It is the opinion of the writer that missing a milestone may not necessarily be considered a failure and could actually result in promised success. For example, considering the circumstance that may have caused the delay in completing the project, a delay could in fact be a better solution for the purpose of delaying mechanical errors. In the event that a company was planning to launch a new product on a certain date, if the employees found errors that could result in a recall in the product sooner or later, it is the opinion of the writer that missing the milestone of launching the device on a specific date would ultimately save the company’s reputation, and would prevent any unnecessary accidents from occurring. It is the opinion of the writer that missing the milestone would only be considered to be a failure if the company launches a newly developed product, knowing that there were errors that could result in serious consequences and still decided to continue with production.

I agree with many of these responses, where a miss in the schedule is normally considered a failure. I know that in these times with shortages of many products, and supply chain problems it is hard to accurately account for how long products will take to ship. I know that in my lab right now, I ordered a product that was supposed to come in April, but it is September and it never shipped from a reputable company. I canceled the order and found another supplier that was ready to ship at the time I ordered it. I think project managers should have multiple contingency plans in case things go wrong, and act on them sooner rather than later which is what I should have done.

Although this may be seen as a "failure", pushing out products that have the capacity to hurt people if not done correctly would be the actual failure. In a moral sense, it is wrong to care more about the timeline and profit than people's lives. It would also cause more grief to the company selling it in reputation, lawsuits, and backlash for putting out a product with safety concerns. 

If this happened to you and your team, would you be upfront about it to management and show them your plan to fix all issues as soon as possible or would you choose another route?

I believe that missing milestones can ultimately be successful in terms of improving the overall project. While I was working with my group on our Capstone project, we had several instances when items that we ordered or pieces that we 3D-printed were either delayed or failed. Because of those reasons, our milestone would have to get moved around to the following week or even a few weeks later, which made things hectic. In the end, though, I would have rathered missed those milestones than continue with our project which would have then led to a complete failure.

I believe that repeatedly missing milestones can lead to failure. However, missing just one milestone may not be a complete failure if you take necessary steps and actions to correct mistakes and work diligently to ensure all tasks moving forward are completed on time. I think if a person has a plan and works hard to execute that plan he or she will be will be successful. Of course there will be some hiccups along the way, but that is to be expected in my opinion. If you set a goal along with a plan, there will be always be mishaps and unexpected things that occur. As long as you stay focused and continue to follow the original plan, with necessary adjustments the end result will be success. At some point in life something will eventually fail, but that failure allows up to regroup and keep pushing forward to the result we initially set out for. Missing one milestone does not necessarily mean failure, but continuing to miss milestones will be failure unless you are taking action to remediate the problems so that you can be productive moving forward. 

Hello,

I think that this is such a great discussion question, especially considering that the older we get we tend to always think that not achieving a task whether small or large is an automatic failure. Personally, I do not consider missing a milestone in a project a complete failure but moreover a lesson learned. In reality this is considered a failure, but the project still can go on and the issues can be fixed in most situations that will lead to overall success. In the very beginning of project management plan, the error should be little to none but things can happen which can be detrimental. How to proceed later on in the project will depend on the specifics of the failure. Missing milestones can be seen as both failures and success depending on the point of view, but overall I think it creates the project members to work harder and prevent mistakes like these in the future.

I don't consider missed milestones a failure or success but as a new opportunity. This is a chance to regroup, analyze the steps taken, and try again to make the milestone. One should ask questions along as they are reassessing the process. Many successes take many tries and missed marks. Missed deadlines are not ideal but being optimistic and pushing past the failures is what makes project management works. Even if missed milestones results in the failure of a project, this will be a learning experience for future projects. Better planning and executing would benefit future projects. If worst case scenario comes into play and one is terminated for missing a deadline, there will always be projects that are in a trial and error phase that would need the expertise of failed projects. 

Typically a missed milestone is a failure, but it would depend on why the milestone was missed. If the milestone is the result of poor management or team members being unable to complete a milestone due to any reason that is within their control, then that is a failure. If the milestone is missed due to reasons that are outside of the project team's hands, such as delayed shipping or issues with external supplies, that can potentially be justified. If the project team finds a potential risk in a medical device that can potentially harm patients if not addressed beforehand and results in a deadline being missed, then that should not be considered a failure. If a deadline is missed in order to ensure that the device is safer, more compatible, or has an increase in performance, that should not be viewed as a failure. However, the people working on the task should communicate this with the project manager, prior to the deadline day, in order to see if the timeline for that milestone can be extended. 

