Capture Baselines

PM Central allows project managers to create baselines for improved project and task management. You can create baselines for:

• Project Schedule
• Project Cost
• Scheduled Tasks

What Is a Baseline?

Baselines allow project managers to compare and track changes that occur to a project schedule. A baseline is a snapshot of project information (such as information about tasks, resources and assignments) that is taken before the project is updated with progress. Baselines let project managers compare the changes in dates, cost, work and more throughout a project's duration.

INSTRUCTIONS

Baselines are created in the project site's Tasks tab under Baseline View.

To capture a baseline:

1) Update the Budget Cost and Budget Work for the project. 

2) Create tasks. Allocate resources to those tasks, then update the schedule. 

3) Update the project's cost and schedule in Tasks > Progress Management > Update Project Cost & Schedule to get the Project Cost and Project Work values. If you do not update the budget cost, budget work, project cost or project schedule before baselining, the Project Cost Baseline Web Part will not display any values because it will not have any data.

4) In the project site's Tasks > All Tasks tab, make sure that the task information is updated and recalculated before you capture the baseline. To update the task information, click Recalculate.

5) Go to the project site's Tasks > Baseline View tab and choose the baseline that you want to capture:

• Project Schedule
• Project Cost
• Scheduled Tasks

Click Capture Baseline from the toolbar.

6) The baseline is displayed. The green progress bar represents the baseline; the blue progress bar displays the actual project.

Use the baseline to monitor changes to the project's schedule, cost and tasks.

To remove the baseline, click Clear Baseline. Users can save up to 10 baselines throughout the project life cycle.

After you capture the baseline, you can update the task progress and the project cost and schedule in Tasks > Progress Management.