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About this lesson
The integrated project plan that includes scope, schedule, and resource information for all aspects of the project is the project baseline plan.
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Quick reference
Baseline Plan
The integrated project plan that includes scope, schedule, and resource information for all aspects of the project is the project baseline plan.
When to use
The baseline plan has two primary uses. The first is during project planning. The baseline plan integrates the estimates from all Core Team members along with other project planning information to ensure the project plan is viable. The second use is during project execution. The baseline plan is used to communicate to senior management and the project team the expectations for conducting the work of the project. The project team performance will be assessed against the baseline plan. The plan can be changed when a project boundary is changed, or a major replan is initiated due to a risk or issue, but that again requires a formal change to the plan.
Instructions
- The baseline plan is normally created by the project manager as the project manager integrates the planning inputs from each core team member. Project management software or other planning tools are helpful when integrating complex projects. The baseline plan is comprised of the scope plan, the schedule plan and the project budget.
- Once all items have been integrated, the project manager and core team members look for inconsistencies and incompatibilities between the various inputs, such as milestone misalignment or resource over-allocation.
- These inconsistencies and incompatibilities are resolved by the project manager and core team members.
- The plan is then reviewed for risk areas. The risks are prioritized and risk response plans are created for the high risks. The risk response plans are incorporated into the project baseline plan.
(Note: up until this time, the baseline plan has been in draft mode and is being regularly changed and updated by the project core team.)
- When planning is complete, the baseline plan is approved per the project management methodology and the plan now goes under change control.
- The project manager and core team use the baseline plan to direct their activities and report on progress.
- When required, the baseline plan can be changed through the formal project change control approach used by the business.
Definition
Baseline: “The approved version of a work product that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results.” PMBOK® Guide
This definition is taken from the Glossary of the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017.
Hints & tips
The more detail there is in the plan, the less flexibility the core team has to accomodate day-to-day variations. However, the less detail there is in the plan the more team meetings are needed to keep activities coordinated.
The need for project reviews is inversely correlated to the amount of detail in the baseline plan.
Login to download- 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
- 00:06 I'd to talk about another aspect of project planning and project control.
- 00:10 And that's called the baseline plan.
- 00:14 The Project Management Body of Knowledge, the PMBOK Guide, defines a baseline as,
- 00:20 the approved version of a work product that can be changed only through formal
- 00:24 change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results.
- 00:30 The baseline plan is the final result of the project planning process.
- 00:34 There's a baseline for everything that the project team will do and
- 00:38 be measured against.
- 00:39 It's sometimes referred to as a performance measurement baseline.
- 00:43 It's often expressed with three components to represent the project management triple
- 00:47 constraint.
- 00:48 There is a Scope Baseline, and that is the plan for all of the tasks and
- 00:52 activities that identify the deliverables.
- 00:55 A schedule baseline that shows the start and end date of the activities and
- 00:59 any other project milestones.
- 01:01 And a cost baseline that indicates how much money each of these activities cost
- 01:07 and when the spending will occur.
- 01:09 The combination of these three is the performance measurement baseline
- 01:12 that is put under configuration management control and
- 01:15 cannot be changed without a formal project being processed.
- 01:20 A project baseline is an integration function of project management.
- 01:24 For a very small one or two person project a formal baseline may not be needed.
- 01:29 But on large projects with many project team members and stakeholders the baseline
- 01:33 is the integration of the project planning components.
- 01:37 The inputs used to create the project baseline will come from several sources.
- 01:42 The primary source is the project core team.
- 01:44 Each member will plan the activities for
- 01:46 their portion of the project, the baseline that brings all of these together.
- 01:52 I often have used templates and
- 01:53 checklist to guide the integration of the project planning inputs into a baseline.
- 01:58 I also will use the project charter to be certain
- 02:01 that the core team did not overlook a deliverable, and that the resulting
- 02:05 integrated project baseline is within the boundaries and constraints of the charter.
- 02:10 The integration activities of creating a baseline is often at synchronization
- 02:14 activity.
- 02:15 Each element of the project makes sense by itself, but
- 02:18 it must be blended with the other elements.
- 02:21 For instance, there are linkages between tasks.
- 02:24 One task cannot start until another task is completed.
- 02:27 Several tasks must finish to complete a deliverable.
- 02:31 Also there are often milestones that must be aligned.
- 02:34 Each of the core team members are completing tasks and
- 02:36 preparing deliverables that is supporting a particular project milestone.
- 02:40 The timing of the milestones needs to be synchronized.
- 02:44 A major element of this synchronization is resource usage.
- 02:48 Multiple task may require support from the same shared resource pool.
- 02:52 The overlap and timing of this tasks can overlord that resource pool and
- 02:57 lead to shortages.
- 02:58 The timing of the use of shared resources
- 03:01 is resolved as part of creating a project baseline.
- 03:04 Ultimately, the creation of a baseline plan is a risk management activity.
- 03:09 Inevitably, there will be tasks that are not properly linked,
- 03:12 milestones not in alignment and resources that are over allocated.
- 03:17 These are project management risks.
- 03:19 They may not lead to a failure of the project to complete the work, but
- 03:23 they may lead to a failure to complete it in a timely manner and within budget.
- 03:28 These risk become evident when integrating the baseline, and
- 03:31 can be proactively resolved during planning, rather than overlooking them and
- 03:35 then causing an issue during the project execution.
- 03:39 So let's discuss how we use the baseline plan.
- 03:42 One way is to communicate the intent of what we will do in the project.
- 03:45 We can communicate with both stakeholders and team members the expectations for
- 03:50 project performance.
- 03:51 In addition, the baseline provide strong guidance to the team.
- 03:55 The baseline is what is expected and what will be measured.
- 03:59 The core team is counting on each person to accomplish their part of the baseline.
- 04:04 Changes can be made, but not easily because it begins to affect everyone and
- 04:08 everything else.
- 04:10 However, the baseline should provide for
- 04:12 some flexibility to manage the day to day give and take of project work.
- 04:17 I don't put microtask level detail in the baseline.
- 04:20 Remember, to change the baseline requires a processing of a formal change request.
- 04:26 I don't wanna deal with change request and change boards just because someone
- 04:31 needs to move a microtask one day or two because of a doctor's appointment.
- 04:35 So I have some level of flexibility for the core team to manage.
- 04:39 This is a judgement call.
- 04:41 Too much flexibility and the project gets out of sync.
- 04:44 But not enough flexibility and
- 04:46 the project team members start doing stupid things in order to meet
- 04:50 details within the baseline, which leads to a reduction in project performance.
- 04:56 An interesting aspect of baseline management that I've observed
- 04:59 is that the more detail you have at a baseline plan,
- 05:02 the fewer reviewers that are required.
- 05:04 Everyone knows exactly what to do, and they stay in lock step following the plan.
- 05:09 The project is rigid, but since the expectations are very clear,
- 05:14 integration meetings are only needed for real problems.
- 05:18 When the plan is loose and has more flexibility, more reviews are required.
- 05:23 Inevitably, elements to the project will get out of sync when there is very little
- 05:27 detail in the plan.
- 05:28 So you can do a very detailed plan and only a few reviews and
- 05:32 meetings, but little flexibility.
- 05:34 Or quickly create a high level plan, but then conduct frequent reviews and
- 05:39 meetings along the way to integrate project activities and deliverables.
- 05:45 You know at it's core, the project baseline is a risk management tool.
- 05:49 It integrates and synchronizes the project planning elements.
- 05:53 It sets expectations and
- 05:55 is the performance measure of baseline used to check project progress.
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