Project Baseline: A copy of the project tasks as they were at some point in time, which you can refer to at a later date.
Here is an example of two project tasks immediately after setting the project baseline. Notice that the ‘Baseline 1 Work’ field has been copied from the ‘Work’ field. As the ‘Work’ field changes throughout the project, the baseline is still available for comparison. How did we do this? Easy. Just choose Tools, Tracking, Set Baseline within Microsoft Project.
Here we see the ‘Work’ field changed and the ‘Baseline’ unchanged.
Want an easier solution?
Baselining can be complicated and confusing, so “Sir Ganttalot” (a YouTube celebrity) has come up with an easy alternative. Click here to see the YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7BJ6%5F1pcgc
Essentially, Ganttalot creates a customized field named “Finish Date Changed” to identify tasks that have changed. Graphical arrow indicators tell whether a finish date has slipped in the future or has tightened up. These graphical indicators are easier to spot than comparing textual finish dates to baseline finish dates. It shows you at-a-glance what’s changed from week to week. Slick, I’d say!