Project Milestone Reporting

Many managers will have been in situations in
which they're told that work is "80% done" at a certain
stage of a project, only to find that that project then massively
and embarrassingly over-runs by weeks or even months.
This is
because the last 20% of the work takes longer than planned.
If you've ever been in this situation and suffered
the painful consequences, you'll know why experienced managers
carefully monitor how actual completion dates compare against
planned completion dates at certain "milestones"
within projects. This allows them to take corrective
action, or manage people's expectations appropriately, and this
is where Project Milestone Reporting becomes important.
A real life milestone is a marker that tells
you how far you are from a certain point – so you know how far
you have come, or how far you have to travel.
Project Milestones perform exactly this role
in a project plan. They mark significant events, deliverables
or interdependencies that needs to be monitored to keep the project
on track. Project Milestone Reports show you what has been achieved
and what else needs to be done to complete your project
successfully and on time.
Project Milestone Reporting is just one of many
ways to monitor and present the status of a project. It's a useful
approach in large or complex projects (with many interdependencies)
because it helps present information in a meaningful yet concise
way, showing what has actually been achieved, rather than the
gory detail of how it's been achieved. This article helps you
think about how you want milestones to be reported to you.

Tip 1 :
Many organizations have specific approaches and methodologies
for managing projects, and for reporting their progress
and status. Before you specify a completely new approach,
see if any of the existing approaches meet your needs.
Tip 2 :
Remember that it takes time to prepare these reports. If
you ask for too much detailed information, or ask for information
you don't actually need, you'll diminish the effectiveness
of the manager or team member preparing the report. After
all, time spent reporting is time not spent working on the
project!

Project milestone reports come in many different
forms. Some are narrative reports. Others are quantitative or
graphical, using spreadsheets or project management software to
manage the milestone data and track progress and completion. If
your team uses project management software, the chances are the
software will help them prepare milestone reports in a particular
way, and it's best to make the most of these in-built features
if you can.

If you need to design your own milestone report, our


template is a
good place to start. Together with the report description below,
it will help you understand the principles of project milestone
reporting in more detail, and so help you use this reporting tool
in the best way for your project.
Creating a Milestone Report
Start by downloading our free


project milestone report template .
This contains all of the elements typically found on a milestone
report.

The first part of a milestone report (" Milestones
Completed" ) describes what has
happened so far. It provides a quick summary of what has been
accomplished and when.
Description of
Milestone: Here you provide details about what was accomplished
in order to complete the milestone specification.

Due Date: Record when the milestone was due according to the
current project plan.

Actual Completion Date: Record when the milestone was actually
accomplished.

Comments: This section is for providing details about
modifications from the original plan i.e. why the due date was
missed or why deliverables were changed.

Tip 3:
Insist that deliverables are only shown as completed when
they are 100% completed. 99% still leaves wriggle-room,
and is not good enough!
Tip 4:
Make sure you inspect a selection of the completed deliverables
to make sure they actually are completed, and are completed
to an acceptable quality.

The next section is used to report on the status
of Future Milestones . Here you want to make note
of the status of the milestones and understand changes to the
original plan should they be necessary. Remember, milestones are
critical events, so by reporting on their status you give yourself
a formal method to modify the master project plan before too many
tasks and responsibilities get off course.
Description of Milestone: What has to be accomplished in order for the milestone to be considered
complete?

Due Date: What is the due date of the milestone based on the
original plan (or previously modified plan)?

Status: Here you record whether the milestone is on target, is at
risk of getting off target, or is already off course. Our sample
report uses a Green, Amber, Red system but that can be modified to
suit the particular situation.

Modified Due Date: Modifying a milestone due date is a last resort
option. If this is necessary, record the modified due date.
Remember that changes to milestones often mean changes to other
dates in the project plan.

Required Actions: This is where you note what needs to be done to
bring a milestone back on target and/or the repercussions of
having to modify a due date and what has been done to address
those issues.
Tip 5:
Make sure the time spent completing Milestone Reporting
provides benefit to the project. This means that you should
continually assess whether it is worthwhile for your project
and, if you decide that it is, include only the elements
that will help you keep your project on target.


Key Points
Milestone reports help you monitor the progress
and outcomes of projects you are watching over, so that you can
take corrective action where necessary. They are also a valuable
control checkpoint that helps the project manager keep all the
pieces of a project working smoothly and in co-operation with
one another.
The format of a milestone report varies from
organization to organization but the content remains quite
similar: Milestone descriptions, a note of their status, and
relevant comments. When it's complete, one short report will show
you the status of every milestone, and help you to plan and
prepare accordingly.


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