TOPIC: MILESTONES + deliverables

I am new in the forum and learning. You are very kind to help. I have the following doubts: 1) Milestones can be mandatory or optional. What example would you say regarding the optional ones? 2) what are your comments regarding the famous saying "plans are useless, but planning in indispensable" tks in advance, Lucia

Hi Lucia,

As per PMBOK, pg-438, Milestone: A significant point or event in the project. Ideally a milestone has a duration = 0. A milestone can be thought of as something that we're directing our efforts towards completing. Eg. Say, we're working towards creating a large shopping-mall. Milestones would be ideally dates, when the planning needs to be submitted, the first model shop to be completed, etc....

As per PMBOK, pg-432, Deliverable: Any unique and verifiable product, result...... So it is the final product that your customer, sponsor or stakeholder will verify and accept as complete. So, if you are baking a cake for your husband/boy friend, he takes a bite and certifies that you have made him a yummy cake ...... to his satisfaction and specifications...

Hope the above helps in clearing your doubts.

Tks very much, Lucia from Uruguay

Hi Lucia,

The probable examples of mandatory and optional milestones are:-

Mandatory - Audit by legal department before granting a license or permission for a chemical factory; to ascertain that the factory complies with all the statutory requirements. So the project to build a chemical factory, Legal audit can be a mandatory milestone.

Optional - In a pursuit to get an organization ISO certified, everyone in that organization starts working, preparing documentation attending classroom sessions to complete the quality requirements. So, after a certain level of preparedness, before facing auditors, internally a mock audit is conducted. This can be a optional milestone. So based on the level of preparedness in the mock audit, the organization decides whether to go ahead for the final audit or strengthen some areas further.

I hope the examples give the possible difference in mandatory and optional milestones.

Other senior members, moderators, please let me know if something is missing, needs to be corrected.

Warm regards,

Surendra Vaidya

Lucia:

As part of your project charter you may want to include a section that highlights and policies, laws, or any other guiding principles that the project must comform with. It is within these that you will find the guidance on what is required and what is optional. Many times though the project management methodology has taken this into consideration.

A very small company many define a project management methodology that says only a few documents are required whereas a large corporation may have a much more elaborate methodology that says a larger number of documents are required.

In the same manner, the customer's industry may dictate what is required or not, for instance if you are in the financial services sector there may be parts of a bank regulation that says certain documents are required.

The bottom line is that it is dependent on the customer. It is something you as the PM needs to make certain you understand and comply with.

Sometimes the answer is not a simple black and white ... it's grey.

Jeff