Project Performance Baseline

Performance Measurement Baseline

• A performance measurement baseline is typically established for an entire project and can be broken down to a more granular level in a work breakdown structure (WBS).
• It consists of three baselines: project scope baseline, project schedule baseline, and project cost baseline.

Project Scope Baseline

• A scope baseline defines and documents the scope of a project clearly and in sufficient detail from the beginning.
• It is a bundle of scope-related documents that sets out the approved scope of a project.
• The scope baseline consists of:
• The approved project scope statement
• The work breakdown structure (WBS) including control accounts, planning packages, and work packages
• The associated WBS dictionary
• A project scope statement is a written definition of the project scope, describing the goals, main deliverables, and other characteristics of a project.
• A work breakdown structure (WBS) refers to the breakdown of project deliverables into smaller, manageable pieces of work.
• The WBS dictionary accompanies the work breakdown structure with details on all its constituents, including an identifier, an outline of the work, responsibilities, assumptions, and estimations.

Project Schedule Baseline

• A schedule baseline is the planned schedule of the project after its approval by relevant stakeholders.
• It is typically the output of the schedule development process and becomes a component of the project management plan.
• The schedule baseline is used to measure and monitor the performance of a project.
• A schedule baseline comprises:
• The documented planned project schedule (sometimes referred to as a schedule model)
• The approval by the relevant stakeholders
• The detailed components of the schedule baseline may vary among projects, but essential information reflected in the baseline includes:
• Sequence of project activities
• Dependencies between activities, including leads and lags
• Activity durations
• Planned/baselined start and finish dates of activities
• Underlying assumptions and constraints
• Resource requirements
• Other elements necessary for the schedule planning of the project

Project Cost Baseline

• A cost baseline is the budget allocated to project activities based on cost estimates.
• Both the schedule and cost baselines include contingency reserves but do not contain management reserves.

Learn about performance measurement baseline in project management, including its establishment, breakdown, and components in a work breakdown structure (WBS).