set-a-project-milestone

name	set-a-project-milestone
category	start
description	Set a project milestone with a measurable outcome, acceptance evidence, owner, date, dependencies, and decision consequence. Use when a plan needs a verifiable checkpoint rather than a vague phase label.

set-a-project-milestone

A milestone marks a proven state, not elapsed time.

When to use

• Use for approvals, prototypes, migrations, launches, contracts, readiness, or delivery.
• Do not call a meeting, percentage complete, or task list a milestone without an observable outcome.

Procedure

1. State the outcome and why it matters to the project decision path.
2. Define in-scope and out-of-scope work, acceptance criteria, and required evidence.
3. Assign accountable owner, target date, approver, contributors, and recipients.
4. Link predecessor and successor dependencies plus lead times.
5. Identify assumptions, risks, resources, and external commitments that can change the date.
6. Define status rules, forecast updates, escalation threshold, and consequence of missing or rejecting the milestone.
7. Obtain owner and approver agreement and add it to the controlled plan.

Done

• A milestone record documents outcome, scope, criteria, evidence, owner, approver, date, dependencies, and consequence
• Measurability, dependency, ownership, calendar, evidence, escalation, and approval checks verify the checkpoint