How to Use Baselines in Microsoft Project

Edited 3 weeks ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

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Introduction

Managing a project can be quite challenging, especially when it involves multiple tasks, resources, and deadlines. This is where Microsoft Project comes in. Microsoft Project is a project management software that helps project managers plan, execute, and monitor projects efficiently. One of its key features is the concept of baselines. A baseline in project management is a fixed reference point that tracks the project's estimated schedule, cost, and scope. Understanding how to effectively use baselines in Microsoft Project is crucial to keeping your project on track and managing any deviations from the plan.

What is a baseline?

The baseline in Microsoft Project serves as a snapshot of your project at a particular point in time. It is essentially a benchmark for what you plan to achieve during the lifetime of your project. By setting a baseline, you create a comparison between your initial project plan and the actual progress of the project. This allows you to track performance and make necessary adjustments if things don't go as expected.

The project baseline usually includes elements such as start and end date, duration, tasks, cost, and scope. When changes occur in your project, comparing actual progress with the baseline helps to identify differences in time. These comparisons can then form the basis for taking corrective actions to ensure that the project moves in the right direction.

Why use a baseline?

Using baselines in Microsoft Project offers several benefits:

• Performance measurement: Baselines provide a reference for measuring and evaluating your project's performance over time.
• Progress tracking: By comparing planned and actual progress, you can easily track whether your project is ahead, on time, or behind.
• Budget Monitoring: Baseline helps monitor whether your project costs are within the allocated budget.
• Forecasting: Baselines help forecast future performance based on current progress and trends.
• Decision Making: Having a clear understanding of project variations helps make more informed decisions.

How to set a baseline in Microsoft Project

Setting a baseline in Microsoft Project is a straightforward process. When you first create your project plan, and you're confident that everything is up-to-date, you can capture the current state as a baseline.

Steps to determine a baseline

Here's how you can set a baseline in Microsoft Project:

1. Open your project: Start by opening your Microsoft Project file that contains the plan you want to baseline.
2. Switch to the Project tab: Click the "Project" tab in the ribbon at the top of your window. This tab contains options related to overall project settings.
3. Set a baseline: In the "Schedule" group, you'll find the "Set Baseline" button. Click on it, and a menu with various options will appear.
4. Choose a baseline option: From the dropdown, select "Set Baseline...". This opens the "Set Baseline" dialog box.
5. Select the baseline number: If you want to store multiple baselines for the project, in the "Set Baseline" dialog, choose from "Baseline" or "Baseline 1", "Baseline 2", etc.
6. Select Entire Project or Selected Tasks: Decide whether you want to set a baseline for the entire project or specific tasks. Typically, the entire project is selected, but in some scenarios, you may want to set a baseline only for specific tasks.
7. Click OK: Once your selections are made, click "OK." Microsoft Project will create a baseline, which you can now use for comparison as your project progresses.

Viewing and using baselines

After you define a baseline, you can view the baseline data and analyze it against actual project performance through various views and reports in Microsoft Project.

Scene

Microsoft Project provides several views that display basic information:

• Gantt Chart View: One of the most common views where baseline bars appear below the actual work bars. This provides a visual comparison of planned vs. actual duration.
• Work Sheet and Work Usage views: You can add baseline fields to these views, such as "Baseline Start", "Baseline End", and "Baseline Cost", to compare with actual and remaining elements.

Reports

Microsoft Project provides built-in reporting capabilities that allow you to include baseline data. To add baseline data to a report, go to the "Reports" tab, select a report type, and include the baseline fields to compare planned versus actual progress.

Revising the baseline

There may be times when significant changes to a project require re-baselining. Re-baselining involves setting a new baseline to take into account major changes or refinements to the project's scope, schedule, or cost.

Steps to revise baseline

To modify a baseline in Microsoft Project:

1. Reevaluate: Consider whether the changes made to your project are significant enough to require a revision of the baseline. This decision should not be taken lightly as it affects historical comparisons.
2. Determine a new baseline: If the new baseline seems reasonable, follow the steps described earlier to determine a baseline. If you want to keep the original baseline for comparison purposes, make sure you choose a different baseline (for example, using "Baseline 1, Baseline 2").
3. Inform stakeholders: Be sure to inform relevant stakeholders about this change, including the rationale and implications for project reporting and tracking.

Practical example of using a baseline

Let's consider a simple example of how baselines can be beneficial in a practical scenario. Let's assume you are managing a small software development project.

Initial planning

During the initial planning phase, you create tasks for different phases: design, development, testing, and deployment. You estimate that the whole project will take 6 months and allocate a certain budget to each phase.

Setting a baseline

After finalizing your estimates, you set this plan as a baseline, including all start and end dates, costs, and task durations. This serves as your reference point.

Project implementation

As the project progresses, you periodically update Microsoft Project with actual task completions, resources consumed, and costs incurred. The baseline allows you to see if the development phase, for example, is taking longer than planned or if the testing phase is under budget.

Variance analysis

The data thus obtained, such as "variance started", "variance cost", can be analyzed to identify where the project deviates from the plan. If the development phase is 2 weeks behind, a variance report can guide managers to adjust resources or scope as needed to re-align project goals.

Final adjustments

After some course corrections and project meetings, you determine adjustments to the task duration and budget. If these changes are now part of the accepted plan, you might consider re-basing to maintain an up-to-date reference, but retain the prior baselines for historical comparison.

Tips for effective baseline management

To maximize the usefulness of baselines in your projects, consider these best practices:

• Strategic scheduling: Set baselines at logical points in the project lifecycle, such as the approval phase or major milestones.
• Controlled Change: Again, limit the baseline, keeping it in mind primarily for changes within the scope approved by the stakeholders.
• Comprehensive recording: Baseline all critical elements such as time, cost and resources to ensure a holistic view of project progress.
• Stakeholder communications: Regularly communicate baseline data and insights to keep all parties united and informed.

Conclusion

Using baselines effectively in Microsoft Project can greatly improve the way you plan, track, and manage projects. Baselines not only help maintain project transparency but also provide critical information for real-time adjustments and strategic planning. By understanding and leveraging baselines, you can make better decisions and ultimately improve the chances of a project being completed on time and within budget.

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