Milestone Planning

Purpose

Use When

• entering pre-production or production
• scope has changed materially
• the team needs a realistic plan instead of a loose backlog

Inputs

• current scope
• team capacity
• dependencies
• risk register
• technical and content constraints

Process

1. define milestone purpose, entry criteria, and exit criteria
2. break work into feature-sized deliverables with owners
3. sequence dependencies and identify blockers early
4. reserve capacity for integration, QA, and rework
5. mark candidate descopes and optional stretch items

Outputs

• milestone plan
• dependency map
• ownership list
• risk-aware scope breakdown

Quality Bar

• each milestone has exit criteria a reviewer can check without interpretation
• dependencies between workstreams are mapped before dates are committed
• every milestone names its owner and the decision that unblocks the next one
• risks carry probability, impact, and a named mitigation owner

Common Failure Modes

• milestones defined by dates instead of demonstrable outcomes
• hidden dependencies discovered mid-milestone, invalidating the schedule
• "90% done" syndrome — no binary exit criteria to call a milestone complete
• risk lists written once at kickoff and never re-reviewed

Related Agents

• producer
• planner
• technical-design-lead

Related Commands

• milestone-plan
• plan
• orchestrate

Notes

• Keep this skill aligned with the relevant rules layer and current project documentation.
• If engine-specific constraints materially change the workflow, hand off to the matching engine skill or engine-specific reviewer.