KEY MILSTONES FEATURES HOW MILESTONES CAN BE USED: Stand alone project management tool Add-on to Microsoft Project Canvas for database extraction SUCCESSFULLY PRESENTING YOUR PROJECTS MILESTONES WITHIN AN EVM SYSTEM Custom automation Import from MS Project PowerPoint Presentation Overview

The fast, easy way to schedule and present your projects!

“the best of its breed” “easy to use” “powerful”

Easy to use and learn Click-and-drag to build schedules No formal training needed 14 built-in tutorials “Feature” movies Quick Tips guide Extensive Help topics Web site white papers Free telephone support Free support

Extensive customization Choose from a variety of symbol and connector shapes, colors, and patterns. Place multiple milestones on each task line. Adjust Gantt bars using three positions.

Annotate your schedule

…and wall size charts Create letter size…

Instantly format your schedule Begin with a template or apply a template to an existing schedule.

Instantly format your schedule Apply a color theme or create your own.

Track numbers along with your schedule Track budget, costs, earned value, manpower, sales, or any numerical information along with your schedule. Graph values and display indicators based on values. Make calculations between columns of values.

Keep track of all of your project’s documents Research Report attached to the Research phase AutoCad drawing attached to the Design start date Financials Report attached to the status milestone MS Project schedule with detailed Production data

Easily organize large projects Organize projects into steps and sub-steps. …and get a summary! Click a main task It’s easy to collapse and expand tasks.

Easily combine 2 or more projects… …into a master schedule! Manage multiple projects with a master schedule

Easily publish a hierarchy of schedules for the Internet Create HTML pages of each schedule. Hyperlinks between schedules become “hotspots” between web pages. All linked schedules are published. Watch me “drill down to another project level!

Create web pages with summary and drill-down views “Tiered Hierarchy” creates a web page with a summary view. In the web browser click a summary task to drill-down to the details.

Distribute using our free Milestones Viewer Open schedules, print them, and more, without editing rights.

Work effortlessly with your other applications You can turn a spreadsheet… Into a presentation quality project schedule! Paste into Word and PowerPoint as a picture, or OLE embedded or linked schedule.

Easily work with Microsoft Project MPP files The Project-to-Milestones Wizard generates a variety of schedule reports. Milestone Charts Gantt Charts Performance Charts

Easily work with Microsoft Project MPP files The Project-to-Milestones Wizard generates a variety of schedule reports. Resource Charts Earned Value Charts Summary Charts

Refresh the Milestones schedule with new MS Project data When MS Project data changes, simply “refresh” your Milestones presentation schedule.

Automate your Milestones schedules Milestones’ OLE automation capabilities enable your programmer to populate a Milestones schedule from database information, using VB, VBA, C++ or other scripting language.

“exceptional project management software” “extensive graphics capabilities” “extensive options” “simple but comprehensive…powerful enough to schedule projects from minutes to years” “A Milestone in project management” Milestones Professional 2004

Easy-to-use Powerful Flexible Presentation-ready “We’ve taken a quantum leap in our group’s ability to manage our programs and projects professionally.” Bill Hale, Wright-Patterson AFB

Milestones Professional 2004 Successfully Presenting Your Projects Use Milestones Professional as: Stand-alone project management tool. Add-on to Microsoft Project for creating executive-level presentation reports based on your MPP file’s information. Output tool using your custom program between a database and Milestones.

