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Institute of Advanced Technological and Commercial Studies

Glossary

Milestone: the point where you check before moving on

A milestone is a date at which a precise outcome is expected and checked. It cuts the project into short segments and makes progress observable rather than declared. Its gate criterion is written in advance and calls for a yes-or-no answer.

A date, an outcome, a check

A milestone pairs a date with a verifiable outcome: mockup approved, environment delivered, sign-off pronounced. Its value lies in the gate criterion, stated in advance and answered yes or no. A project with milestones every fortnight corrects early; a project whose first checkpoint falls in month three corrects in month three.

  • A date, a verifiable outcome, a criterion stated in advance
  • The criterion calls for a yes-or-no answer: passed or to revisit
  • Close-set milestones make early correction possible

What a good milestone makes possible

The Management and Project Management programme has candidates build a fully milestoned plan and puts it through disruptions: a late supplier, an added requirement. The Project Management certification repeats the exercise on a real file the candidate brings from their own role.

Typical milestoneGate criterion
Framing approvedScope and budget are signed off by the client
Design acceptedMockups cover every journey listed in the specification
First version deliveredThe main journey works end to end on the target environment
Sign-off pronouncedAcceptance criteria are checked one by one and recorded

Programmes that set milestones

2 catalogue programmes put “Milestone” to work: 138 credits and 1380 taught hours in total. The official rule holds throughout — one credit stands for 25 hours of work, 10 of them taught. Every line below is recomputed from the programme page: level, duration, credits, taught volume and fees in Guinean francs appear exactly as filed in the official catalogue.

ProgrammeLevelDurationVolumeFees
Management and Project Management programme — Bac+5 levelMaster's degree2 years120 credits · 1200 taught hours6 500 000 GNF per year
Project Management CertificateProfessional certification6 months18 credits · 180 taught hours2 900 000 GNF in total
Milestone: the point where you check before moving on — Glossary | IHETC — IHETC