Project Report Progress against Milestones

Andrew Wong Yen Neutral Bay, Nsw, Australia

Hi I am a fairly inexperienced PM in charge of a smallish ($120k) project of software dev and some pilots using the software and associated devices that are being interfaced.I am required to do a regular project report of progress against milestones, does anyone know of an accepted format/template for this sort of report? I am not sure the best way to layout or tackle it. Mnay thanks

Posted: Sep 22, 2002 10:51 PM

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Isabelle Badinand Agile Delivery Manager| Aviva London, United Kingdom

File attached

Hello Andrew,

There are several Progress Report templates on this web site. I attach one example that I have adapted from a file posted to this list. I can't remember by who so I can't give him the credit.

Isabelle

Posted: Sep 23, 2002 6:35 AM

Frank Patrick Boonton, Nj, United States

Be very careful with milestones. While they are OK in and of themselves to provide info on where the project is from completion point of view, they can cause problems if attached to dates and if the meeting of those milestone schedule dates is interpreted as a project that is "on track."

Milestone schedules, or any schedule that attaches tasks to dates, will drive behaviors that result in what is known as Parkinson's Law -- "Work will expand to fill (and usually exceed) the time allowed."

Click here for more on this, and for an approach to scheduling that will help avoid the effects of Parkinson's Law.

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Posted: Sep 23, 2002 1:16 PM

Anonymous

Attaching dates to milestones is essential. For a project to be successful it must be delivered within budget, meeting all requirements, and timely. One of the most prevelant problems in projects today are the never ending projects. If you are not a victim of scope creep, and you properly plan your projects meeting dates should be the norm.

Posted: Oct 7, 2002 9:33 PM

Frank Patrick Boonton, Nj, United States

Andrew -- Before I get into an arguement with our anonymous poster, I'd like to make sure we don't get too far afield of your original question without answering it.

I could use a bit of clarification on the milestones that you are being asked to track against. Are they related to interim deliverables of the project to the outside world? Or are they related to key events along the way to these deliverables -- relatively few, important aspects of the project, perhaps related to go-no-go decisions? Or are we talking about a milestone schedule in which every task is managed against its own due date?
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Posted: Oct 15, 2002 9:30 AM

David Kester PMP Bothell, Wa, United States

I'll have to follow Patrick on this one. I fight Parkinson's law all the time. The thing to remember is that the schedule isn't the important thing to manage.

A project will come in on time if you manage three very direct influences.

1. Proper Planning.
2. Quality Assurance (ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PROJECT. Not just at the end.)
3. Control the Scope.

If you keep people from calling deficient work products "done," keep the project from growing features and capabilities it didn't have, and plan your project well using many of the planning aids found on this site you'll come very close to your dates.

David Kester
Project Manager
Avocent Corp.

Posted: Oct 23, 2002 12:33 AM

Andrew Wong Yen Neutral Bay, Nsw, Australia

Thanks for the replies I have been away and only just caught up with them - Frank in answer to your post for more detail I would say that the milestones are related to key events along the way to deliverables. I will have a read of the Parkinsons Law article you refer to - looks very interesting. Thanks

Posted: Oct 23, 2002 7:50 PM

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Project Report Progress against Milestones

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