Milestones

Owned by Anna Ciepłota
Last updated: Dec 18, 2023 by Magdalena Żaczek
5 min read

Introduction

You can track project milestones using the Infobar section in the Gantt module. Navigate to the selected milestone by clicking on the "Target" icon next to the milestone on the list.

Convert tasks to milestones

Milestones can be interpreted as:

  • Markers of reaching an identifiable stage in any task or project.

  • Software release life cycle states.

On the timeline, milestones are represented as diamonds.

Milestones represent a point in time - milestone duration is 0 days.

Parent tasks cannot be converter to milestones. 

If a task has children in the task tree (WBS) it can't be converted into a milestone - scheduling mode interactions between parent/child would not be possible. 

Convert a single task to a milestone

To convert a single task to a milestone or vice versa, right-click on the selected task (on the task list) or use the ". . ." button in the vertical dialog.

You can also use inline editing to turn a task into a milestone. 

Start/end date recalculation

During conversion, the task end date is set as the milestone date.

Before conversion:

After conversion:

Convert multiple to milestones / tasks

Use the multi-select option to select a few tasks and milestones and right-click to "Convert all to...":

  • Milestone

  • Task

When you select a milestone and a task and right-click "Convert all to.. > Task":

  • A milestone is converted to a task.

  • A task remains unchanged because it is already a task.

 

Convert a task with one date to a milestone

When a task with one date (“Start Date” or “End Date”) is converted to a milestone, the “Start Date” becomes the same as the “End Date”.

 

Create a basic task as a milestone

  1. Click the + (plus icon) > Create task > Basic task.

  2. Fill in the task information.

  3. Activate the toggle switch.

Milestone synchronization

You can synchronize milestone information using the "Label" field. When you convert a task to a milestone, the app will create a #milestone label:

Labels will be added or removed in the following scenarios:

  • A task is converted into a milestone -> the #milestone label in Jira is added.

  • A milestone is converted into a regular task -> the #milestone label in Jira is removed.

  • A milestone is converted into a parent task -> the #milestone label in Jira is removed.

Note: Depends on field mapping.

Milestone overview - Infobar

You can show the list of milestones using the Gantt's Infobar:

  • Only milestones expanded on the Gantt chart are visible on the list.

  • If a user wants to see only milestones from selected parent tasks, they need to expand those parent tasks and collapse parent tasks they are not interested in.

  • If a user wants to see all the milestones in the program, they need to expand all of the tasks by clicking "Expand all" on a tree root column header.

Dependencies vs Milestones

Dependencies are adjusted to account for the fact that a Milestone is a point in time (has a single date). Milestones don't artificially make the path between linked tasks longer. 

The calculation is affected when:

  • A milestone is a target of a dependency

  • Start to end OR end to start

Dependencies to Milestones 

When a Milestone is a target of a dependency:

Task to Milestone OR

Milestone to Milestone

non-ASAP

ASAP

Task to Milestone OR

Milestone to Milestone

non-ASAP

ASAP

End → start

Milestone date >= task end date

Milestone date = task end date

End → end

regular dependency behavior

regular dependency behavior

Start → end

Milestone date <= Task Start Date 

Milestone date = task start date 

Start → start

regular dependency behavior

regular dependency behavior

"End to start" dependencies are adjusted to account for the fact that a Milestone is a point in time (has a single date).

When Milestone is a target:

  • ASAP - the Milestone date has to be the same as the source end date

  • non-ASAP - the Milestone date has to be the same or later than the source end date

 

 

"Start to end" dependencies are adjusted to account for the fact that a Milestone is a point in time (has a single date).

When Milestone is a target:

  • ASAP - the Milestone date has to be the same as the source start date

  • non-ASAP - the Milestone date has to be the same or later than the source start date

"End to end" dependencies behave normally.

"Start to start" dependencies behave normally.


Dependencies from Milestone to task 

Dependencies from Milestones to tasks behave normally (same as task → task dependencies).