In terms of a medical device company, I believe missing a milestone being failure depends on what stage the project is on. If it is on the beginning stages such as the initiating and planning stages, failure of these stages will push back the entire project deadline. But when it is in the executing and monitoring and controlling stages, missing a milestone is a huge setback but it may be a positive thing also. It may give the company a different perspective on how to build the medical device. Another reason a failure can be a success is when clinical trials or pre-clinical trials are being done and the medical device did not do what it was supposed to do, it allows the company to know where their device went wrong. Another example is when testing is being on done on the device to test the extension of the shelf life of the product. When that milestone is missed, it means that they can not extend the shelf life of the product. I believe missing a milestone depends on what stage the project is on.