Milestones
What is a Milestone?
A milestone is a zero-duration anchor point in the project schedule. Unlike tasks, milestones represent moments, not durations — a delivery date, a phase boundary, a go/no-go gate.
Milestones carry no work estimate. Their sole purpose is to mark a point in time that matters to the project and its stakeholders.
Why Milestones Matter
They provide fixed reference points around which the rest of the schedule is organized. When tasks slip, the distance to the nearest milestone communicates urgency in a single number.
A milestone date that is retreating is a signal that the plan is under stress. A milestone date that holds — even as tasks shift around it — is evidence that the team has absorbed the disruption.
How Milestones Work in Lineo
Milestones participate in the dependency graph the same way tasks do. They can have:
- Predecessors — tasks that must complete before the milestone is reached
- Successors — tasks that cannot start until after the milestone
When dependent tasks slip, milestone dates propagate accordingly, giving you instant visibility into delivery risk. There is no manual bookkeeping — the engine updates milestone positions the same way it updates task positions.
Using Milestones
Use milestones to mark:
- Phase boundaries — Design complete, MVP shipped, Beta release
- Key handoffs — Hand-off to QA, board review
- External commitments — Client demo date, contract deadline
To add a milestone: click “Add milestone” in the project view.
To connect tasks to a milestone: draw a dependency line from the last task in the phase to the milestone node. The milestone will then reflect the earliest possible date at which all its predecessors are complete.
Milestones and Scenarios
Milestones are scenario-aware. Each scenario can have its own milestone dates, allowing you to compare delivery outcomes across alternative plans at a glance.
When you promote a scenario to baseline, its milestone dates become the new reference points for the rest of the project.