Recommendation 9: Project reports should reflect the probability of meeting milestones or the probabilistic distribution of completion times, based on the results of past efforts.

Project reports include schedule milestones and the budgeted contingency milestones, but they provide little help to reviewers regarding the likelihood that these milestones will be reached on time. Additional information, such as optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely milestone-time achievements, would be helpful. These estimates could be based on the scheduling experience garnered over the course of the project.

Deloitte & Touche. 2002. “Central Artery/Tunnel Project: Project Assessment.” Prepared for Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance. September 30, 2002.