Step 12 — Baseline the Schedule
A baseline creates a reference point against which changes, and progress can be measured and managed. Once the project team has agreed to the program it should be baselined.
The baseline program must be realistic and achievable.
Establishing a baseline schedule is essential to effective management. A baseline schedule represents the original configuration of the program plan and signifies the consensus of all stakeholders regarding the required sequence of events, resource assignments, and acceptable dates for key deliverables.
It is consistent with both the program plan and the program budget plan and defines clearly the responsibilities of program performers.
The baseline schedule includes not only original forecasts for activity start and finish dates but also the original estimates for work, resource assignments, critical paths, and total float.
The baseline schedule is not the same as the current schedule. The current schedule is updated from actual performance data. Therefore, it is the latest depiction of performance and accomplishments, along with the latest forecast of remaining dates and network logic.
The baseline schedule represents the program’s commitments to all stakeholders, while the current schedule represents the actual plan to date.
The current schedule is compared to the baseline schedule to track variances from the plan. Deviations from the baseline inform management that the current plan is not following the original plan all stakeholders have agreed to.
Deviations imply that the current approach to executing the program needs to be altered to align the program to the original plan or that the plan from this point forward should be altered.