A Milestone Trend Analysis (MTA) is an easy-to-read combination of history and projection for selected project milestones. It is used to graphically illustrate time-related discrepancies.
Special Tip: With this free MTA for Microsoft Project, you get all the benefits of milestone trend analysis within your Microsoft Project Standard or Professional Client.
When milestones are updated, the completion dates are reforecast according to the progression of the project. Connecting the interrelated symbols produces a curve that clearly shows the progression over time. The best-case completion of the original plan is represented by a horizontal line. If this line is rising, it signifies a delay in the schedule; a falling line means that completion will be ahead of schedule.
An MTA can only provide meaningful information, if the data is always up to date. This is only the case if the dates of the milestones have been correctly updated before the regular snapshots. Thus, an MTA can also lead to an improvement in the project participants' awareness of deadlines.
Advantages of a Milestone Trend Analysis / MTA
TPG MTA Client is a standalone product. It is installed directly on the user’s computer. Being an add-in product, TPG MTA Client is started by clicking a button in Microsoft Project.
The major advantage of TPG MTA Client is that the data is stored within the project file in Microsoft Project. No separate file is created for the MTA! Your data are easily portable in the project file and immediately available to other users of TPG MTA Client.
