Milestones and risks

Milestones break a goal into checkpoints, such as “Beta out” or “Region two live”, each with its own percentage. Strategic risks record what could stop a goal, an objective or an initiative: how likely it is, how much it would hurt, and what’s being done about it.

Who can use milestones and risks#

Goal milestones#

Milestones live in the Milestones section of a goal’s page. Each row shows the milestone’s name, its status, its percentage, a progress bar and how the percentage is worked out. For milestones that count work items, it also shows how many attached items are done (for example “3/5 done”).

Add a milestone#

1. Open the goal

   Scroll to the Milestones section.

2. Type a name in New milestone…

   Names can be up to 200 characters.

3. Select Add

   The milestone starts as Upcoming, with its progress method set to Typed in by hand and its progress at 0%.

Choose how a milestone works out its percentage#

Select a milestone’s name to expand it. Use the method menu to choose one of these:

Typed in by hand

You enter a whole number from 0 to 100 and select Set. If you switch to another method and back, the number you typed is still there.

Share of attached items done

The percentage of attached work items that are done. With nothing attached, it reads 0% and says there’s nothing to measure yet.

Weighted by story points

Attached items weighted by their story points, so one large finished item outweighs two small open ones. Items with no story points are left out. If none of them have points, it reads 0% with a warning.

Weighted by estimated hours

The same as story points, but weighted by each item’s estimate. Items with no estimate are left out.

Taken from a key result

Mirrors a key result’s progress exactly. This option is offered only for a milestone that’s already linked to a key result. If that key result is later deleted, the milestone drops to 0% and asks you to pick another source or switch method.

Attach work items to a milestone#

When a milestone uses one of the three item-based methods, its expanded view shows the attached work items and a form for attaching more.

1. Choose a Project…

2. Choose a Work item… from that project

   Items already attached to this milestone aren’t offered again.

3. Select Attach

   The percentage is recalculated every time the milestone is read, so when someone moves an attached item to Done, the milestone is up to date the next time anyone opens the goal.

To detach an item, hover over it and select the × (Detach work item).

Set a milestone’s status#

In the expanded milestone, use the status menu. Status is independent of the percentage. A milestone can be marked Completed with items still open, or sit at 100% without anyone calling it done. That gap is useful information, not an error.

Delete a milestone#

Select the × at the end of the milestone’s row.

Strategic risks#

A Risks section appears on every goal, objective and initiative page. It’s a register of what could stop that piece of strategy. The heading shows how many risks are still being carried, for example “2 still carried of 5”. Risks are listed worst first, by score, with the newest first when scores tie.

Record a risk#

1. Type a title in New risk…

   Up to 300 characters. For example: “Anchor LP delays its commitment past the first close”.

2. Set Probability and Impact

   Both are whole numbers from 1 to 100, and both default to 3. Use whatever scale your organization already uses (1–3, 1–5 or 1–10), but use the same scale every time so scores can be compared.

3. Select Record

   The risk is added with the status Open. Its score is probability × impact, and it’s always shown together with the two numbers it came from, for example 20 (5 × 4).

Update a risk#

Select a risk’s title to expand it. You can then:

• Change its Status, which saves straight away.
• Change Probability or Impact. The change saves when you leave the field, and the score is recalculated.
• Describe the mitigation in What we are doing about it…, then select Save.

Settled risks stay in the list so you can look back over the register later. They’re greyed out and struck through rather than hidden.

Delete a risk#

Select the × on the risk’s row. The risk is deleted immediately. A risk that has already turned into an issue can’t be deleted. Set it to Closed instead, so the issue keeps its record of what was foreseen.

Tips and limitations#

• Scores have no red, amber or green bands, because the scale is your organization’s own. A score of 20 means something different on a 1–5 scale than on a 1–10 scale.
• Probability, impact and status are always set by a person. UnitX never works them out from how the goal is going.
• A risk never changes a goal’s progress or health. Only a check-in does that.
• Goal milestones are separate from project milestones. They live on the goal and aren’t shared with projects.
• If a points- or hours-weighted milestone shows 0% with a warning, estimate the attached items, or switch the milestone to Share of attached items done.

FAQ#

Related pages#

• Goals
• OKRs
• Initiatives
• Work item details