Baseline
What are Project Baselines?
Project baselines are crucial for project management. Project managers can track the project's performance and identify deviations from the original plan by comparing actual progress against the original plan using a reference point. The project is kept on track and within certain constraints by using baselines.
What is a baseline in project management?
Project management uses a baseline as a clear starting point for your project plan. Measurement and comparison of your project's progress against this fixed reference point is crucial. By doing this, you can evaluate the progress of your project over time.
For example, let’s say your project is on target to finish in six weeks. Is that good or bad? If your schedule baseline has a four-week completion, it indicates a problem, and your team might need to make adjustments to accelerate your progress.
A project baseline typically has three components: schedule, cost, and scope. Often, these three baselines are separately monitored, controlled, and reported to ensure each is on track. A performance measurement baseline (PMB) can be referred to as it when fully integrated.
How do you set a project baseline?
To establish a baseline for your project, you must first determine its scope. This can be done with a scope statement, which is a list of project objectives and deliverables. Define the work needed to achieve these deliverables into individual tasks and subtasks with specific descriptions.
Next, you must map out your project schedule with clearly defined timeline. A good tool to use here is a Gantt chart, which can be easily edited and adjusted according to changing deadlines. Estimate how long each task will take and allocate resources accordingly.
Now, you should plan the total cost of your project. Take into account all relevant factors, including hourly rates, available resources, and varying PPC costs. It's important to align this budget plan with your schedule.
Before proceeding to the next stage, it is necessary to clearly outline your project baseline. Set up a meeting to present your plan, address any concerns from stakeholders, and make any necessary adjustments. The importance of this step lies in setting your project baseline, as it reveals any potential design flaws that will be easier to fix before you begin the project.
You can go to the next article and watch the video on How to visualize baseline on our application.
How to visualize baseline on our application?
We provide the users with a Baseline feature, so that you guys can monitor and assess the project as it progresses. You can use it to compare the scope, cost, and schedule of an ongoing project against set expectations. We hope that this feature will help you guys to have a better user experience on planning, execution and monitoring your project progress. Here is how to adjust the Baseline attribute.
Access the Advanced options setting bar:
Switch the Baseline button between on/off to adjust the attribute to your desired.
If you have any further questions or need assistance with any aspect of Portfolio Project management, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team. We're here to help you make the most of Portfolio Project management!
Happy planning and organizing! ♥️