Milestone vs. Deliverable: What’s the Difference?

Innovation projects involve frequent use of the terms milestone and deliverable during the planning phase. While both are used to gauge project progress and keep teams aligned, they are not the same. A milestone marks a significant stage in the project and can be either conceptual or tangible, whereas a deliverable must be a tangible product or service. Deliverables are used to signal the completion of a project phase, in which an important sign-off is required from a client. While clients focus on deliverables, milestones are mostly internal and represent project conditions that have been satisfied.