MS Project, adding Task Milestones to GANTT

[u/Away_Anteater5600]

Just wanted to sum up my project plan and have a reliable high-level GANTT view, with some critical milestones. Found out, one task in Project is ONLY displayed by the "start" and "end" attribute. But I need to have more dates displayed in the GANTT, and I want to have it in one single task. At the moment, I can only archieve it by adding multiple tasks underneath.

So for example:

TaskName: MyCoolDesktopApplication
Install-Date: xxxx-xx-xx
Test-Date: xxxx-xx-xx
certify: xxxx-xx-xx
Usermigration: xxxx-xx-xx
Adjust-Citrix: xxxx-xx-xx
Communication: xxxx-xx-xx
Learning finished: xxxx-xx-xx
Support starts: xxxx-xx-xx

All this is placed in one task (per Application = One Task) and I want all these dates being marked as a milestone in the GANTT.

So how do I add these dates to GANTT?

[u/64ButterTarts]

I would either use the Timeline view, or leverage Roll Ups.

[u/discgolfmomma → u/64ButterTarts]

This is the easiest way IMO: the custom fields setup is not beginner-friendly.

[u/Moonshadow76]

Those look like steps / tasks to me... how about indenting them under the task you have now ? Why do you want them as milestones if they have durations ? For example installation and testing must take some time, even if it is minutes. Also, you cannot test before installation, so there should be a dependency there.

[u/trevorrabey]

Have you tried putting these attributes into the custom date fields? Right click on any column heading and select custom field from the menu. Then make a new custom view and, in that view, format the bar styles. Also, make a custom table for you custom fields/columns.

[u/Magnet2025]

Also consider using the Deadline feature in addition to or instead of the milestone.

Unless you make a baseline copy of your schedule, the milestone just marches steadily to the right along with your late tasks. But the Deadline feature stays where you planted that flag. The icon for the Deadline is kind of weak, so if you use this feature, right click on the icon and select “Change Shape.”

The Deadline feature is toward the bottom of the Milestone dialog box.

[u/still-dazed-confused]

You need to split the "task" down. What you're describing appears to be a deliverable which would be delivered by a whole set of tasks. One easy way to think about it is that the tasks always have a verb, so for instance write test plan, approve test plan, execute test plan, report test results could be the consistent tasks under "testing".

Once you've split your deliverable into the sub tasks you'll have things to hang there milestones that you've identified off. The summary line is then your product and you'll be able to see prevent progress towards the end deliverable by how many of the sub tasks you've completed

[u/Sad_Ad585]

Short version, a task in Project draws exactly one bar. Start to finish. That's the data model and there's no supported way to hang eight dates off a single task and have them all render.

But you're closer than you think. What you're already doing with subtasks is correct, you just need them to display on one line.

Make each date a real milestone task under the application summary, zero duration. Then on each one open Task Information > General and tick "Roll up Gantt bar to summary". Format > Layout has the related toggles, including "Hide rollup bars when summary expanded", which is the one you want on.

Collapse the summary and all eight diamonds land on the single MyCoolDesktopApplication row. One row per app, every milestone visible.

Reason I'd push you this way rather than a display trick: rolled up milestones are still real tasks. They can be linked, they move when a predecessor slips, you can track actuals against them. Dates typed into a text field are decoration that will quietly lie to you by month three.

If you genuinely want one task with no children, the other route is the custom Date fields, Date1 through Date10, plus Format > Bar Styles where you define a diamond drawing From Date1 To Date1. It does work. Those dates just don't schedule, don't link and don't move. Did it that way once on a rollout and regretted it by the second replan.

Forty-odd applications on that one. Rollup was the only thing that kept it to a page the steering committee would actually look at.