Project Manager: How to Baseline a Project

LA HABRA, Calif. - March 12, 2013 - PRLog -- La Habra, CA, March 12, 2013 /Project Manager/ Project Manager Ltd. has yet released another Whiteboard Session video and this time, it is about Baselining. There are tons of definitions about what baselining is; on this video release, Project Manager Ltd. defined it as the approved plan for a certain project, plus or minus the changes. A project baseline is the primary plan without the flexible variants like budget, schedule etc.

Watch the How to Baseline a Project video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX7wp2Jv9nU



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There are different methodologies when it comes to Baselining a project; this depends on the genre of the project and what it is all about. Project Manager Ltd., who happens help manage different projects, shared their insights, in an outlook that generalizes baselining to pinpoint its important factors and how it affects the success or failure of the project.

Jennifer Whitt – Bridges, Director of Project Manager Ltd. was the one who proctored the whiteboard session about How to Baseline  a Project. What she said about Baselining is that “I always reference definitions, so you can Google “baseline” and see what it is. There are different references. There are different methodologies. I’m usually going to be referencing the “Project Management Body of Knowledge” by PMI. This one specifically is the fourth edition.” which means that even Whitt – Bridges believe that there are different sources of how Baselining is defined. “The way PMI references a baseline is it’s an approved plan for a project, plus or minus any changes. Things, we know, do change on a project. We finally get the project documented, we get the schedule, we get the baseline, and we get everything done, but as soon as we do, we know it changes.” She added.

If baselining has a lot of different definitions, there could also be a lot of different methods of doing it; but in general, what are the important keynotes that a project manager should know and do? What are the things that we baseline? The things that we baseline are the schedule. We baseline the schedule. We baseline the cost. We baseline the scope and any other sub-plans within the project. So these three – the schedule, cost and the scope – are what many consider the performance measurement baseline. That’s what the performance of the project is based upon along the way, and these components are what are used for EVA, the earned value analysis.” As what Whitt – Bridges said, these are the important keynotes in baselining a project.

Why Baseline a Project?

Whitt – Bridges answered this question by saying that “- -the baseline is what everyone is agreeing to. The baseline is agreed upon by the Change Control Board, which includes the stakeholders and all other parties that are approved in the project plan to have approval and say for the project, and it’s what the project is measured against. So for sure you want to baseline. But what happens, many times I’ve seen, is once when the project is started or talked about, many times the project begins initiating and being implemented without a baseline being set. They get down through the project and the baseline isn’t set, so then trouble begins to occur. You want to do it because it’s agreed upon and measured against.” Most likely, baselining is important to know what is the least to expect and for project teams to know that there is development or failure in their project during implementation since they have something to look at and compare to.

Baselining is one of the basic parts of a project and to mess up with this key item could create vital effects to the proposed project. This is the reason why baselining should always be done right after the approval of the project proposal.

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Resources

Project Manager’s How to Baseline a Project Video:
http://www.projectmanager.com/what-baselining-is-all-about-3.php

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Submitted by: Ralph Jasper Ramirez Jose

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