Baselines

A project baseline lets you take a snapshot of the current project plan for future reporting and comparisons. With a project baseline, a project lead or project owner can save the entire project plan estimated dates to track project progress once the project starts.

This page discusses:

Columns

You can create multiple baselines for a project. A project baseline is a scheduling replica of a project. Once created, a project baseline has a start and end date and it cannot be modified or deleted. The baseline start date of the first baseline is the project creation date and the baseline finish date is the current date. For the second baseline onwards, the baseline start date is the same as the baseline end date of the previous baseline.

This topic describes the Baselines tab. For information about the columns in the Structure tab, which displays the schedule structure of a baseline, see Experiment Structure. To display a baseline's structure, click the baseline name in the Baselines tab.

To access this page:

  1. Open a project. See Opening a Project.
  2. In the navigation pane, click Schedule > Baselines tab.

This topic describes:

Field Name Description
Name The name of the project or project baseline.
Type The type can be Project Space or Project Baseline.
State The lifecycle state of the project.
The difference in duration between this baseline and its predecessor project or baseline.
Duration The estimated duration in days or hours for a project or baseline.
Start Date The estimated start date for a project or baseline.
End Date The estimated end date for a project or baseline.
Start Date The baseline start date.
End Date The baseline end date.
Creator The creator of the project or baseline.
Total Float The total float is the amount of delay time allowed for the task without delaying the project. Total Float = LS (Late Start) – ES (Early Start). It is also calculated by LF (Late Finish) – EF (Early Finish).
Free Float The amount of time that a task can be delayed without delaying the early start date of a successor task or violating a schedule constraint. Free Float = Lowest ES (Early Start) of successors – EF (Early Finish) of the task.
Critical Task The icon identifies a critical task in the baseline structure, including sub-baselines.
Description The description of the project or baseline.

Actions/Toolbar Commands

Action Description
Create Creates a baseline. The project must be in the Preliminary, Ready or In Work state. Float values and the overall critical path for the baseline is calculated during creation of the baseline.

If a project has a subproject, a baseline for the subproject is also created. A project baseline created for a project that is added as a subproject in another project is also listed under the subproject. The Creator column for that baseline is highlighted in yellow.

Compare Compares two selected baselines in the Structure tab.
Delete Deletes the baselines you select. A message displays listing the baselines you are not allowed to delete. If you delete an intermediate baseline, for example, in a project having three baselines, there will be a mismatch in the end date of the first baseline and the start date of the last baseline. You must be a Project Owner or the baseline creator to delete a baseline.
Enable Edit Lets you change the Name or Description. You can use Mass Update to change these fields for every project or baseline. Click Save when done editing.