Baseline and Current Schedule

Hi Edwin

You are correct in your statement that the baseline is frozen and your current schedule is a live document that changes as and when you update the schedule. Be careful with making logic changes or changing duration, with the exception of the remaining durations. 

I suggest that, when updating the schedule, display the baseline bar, in P6 this bar is colored yellow, in the layout so that any difference in as planned and actual is visible.  

Johannes

Hi Edwin

In Asta PowerProject the baseline is not frozen.

If you have the software you can go to the baseline programme and make any changes you want - a function that irresponsible delay analysts sometimes try to use.

Sometimes - if the changes are to dramatic - you will not be able to merge new data into the baseline.

Changing the live programme will not affect the baseline - you need to see the differences.

In P3 the underlying programme is called the Target programme - this is because P3 is so old that it predates delay analysis where the term Baseline first originated.

Best regards

Mike Testro

Edwin,

Most (if not all) software will allow you to ammend a baseline, but yes in general terms it should be frozen.

The current programme is absolutely a live document which should be continuously revised to ensure it always represents the project team's actual progress to date, and actual intentions for the future.

Normally the variances this generates with the baseline become a key part of monitoring the project's progress -a method to understand the cumulative effect of all the changes you have made to the programme.

However if a change causes very dramatic variances to the baseline (say for example a building worth 25% of the project which was originally planned to be done early, has now ben pushed back to the end of the project), then it can make comparisons to the baseline largely meaningless. At this point, it can be appropriate to set a new baseline to track the project against. -Depending on the circumstances, this new baseline can either be an addition to, ammendment of, or replacement for, the original baseline

One other thing to be aware of is deleting activities from your current schedule. -This can mean you also effectively delete the activity and assoicated budget from your baseline. Often it is better to just claim the activity you want to delete as complete, stitch the logical links around the activity, and make a note / ammend the description to show the activity is on longer required.

Cheers,

G