The Baselines of the project

The term ?Baseline” signifies a reference used by the project manager when evaluating the project performance.? One of the best known definitions of this term is the one proposed by PMI: "The approved version of a work product that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results".

Let's imagine a project that is estimated to have a total duration of 10 weeks. This duration will be summed from 10 activities, each of them with an estimated duration of 1 week. When the project sponsor (and possibly the client) approves this time schedule, the scenario described above becomes a baseline – the planned performance that is expected. It is an approved version of the time schedule, which will serve as a reference for us to understand whether the actual work in the project is ahead of or behind that initial schedule (the baseline). For example, if after the first two weeks we have not managed to complete the first two activities (which should actually have been completed in two weeks), we are behind schedule. On the other hand, if you succeeded to finalize the first two activities and even manage to start working on a third one, you are ahead of the planned schedule.

The Baseline has few very interesting features, and the first one is that it cannot be changed anyhow, anytime and by anyone. As a baseline, it is very important that it remains as it has been set. And yet, what if new elements have appeared in the project that require a drastic change to the original scenario? Maybe additional work has to be done, which requires a new activity to be included in the project.? Well, in this case the project manager proposes a new baseline, which has to be approved by the sponsor and the client, before it becomes the new official baseline. Once a new baseline is approved, it becomes the new reference to which we refer to for the project from that point on.

The change of a baseline is always done through a change management process. This entail certain pre-agreed steps that must be followed, in order to have the change of the baseline approved. This also means that the changes of the baselines are always documented (recorded in written form) and are usually accompanied by the estimated impact on different areas of the project, such as cost, schedule, quality, etc. You must remember that the project manager will require the change of the baseline, but is the project sponsor (with or without the client) that will approve, defer or reject the new baseline. Sometimes, the role of approving, deferring or rejecting the change is assumed by a Change Control Board (CCB), instead of a single project sponsor (and client). Only the approved changes of the baseline will be implemented and used by the project management team.

In principle, there are 3 baselines within a project:

• Scope baseline - the baseline indicating the approved activities and deliverables associated with our project;
• Schedule baseline – the approved time planning baseline, indicating the duration of project activities and total project duration / milestone dates;
• Cost baseline - the approved costs associated with the project activities and hence the total project budget;

In addition to these three baselines, there is also the Performance measurement baseline, which is an integrated scope-schedule-cost plan for the project work against which project execution is compared to measure and manage performance.

Please note the word above: ?approved”. As project manager, you will work only with approved baselines.

Takeaways about baseline:

1. Baseline is a term that indicates a reference against which we evaluate the performance of our project;
2. There are three main baselines: Scope, Schedule and Cost baselines. In addition, an integrated baseline, called Performance Measurement Baseline, is also used, made up of all three mentioned above; Each baseline will include different information that define the scope, the schedule or the cost of the project.
3. The baselines are part of a master plan, called Project Management Plan. This master plan is a living document (is updated throughout the project, for example when the baselines are changed);
4. A baseline can only be modified through the project formal change control procedures, at the proposal of the project manager and with the approval of the sponsor and the client. Before being formally approved, the baseline will be only a draft, that can be changed by the project manager with the project management team.

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?Note: There are many other elements, more or less relevant about this term, which have been omitted to simplify as much as possible the presentation of the term and its understanding. Please message me or leave comments for additional information.