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Milestones List

The Milestones page displays a list of all milestones associated with the current project.

Accessing Milestones​

Navigate to Projects -> [Your Project] -> Milestones from the sidebar.

Viewing Milestones​

The page shows a table with the following columns:

  • Name: The name of the milestone (clickable link to the Milestone Details page).
  • Status: The current status of the milestone (e.g., Open, In Progress, Completed).
  • Due Date: The target completion date for the milestone.
  • Actions: (Usually contains an edit button or link).

Adding a New Milestone​

Click the Add Milestone button located in the top-right corner of the page.

Permissions Required

Adding milestones requires the Add/Edit permission for the Milestones application area for the specific project. Users without this permission will not see the "Add Milestone" button.

Searching and Filtering​

  • Search: Use the search bar to find milestones by name.
  • Filtering: Apply filters (e.g., by status) if available.

Sorting​

Click on column headers to sort the list by that column.

Clicking on a milestone name will navigate you to the Milestone Details page for that specific milestone.

Hierarchical Milestones​

TestPlanIt supports hierarchical milestone structures, allowing you to organize milestones in parent-child relationships for better project planning and tracking.

Overview​

Hierarchical milestones enable you to:

  • Break down large milestones into smaller, manageable sub-milestones
  • Track progress hierarchically with child milestone completion affecting parent progress
  • Organize by phases such as Sprint → Epic → Story
  • Visualize dependencies between different levels of work
  • Roll up metrics from child milestones to parents

Milestone Structure​

Parent-Child Relationships:

  • A milestone can have one parent milestone
  • A milestone can have multiple child milestones
  • Root milestones have no parent (top-level)
  • Leaf milestones have no children (bottom-level)

Hierarchy Tracking:

  • Root: The top-most ancestor in a milestone tree
  • Parent: The immediate parent of a milestone
  • Children: Direct descendants of a milestone
  • Descendants: All milestones below in the hierarchy tree

Creating Hierarchical Milestones​

Creating a Root Milestone​

  1. Navigate to Projects → [Your Project] → Milestones
  2. Click Add Milestone
  3. Fill in milestone details:
    • Name: e.g., "Q1 2024 Release"
    • Type: Select appropriate milestone type
    • Due Date: Set target completion date
    • Parent Milestone: Leave blank (or select "None")
  4. Save the milestone

Creating a Child Milestone​

  1. From the Milestones page, click Add Milestone
  2. Fill in milestone details:
    • Name: e.g., "Feature Development Phase"
    • Type: Select appropriate type
    • Due Date: Should typically be before or equal to parent's due date
    • Parent Milestone: Select the parent from the dropdown
  3. Save the milestone

Alternative Method:

  • Open a parent milestone's details page
  • Look for Add Child Milestone button
  • Fill in child milestone details
  • Parent is automatically set

Viewing Hierarchical Milestones​

List View:

  • Milestones can be displayed with indentation showing hierarchy levels
  • Expand/collapse controls for parent milestones
  • Visual indicators (icons) showing parent/child status

Tree View:

  • Visual tree representation of milestone hierarchy
  • Shows entire milestone structure at a glance
  • Click to expand/collapse branches
  • Navigate directly to any milestone in the tree

Milestone Details Page:

  • Parent Section: Shows the parent milestone (if any) with link
  • Children Section: Lists all direct child milestones
  • Breadcrumb: Shows path from root to current milestone

Hierarchy Best Practices​

Organizational Patterns​

Release Planning:

Release 2.0 (Root)
├── Planning Phase
├── Development Phase
│   ├── Backend Features
│   ├── Frontend Features
│   └── Integration
├── Testing Phase
│   ├── Unit Testing
│   ├── Integration Testing
│   └── UAT
└── Deployment Phase

Agile Sprint Structure:

Quarter 1 2024 (Root)
├── Sprint 1
│   ├── Epic: User Authentication
│   │   ├── Story: Login Page
│   │   ├── Story: Password Reset
│   │   └── Story: SSO Integration
│   └── Epic: Dashboard
│       ├── Story: Widgets
│       └── Story: Charts
├── Sprint 2
└── Sprint 3

Feature-Based Organization:

Product Launch (Root)
├── Core Features
│   ├── Feature A
│   ├── Feature B
│   └── Feature C
├── Marketing Activities
│   ├── Campaign Planning
│   └── Content Creation
└── Operations Setup
    ├── Infrastructure
    └── Support Training

Hierarchy Guidelines​

Depth Recommendations:

