Milestones and deadlines

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which best describes a milestone in a project plan?

A A checkpoint showing a major piece of work is complete

B A single small task that takes a few minutes

2. Which is the best example of a milestone for a school app project?

A Work on the app when you feel like it

B Prototype finished and ready for testing by 14 June

3. How is a milestone usually shown on a Gantt chart?

A As a long bar that stretches across many weeks

B As a marker, such as a diamond, on a single date

4. When setting milestone dates, what should you do?

A Work out how long the tasks before it will take, then set a realistic date

B Pick the final due date for every milestone

5. Your team's 'Design complete' milestone is due Friday, but the designs are only half done on Thursday. What does this tell you?

A The project may be behind schedule and the plan needs checking

B The project is on track, so nothing needs to change

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Milestone: Prototype finished - 14 Aug		AA milestone is a checkpoint showing finished work, not a task with a duration. It should say what is complete, for example 'Logo approved - 12 Aug'.
2Milestone ◆ on Gantt chart		BA diamond marker placed on the timeline where a major piece of work should be finished
3Setting a milestone date: work backwards from the final deadline so each checkpoint is realistic		CA checkpoint with a set date showing a major piece of work is complete
4Checking progress against milestones: compare today's status with the planned milestone date		DThe milestone has no deadline, so the team cannot check whether they are on track. Add a date, such as 'Prototype finished - 14 Aug'.
5Milestone: Design the logo (3 days)		EMilestone: Prototype - due 2 Oct Today: 5 Oct Status: Behind by 3 days
6Milestone: Prototype finished - (no date)		FFinal deadline: 30 Oct Testing done: 16 Oct Prototype done: 2 Oct

Definitions

milestone

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

_________ "Prototype finished" DUE 14/06

MILESTONE "Prototype finished" ___ 14/06

MILESTONE "Prototype done" DURATION _

IF done = FALSE AND today _ dueDate THEN

IF prototypeDone = ____ THEN

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A milestone = "Prototype done"

B deadline = 12

C today = 15

D IF today < deadline THEN

E PRINT "Milestone late"

F ENDIF

Question 2

A task "Build" start=1 end=10

B milestone "Prototype" day=5

C task "Test" start=11 end=15

Question 3

A deadline = 30

B test_done = deadline + 5

C build_done = test_done - 10

D PRINT build_done

Question 4

A milestone "Design done" due 40

B milestone "Build done" due 20

C milestone "Launch" due 30

Question 5

A due = 12

B today = 10

C proto_done = TRUE

D IF proto_done = FALSE THEN

E PRINT "Milestone met"

F ENDIF

Answer Key

Milestones and deadlines

Section A: Quick Questions

A — A checkpoint showing a major piece of work is complete

B — Prototype finished and ready for testing by 14 June

B — As a marker, such as a diamond, on a single date

A — Work out how long the tasks before it will take, then set a realistic date

A — The project may be behind schedule and the plan needs checking

Section B: Match the Pairs

Milestone: Prototype finished - 14 Aug → A checkpoint with a set date showing a major piece of work is complete

Milestone ◆ on Gantt chart → A diamond marker placed on the timeline where a major piece of work should be finished

Setting a milestone date: work backwards from the final deadline so each checkpoint is realistic → Final deadline: 30 Oct Testing done: 16 Oct Prototype done: 2 Oct

Checking progress against milestones: compare today's status with the planned milestone date → Milestone: Prototype - due 2 Oct Today: 5 Oct Status: Behind by 3 days

Milestone: Design the logo (3 days) → A milestone is a checkpoint showing finished work, not a task with a duration. It should say what is complete, for example 'Logo approved - 12 Aug'.

Milestone: Prototype finished - (no date) → The milestone has no deadline, so the team cannot check whether they are on track. Add a date, such as 'Prototype finished - 14 Aug'.

Section C: Definitions

milestone — A marked checkpoint in a project plan, such as a finished prototype, showing a major piece of work is complete by its deadline. Used to check progress.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

MILESTONE "Prototype finished" DUE 14/06

MILESTONE "Prototype done" DURATION 0

IF done = FALSE AND today > dueDate THEN

IF prototypeDone = TRUE THEN

Section E: Spot the Error

D — A milestone is late when today is after its deadline, so the check should be today > deadline. With < the program reports 'late' while there is still time left.

B — The prototype milestone marks the end of the Build task, so it should sit on day 10. Day 5 would show the prototype as finished halfway through building it.

B — When setting milestone dates, you work backwards from the final deadline. Testing must finish before it, so the line should be deadline - 5, not + 5.

A — Milestone dates should be in order. Design is finished before the build, so its due date must be earlier than day 20 (for example 8), not day 40.

D — The program should say the milestone is met only when the prototype is finished. The test must be proto_done = TRUE, not FALSE.