A project baseline is a fixed reference point that can be used to compare project performance over time. Capturing multiple project baselines allows you to understand how the status of a project (e.g. the schedule, cost, etc.) has changed throughout the project’s lifecycle.
Follow these steps to set a baseline for your project:
1. From the Project menu, click the Set Baseline dropdown and then click Set Baseline…
2. In the Set Baseline dialog, ensure Set baseline > Baseline is selected, and in the For: section, Entire project should be selected. Click OK.
If you add the Baseline Start and Baseline Finish fields to your project, you will see that the project baseline has been set.
As the project progresses you may add one or more additional tasks to the schedule. To set a baseline for the new task(s) and not for the whole project:
- Select the task(s) you want to baseline and from the Project menu click the Set Baseline dropdown and the click Set Baseline…
- In the Set Baseline dialog, ensure Set baseline > Baseline is selected, and in the For: section, Selected tasks should be selected. Click OK.
Learn More
In the upcoming MPUG live event, Loading the Bases: Leveraging the Power of Baselines in Your Project, Ira Brown will cover the fundamentals of working with baselines, including why and how to create them. He will also share best practices regarding baseline usage, such as visualizing variances between different baselines, and what these variances actually mean. Finally, you will learn some tips for extending the out-of-the-box baselining capability available with Microsoft Project.
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