  • Optimal depth: 2-4 levels
  • Maximum depth: Avoid more than 5 levels for clarity
  • Balance: Keep sibling counts manageable (5-10 per level)

Naming Conventions:

  • Use clear, descriptive names at each level
  • Include level indicators if helpful (e.g., "Phase 1:", "Sprint 3:")
  • Be consistent with naming patterns across levels

Date Management:

  • Child due dates should be ≤ parent due dates
  • Leave buffer time between child completion and parent due date
  • Consider dependencies when setting child milestone dates

Progress Tracking​

Completion Behavior:

  • Marking a parent as complete doesn't auto-complete children
  • System can calculate parent progress based on child completion
  • Completion percentages can roll up hierarchically

Status Indicators:

  • All children complete: Parent can be marked complete
  • Some children incomplete: Parent shows in-progress status
  • Overdue children: Parent may show at-risk status

Metrics Roll-up:

  • Test case counts aggregate from children to parents
  • Test run assignments can be filtered by milestone hierarchy
  • Reports can group by hierarchy levels

Managing Hierarchy​

Moving Milestones​

Changing Parent:

  1. Open milestone details
  2. Edit milestone
  3. Select new parent from dropdown (or "None" for root)
  4. Save changes

Restrictions:

  • Cannot set a child milestone as parent of its own ancestor (prevents circular reference)
  • Cannot set self as parent
  • Moving a milestone moves all its descendants

Deleting Hierarchical Milestones​

Deleting a Leaf Milestone:

  • Simply deletes the milestone
  • No effect on siblings or parents

Deleting a Parent Milestone:

  • Cascade delete: All child milestones are also deleted
  • Confirmation required before deletion
  • Consider orphaning children by moving them first

Best Practice: Before deleting a parent, review child milestones and either:

  • Move children to a different parent
  • Delete children individually if no longer needed
  • Keep a backup if data is important

Common Use Cases​

Product Roadmap Planning​

Use hierarchical milestones to represent:

  • Root: Annual goals or product versions
  • Level 1: Quarterly objectives
  • Level 2: Monthly deliverables
  • Level 3: Weekly sprints or tasks

Project Phase Management​

Structure complex projects:

  • Root: Overall project
  • Level 1: Major phases (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Closure)
  • Level 2: Phase deliverables
  • Level 3: Specific tasks or work packages

Agile Development​

Organize agile workflows:

  • Root: Program Increment (PI)
  • Level 1: Sprints
  • Level 2: Epics
  • Level 3: User Stories

Filtering and Reporting​

Filter by Hierarchy:

  • Show only root milestones
  • Filter by specific parent
  • Show milestones at specific depth
  • Filter by entire hierarchy branch

Reports:

  • Hierarchy-aware progress reports
  • Burndown charts by hierarchy level
  • Completion forecasting with child milestone data
  • Resource allocation across hierarchy

Tips and Tricks​

  1. Start Simple: Begin with 2-3 levels and expand as needed
  2. Use Types: Assign different milestone types to different hierarchy levels
  3. Color Coding: Use colors or icons to distinguish hierarchy levels
  4. Templates: Create milestone hierarchy templates for recurring projects
  5. Review Regularly: Periodically review hierarchy structure for optimization
  6. Document Structure: Maintain documentation of your hierarchy conventions
  7. Avoid Over-nesting: Too many levels can be counterproductive
  8. Balance Width and Depth: Prefer broader trees over very deep ones

Troubleshooting​

Issue: Cannot set parent milestone

  • Check if creating circular reference (milestone can't be ancestor of itself)
  • Verify permissions to edit both milestones
  • Ensure parent milestone is in the same project

Issue: Deleted milestone still appears

  • Soft-deleted milestones may still show in some views
  • Check deletion filters/settings
  • Verify cascade delete completed for all children

Issue: Progress not updating

  • Refresh the page to see latest completion data
  • Verify child milestones are properly linked
  • Check if completion percentages need manual recalculation

API Reference​

Get Milestone with Hierarchy:

GET /api/model/Milestones/findFirst?q={
  "where": {"id": 123},
  "include": {
    "parent": true,
    "children": true,
    "root": true
  }
}

Create Child Milestone:

POST /api/model/Milestones/create
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "data": {
    "name": "Child Milestone",
    "project": {"connect": {"id": 1}},
    "parent": {"connect": {"id": 123}},
    "milestoneType": {"connect": {"id": 5}},
    "dueDate": "2024-12-31"
  }
}

Get All Descendants:

GET /api/model/Milestones/findMany?q={
  "where": {"rootId": 123},
  "orderBy": {"createdAt": "asc"}
}