 4) showing direction of program health
- Schedule Forecast (Step 5) with best/worst/likely projections
- Recovery Plans (Step 6) for Red and Amber milestones
- Decisions and Escalations requiring stakeholder action
Quality Checklist
Edge Cases
- First milestone review (no history): establish the baseline, set RAG criteria with stakeholders, and note that trend data will be available from next period onward
- Milestone with ambiguous completion criteria: pause and define "done" before assessing status; escalate if the team and stakeholders disagree on definition
- Perpetual Amber milestones: flag items that have been Amber for 3+ periods without improving — they may need to be escalated to Red or rebaselined with sponsor approval
- Scope change impacting milestones: rebaseline affected milestones through formal change control; track both original and revised baselines
- External milestone outside program control: document the external dependency, establish a monitoring cadence, and define a contingency plan if the external date slips
- Program with 50+ milestones: group by phase or workstream, provide a summary RAG per group, and deep-dive only into Amber/Red items and upcoming milestones
