Milestones Command (/goalkit.milestones)

Overview

The Milestones command breaks goals into measurable, time-bound milestones that provide clear progress indicators. It ensures that progress toward goals can be tracked and validated through specific, quantifiable achievements.

Purpose

The /goalkit.milestones command is essential for:

• Breaking complex goals into measurable, achievable steps
• Establishing clear acceptance criteria for each milestone
• Defining evidence requirements to verify completion
• Setting realistic timelines for milestone achievement
• Allocating appropriate resources to each milestone
• Creating quantifiable success metrics for progress tracking

Usage

/goalkit.milestones
Goal: [Reference to specific goal]
Milestone 1: [First measurable milestone toward goal]
  - Description: [What exactly will be accomplished]
  - Acceptance Criteria: [Specific conditions that must be met]
  - Evidence Requirements: [How completion will be verified]
  - Timeline: [Target completion date]
  - Resource Allocation: [People, time, tools needed]
  - Success Metrics: [Quantitative measures of success]
Milestone 2: [Second measurable milestone toward goal]
  - Description: [What exactly will be accomplished]
  - Acceptance Criteria: [Specific conditions that must be met]
  - Evidence Requirements: [How completion will be verified]
  - Timeline: [Target completion date]
  - Resource Allocation: [People, time, tools needed]
  - Success Metrics: [Quantitative measures of success]

Key Components

Milestone Description

A clear explanation of what exactly will be accomplished by completing this milestone. This should be specific and actionable.

Acceptance Criteria

Specific conditions that must be met for the milestone to be considered complete. These provide objective measures of completion.

Evidence Requirements

Clear guidelines on how completion will be verified, ensuring that milestone achievement can be objectively measured.

Timeline

Realistic target completion dates for each milestone, supporting project planning and coordination.

Resource Allocation

Specific resources needed to complete the milestone, including people, time, tools, and budget.

Success Metrics

Quantitative measures that indicate milestone success, aligned with the overall goal's success criteria.

Best Practices

• Ensure milestones are directly tied to achieving the goal's success criteria
• Create measurable milestones that provide objective evidence of progress
• Set realistic timelines based on available resources and complexity
• Balance milestone size - not too small (excessive overhead) or too large (delayed feedback)
• Ensure each milestone provides value even if subsequent milestones change
• Make acceptance criteria specific and testable

Example

/goalkit.milestones
Goal: Implement Secure User Authentication
Milestone 1: Basic registration and login functionality
  - Description: Users can register with email/password and log in to the system
  - Acceptance Criteria: Registration form validates inputs, login verifies credentials, users can access basic features after login
  - Evidence Requirements: Test accounts created successfully, login flow tested with valid/invalid credentials, security audit of credential storage
  - Timeline: Complete by end of week 2
  - Resource Allocation: 1 backend dev, 1 frontend dev, security consultant review
  - Success Metrics: 95% registration success rate, <3 second login response time, zero credential storage in plain text

Milestone 2: Password recovery system
  - Description: Users can securely recover access to their accounts via email
  - Acceptance Criteria: Password reset email sent securely, temporary tokens expire appropriately, new passwords meet security requirements
  - Evidence Requirements: Test password recovery flows, security audit of token generation/expiry, user acceptance testing
  - Timeline: Complete by end of week 4
  - Resource Allocation: 1 backend dev, 1 security consultant
  - Success Metrics: 90% password reset success rate, valid tokens expire within 1 hour, user satisfaction >4.0/5.0

Milestone 3: Multi-factor authentication
  - Description: Add optional two-factor authentication for enhanced security
  - Acceptance Criteria: Users can enable/disable 2FA, authentication works with both password and 2FA token
  - Evidence Requirements: Test 2FA flows, security audit of 2FA implementation, user documentation
  - Timeline: Complete by end of week 6
  - Resource Allocation: 1 backend dev, 1 frontend dev, 1 security consultant
  - Success Metrics: 30% of users enable 2FA option, no security incidents related to 2FA

Integration with Goal-Driven Development

Milestones bridge the gap between high-level goals and day-to-day execution. They provide measurable steps toward achieving the defined goals, allowing for progress tracking and validation. This aligns with the Goal-Driven Development principle of measurable progress and supports adaptive execution by providing clear checkpoints for evaluation and adjustment.