►Populate from Microsoft Project (built-in) or a database (custom) ►Present one or more projects on a single page, at a high level ►Reports: ►Highlight milestones and project/phase/task hierarchies ►Link additional project data to your report ►Distribution: Web, free Viewer, Word, PowerPoint Why Milestones Professional as the presentation tool? Multi-tier reports Milestones only Key milestones roll-up Stoplight at-a-glance status Earned value Critical path Finish date status Budget/Cost Translate your project details into a brief summary which clearly conveys the project plan/status

►Microsoft Project reports Existing reporting mediums Earned Value Report Critical Tasks Report Printed Gantt chart

►Drawing packages: PowerPoint, Visio, Excel Existing reporting mediums

► 3 rd Party Tools: Milestones Professional, Milestones Project Companion, PERT Chart Expert, WBS Chart Pro,… ► YES: Manually draw from project data ► YES: Import data ► YES: Automate with a custom program Existing reporting mediums

Sample project status report ►Baseline/Current finish dates ►Major milestones ►Percent complete status ►Delivery dates

►Phase status (drill-down) Sample project status report

►Phase status (drill-down) ►Planned and current costs ►Forecasted costs Sample project status report

►Phase status (drill-down) ►Planned and current costs ►Forecasted costs ►Earned value Sample project status report

Reporting from Microsoft Project How do you get from database details......to a top-level summary?

Reporting from Microsoft Project ► MS Project-to-Milestones Professional import wizard Choose from the initial report format categories, and then from more detailed report formats.

Critical tasks report ► Report status of critical tasks, only, by importing a filtered schedule.

Finish dates report ▼ Display all finish dates► Finish dates rolled-up Finish date milestones Stoplight status: – Not started – In progress – Complete Percent Complete

Finish dates report ► Display all finish dates▼ Finish dates rolled-up

Budget status report A budget takes the fun out of money. — Mason Cooley, U.S. aphorist ▼ Budget, cost, variance▼Graph by time period & cumulative

Reporting earned value ▼ Earned value for the “detailed numbers person”

Reporting earned value ▼ Earned value for the visual (graph), numbers (columns), and spatial (timeline)

Baseline and current dates ▼Juxtapose baseline and current dates

Baseline and current dates ▼Juxtapose baseline and current finish dates as dates, milestones, and stoplights

Baseline and current dates ▼Juxtapose baseline and current task bars, start/finish dates and duration

Baseline and current values ▼Juxtapose baseline and current costs as values, graph, and stoplights

At-a-glance stoplight reports ▼Shapes and colors to indicate health

Highlight milestones and schedule hierarchies ▼In a sea of start dates, end dates, rows of activities, and columns of data, how can the major milestones and activity rows stand out? ► Move major milestones to summary lines ► Enlarge the physical size of the milestone ► Use striking colors, like red ► Circle major milestones ► Use shapes which convey a sense of a major event ► Use a column which marks major tasks ► Filter to display only the major activities ► Shade by outline level

Multi-tiered reports from multiple source files ► Transform lots of project files......into mid-management reports......and one top level report of key milestones from the mid-level reports...

Project A Detailed Source Schedules Project B & C Project D Project E Import filtered data Mid-Level Reports of Key Source Data Top-Level Report of Key Mid-Level Data REFRESH UDATELINKSUDATELINKS

Link other data to your report ► Challenge: Fit lots of data into a single page Cost spreadsheets More detailed schedules Research reports PERT charts AutoCAD drawings ► Solution: Link from symbols to documents for quick access

Link other data to your report Research Report attached to the Research start date AutoCAD drawing attached to the Design end date Financials Report attached to the status milestone MS Project schedule with detailed Production data

Distribute and share your presentation ► Use Internet Publishing Wizard to create web page of high-level report with drill-down ▲ Click an activity to see it’s details.

Distribute and share your presentation ► Open with reader (free Viewer) ► Paste into PowerPoint or Word ► Upload to a shared e-room ► Share in a network folder

Milestones for successful project presentations The project report is:  Objective  Clear and concise  Easily interpreted  Able to drill-down to details from the summary  Able to show impact when dates or values change  Separated into distinct areas of focus

EVMS Solution: Automated schedule production Create your own custom interface between a database and Milestones.

EVMS Solution: Import data from Microsoft Project Use the built-in import wizard for creating presentation-ready earned value reports.

Easy-to-use as stand alone or add-on to MS Project Powerful Flexible Presentation-ready