Strategy Survival Guide

Strategy Survival Guide Version 2.1
Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit
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Strategy Skills > Managing the Project
Setting milestones
> in practice
Timelines are a necessary part of plans and milestones add transparency to a project. They represent the
results of work plan action and are an excellent means of communicating expectations and helping to drive
efficiency. As well as capturing milestones – milestone planning, includes:
• Presentation and team meeting dates - schedule around key stakeholders
• Parliamentary recess dates and team and stakeholder leave dates.
Timelines help the team leader identify and manage the 'critical path’. Some tips on how to do this are to:
1. Identify the longest lead items - the 'critical path’
• Start working on key data and inputs as soon as possible
• 'Front load’ effort on critical items
• Make data requests explicit and clear - verifying understanding
• Set and agree clear deadlines for external sources of information and escalate if the source is
unresponsive
2. Work backwards from the key milestones
• Remember your output may be on someone else’s critical path
• Think about what the next steps will be following this project
3. Attempt to fill 'white space’ with productive activities
• Produce the 'quick wins’ as quickly as possible
The level of detail required in a plan will depend on the type of plan used (e.g. issue-based or calendarbased)
and on the project – it’s complexity, length and intensity, the experience levels within the team and
the level of clarity on the issue to be addressed.
An example of a milestone plan can be seen in the diagram below:
Strategy Survival Guide – Strategy Skills
Page 68