MS Project Training Tips – How to Set Up Start and Finish Milestones
Understanding Start and Finish Milestones in Microsoft Project
A Milestone is created by assigning a task a zero duration:
– A Milestone is a Start Milestone when it has no predecessors.
– A Milestone is a Finish Milestone if it has one or more predecessors.
– A Start Milestone is at the Start of a Time Period, for example, 8:00 am.
– A Finish Milestone is at the End of a Time Period, for example, 5:00 pm, see Task 3 and 5 below.
– A task may also be made to look like a Milestone by checking the Mark as a milestone in the Task Information form General tab, see Task 2 below.
– The Milestone may be set to display at the Start or Finish of the Tasks by editing the From and To fields of Milestones in the Bar Styles form:
Note: Unlike some other scheduling software it is not possible for the user to assign a Milestone as either a Start or Finish Mile Stone in Microsoft Project.
Converting a Finish Milestone into a Start Milestone
Sometimes it is important to have a Start Milestone with has a predecessor. For example, Task 5 in the picture below may be required on Friday morning not Thursday afternoon:
One workaround to achieve this:
– Assign a short duration to the intended Start Milestone. The duration is not important, say I min.
– Check the Mark as a Milestone in the General tab of the Task Information form.
– Ensure all successors of the Start Milestone are Start to Start, otherwise all successors will span 1 day longer than their assigned duration:
Without a Start to Start successor:
With a Start to Start successor:
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