Hi, welcome to this lesson where we look at the basics of milestone trend analysis.
What content is covered in this lesson?
In the next few minutes we will talk about
- the definition of technical terms that are important for understanding this lesson,
- the operation of this very simple method,
- a few organizational components,
- and examples for application.
Now for the definition of the technical terms:
Why are technical terms explained in advance?
In this lesson you will find two technical terms, which I would like to explain briefly and concisely in advance, so that all course participants can follow the procedure without hindrance. You will also find this procedure in the following lessons until the basic terminology is clarified.
What is a milestone in project management?
A milestone in project management is a target in terms of time and content that is reviewed at a specified point in time.
What is a stand-up meeting?
A stand-up meeting is a regularly scheduled meeting that, as the name implies, is held standing up so that all participants have a vested interest in focusing on the essential content. Sitting or leaning are generally not allowed. A stand-up meeting should last only 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the team, and aims to inform all team members about the current status of the project. At the stand-up meeting, each team member gives a brief status on their tasks. The ideal time is just before the lunch break.
Now to the content of this lesson:
What is a milestone trend analysis?
Milestone Trend Analysis is a very simple and compact project management method that is ideal for small and manageable projects.
What is the goal of milestone trend analysis?
The aim of this method is to identify schedule delays at an early stage so that appropriate corrective action can be taken based on them.
An important element of this method is the definition of milestones with fixed milestone dates, a fixed target date for the project, and a clearly described target state for the milestones.
At the beginning of a project, milestones are scheduled and reviewed via defined reporting dates. Reporting dates are often organized in the form of stand-up meetings where reports are given,
- which tasks have already been completed,
- what open problems there are,
- which obstacles were overcome and
- what tasks need to be completed before the next stand-up meeting.
What is the result of the milestone trend analysis?
With the information gained, the project manager can estimate the milestones and visualize them in the diagram. Upward deviations are delays for which corrective action is taken. Downward deviations illustrate successful corrective actions or faster completion than planned.
But also the other project team members know about the current project status at any time without further documentation.
What is milestone trend analysis typically used for?
A typical use of this method in software development is the definition of milestones for release planning or the planned acceptance of delivery packages by the customer.
Now let’s summarize what we have covered in this lesson:
- We learned about the milestone and the stand-up meeting,
- it is now clear to us how the milestone trend analysis basically works,
- and where we can apply this method.
In the lesson that follows, we will cover the waterfall model. So, see you soon.