As a student, I've learned that whether missing a project milestone is seen as a failure or a success in terms of improving the overall project depends on several critical factors. First and foremost, the reason behind missing the milestone plays a pivotal role. Was it due to unexpected events like a natural disaster or a pandemic, or was it a consequence of poor planning or execution by the team? Equally important is the significance of the missed milestone within the project's context. Was it a major milestone with substantial implications for the project's schedule, budget, or scope, or a minor one with more flexibility?

Moreover, the steps taken to mitigate the effects of the missed milestone matter significantly. Did the team promptly identify the root cause and take corrective actions to prevent a recurrence, or did they merely postpone the project without addressing underlying issues? Generally, missing a milestone isn't ideal, often resulting in delays, increased costs, and potential dissatisfaction among stakeholders. However, there are instances where missing a milestone can actually enhance the overall project. For instance, discovering a critical security flaw in software might lead to a delay, but ultimately prevents a major data breach.

In the end, whether missing a milestone is deemed a failure or a success hinges on the specifics of the situation and the team's response. Learning from mistakes and implementing preventative measures can turn a missed milestone into a valuable lesson, helping ensure the project's ultimate success. It's crucial to be realistic when setting milestones, maintain transparent communication with stakeholders, have contingency plans in place, and most importantly, be honest and forthright about any missed milestones to effectively manage and navigate project challenges.

I have to disagree with most of these posts that immediately view missing a milestone as a failure. In my opinion, it depends on the circumstances present. While working in Capstone I and II, I noticed that missing deadlines also allows my team to improve the functionality of our product. In this aspect, missed milestone are seen as a set back rather than an entire failure. Our product, a formulated hydrogel, is asserted to heal wounds more effectively and quickly. There have been many times where we have delayed our goals to ensure thorough testing, which ultimately we believe will yield complications with potential failures post launch. Thus is particularly important for a project like ours, where complications are detrimental to our goal of effective wound healing. 

I do agree however, that failures due to poor planning, ineffective communication, and inefficient leadership may be damaging to a company and must be addressed. Missing a milestone can push back a project timeline, which impacts scheduling and budget. Especially in terms of medical devices, this may lead to a loss in competitive edge, as this field is relatively critical in terms if bringing devices to the market. This also leads to a lack of team morale, which can be catastrophic for productivity. 

Failure suggests a strongly negative connotation, while a setback is more normalized in terms of working towards desired goals. Do you think setbacks, when properly managed, can foster improvement or do they stand as obstacles that slow down progress in the realm of medical devices?

Based on my limited experience in the industry so far, missing a milestone can be upsetting. However, there is always a lesson to be learned from missing a milestone. I believe a lesson learned is never a bad thing. For example, if a milestone was missed because of an individual failure, then the team learns about what each person can be responsible for, or the bandwidth of the team member. Then, for future projects, this individual can be assigned to a different task. Hence, the process is improved. As much as management would like to say there is no room for error, there always is room for error. There are certain things that are out of the team's control, such as working with cross functional teams. Others may not understand the severity of the timeline, because they have their own responsibilities. So, no matter how much the priority is emphasized, individuals can choose to contribute when they want to. A milestone can be missed due to this, that was not accounted for in the original planning of the project. A milestone can also be missed because the original goals of the project were too optimistic or unrealistic. Therefore, the milestone was not missed, but met at the appropriate time given the resources. A positive perspective can change a missed milestone from a failure to a success. It is clear that a company is more successful when mistakes are learn from and not condemned. 

Hruship101,
I liked the question you brought up. 

I think it is super situational. We learned about that in the planning phase there are different types of Gantt chart situations. For example, a finish to start situation requires for the last task to be completed before the next one begins. I think that it is also applicable to milestones as some may need to happen before the next one can begin. However, sometimes milestones are set with specific and strict deadlines. Let's say a company plans on reaching X amount of sales by Y date. There is a possibility that they do not reach that goal at Y date but reach it later. In this case, it can be seen as a temporary failure but a success in the long run.