Project management is not an easy endeavor. When multiple teams work on the same project for an extended time, the problems grow manifold. It hinders the team’s productivity and doesn’t let them perform to peak efficiency.
According to research, 37% of projects fail due to inefficient project management.
This research is bringing a shift in thinking and urging organizations to embrace project management for ensuring strategic success. Project management is about managing different moving parts such as timeline, goal, scope, budget, and project milestones as per the project requirements. The project milestone integration ensures that the project progresses according to the project plan without much fuss.
What Is a Milestone in Project Management?
Project milestone acts like mini projects having their set of tasks or deliverables. It’s essentially a project management tool that determines the points where the project progress is standing in a project schedule. The vital tool keeps the project heading in the right direction through a couple of key performance indexes.
- Priority-based tasks
- List of deliverables
- Client approval
- Project phases start-to-end dates
- Meeting schedule
- Goals defining
- Making deadlines
Project milestones work more than markers in showcasing project progress. They allow managers to communicate- what’s happening in the ongoing project. However, many IT people get confused with Project Milestone Software and replace it with alternative terminologies – ‘tasks,’ ‘goals,’ or ‘deliverables.’ It’s a great myth. Let’s clear up the air.
- Tasks are the set of activities that must be completed, and milestone defines the set of tasks to be done.
- Deliverables are the result of activities executed by the team, and milestone determines whether the deliverables are sent for client approval or already approved.
- A goal is the final destination that the project aims for, and a milestone is like multiple stops that allow you to check the team is moving in the right direction.
Which Are the Key Features of Project Milestone?
Resource allocation
The Project Milestone Software allows managers to quickly organize the assigned project by allocating the milestones alongside resources required for the milestone completion. With milestones defined, the team can prioritize the tasks, assess the resources required, and demand new resources to resolve unexpected technical issues. The smooth allocation of resources with a two-way interaction facility makes the workspace collaborative and employee friendly.
Feasible deadline creation
Milestone in project management enables the team to easily track the deadline for the task completion hassle-free. It eliminates the need to remember dates and the unforeseen cases of failing to accomplish the tasks within the stipulated time. Also, the changes in dates depending on high-priority task completion notified the team without friction. The project management tool simplifies project management while reducing the ill effects of random changes in task priority.
Report generation
Businesses can ace project performance reports facilitated by project milestone software. The built-in reporting feature generates accurate reports that provide a big picture about the ongoing project performance. It enables clients to analyze the project’s progress. Various reports are generated for different time intervals that display the status of milestones, including- tasks completed, employees working on distinct tasks, and other information.
Milestone billing
The milestone payment becomes a breeze with the milestone billing method that provides detailed information regarding ‘payment to collect’ from the client and is already collected based on the milestones set. A milestone in project management facilitates calculating the payments for now and for upcoming milestones. It enables the client and accounting manager to verify the price in different milestones and the payment collected across various milestones.
Advanced dashboard
The project milestone software also features a project monitoring feature, Gantt Charts, which displays data accurately on a single dashboard. It showcases the performance of every employee on a single project and all projects assigned together. The employees can view the project progress based on their milestones.
How Is Project Milestone Software Important for Organization Progress?
Keep a pulse on project progress
A milestone in project management allows managers to stay on top of their work by having complete details on project progress for the long term. With smooth resource allocation and a 24/7 monitoring facility, they can define milestones, track schedules, and check if the critical KPIs meet. It ensures the achievement of milestones in project management, and the ongoing project progresses according to pre-defined plans.
Improved communication and collaboration
Post-pandemic, the remote working style or teams from different geographical locations working on the same project has become a new norm. When multiple teams are involved in the project development, seamless communication is essential to ensure optimal resource consumption and work collaboration. Milestone defining project management software enables the team to stay focused and engaged in their work, which results in timely delivery of the project without any delays or cost overruns.
Find bottlenecks proactively
Defining milestone under the project management tool enables the manager and team to identify the possible issues that will arise due to tasks dependencies and the resources requirement ahead of time. The unexpected obstacles may interfere with the project workflow, or the unavailability of advanced resources doesn’t let the project be completed. Proactive identification with project milestone software eliminates the chances of unforeseen delays and cost escalation.
Keep the team focused
The milestones create a sense of satisfaction among employees as they can view the progress on Gantt Charts, which, in turn, boosts their morale and productivity. The success reports encourage them to work harder and improve their performance.
Prevent budget overrun and deadline delay
The harsh reality of project management is- the budget and deadline defined at the beginning of the project development get changed after some time. A couple of differences experienced in actual Vs. planned war, which results in scope creep, cost escalation, and delayed deliverables. Project milestone creation with proper planning ensures financials and timelines get achieved as expected.
Direct connection with stakeholders
The surprised delivery at the end of the project completion is disastrous for both- the client and the development team. It’s great to keep the client involved in the ongoing project progress and take their approvals at different points. Project management software facilitating milestones creation enables the client to know if the project is developing as per the scheduled plan or not. Also, the changes suggested during approval enable the team to reflect on the changes off the bat rather than doing them all at the end.
Smoothen the billing process
The milestone payment is quite tricky. The complex billing structure eats up a lot of time for project managers and account teams that they can invest in valuable activities. The project milestone software provides a time-based billing structure that describes when to raise the invoice, when payment is made by the client, which milestone payments are due, and other related activities. Easy tracking helps stay on top of the payments without any hassle.
How To Choose the Right Project Milestone Software?
Every project is unique with one-of-a-kind requirements. So, some milestones can’t be created for all the projects. For creating the right milestone in project management, there are a couple of things that must be followed.
- Strike a balance in the number of milestones created that keep the team engaged and focused on work. Don’t keep too many or just a few milestones.
- Keeping all the team members aware of the milestones created is important to ensure accessibility and seamless communication. Transparency results in greater productivity.
- Create a milestone with a certain level of complexity that keeps your team on their toes and makes them accomplish the milestone without any frustration.
Wrapping It Up
Project milestone in project management addresses all the roadblocks that arise during conventional project management such as time wastage on redundant tasks, checking team performance, ensuring tasks are completed on time, managing client queries, and so on. The project milestone software is powered with the latest technology that accelerates team management, up the team’s performance ante, and ensures timely delivery of the project with no scope creep or cost escalation issues.
It makes perfect sense to embrace project management software for a productive business workspace. Don’t hang fire! Get connected with the right project milestone software provider for the best results.