Setting a baseline when using a phased approach

Hello lylesmh,

Welcome to the deep end of the pool.

It sounds like you are moving in the right direction.  Understanding the need for a baseline is a fundamental first step that a remarkable number of people seem to forget.  It has also been my observation over the years that at least 80% of the people that "use" Microsoft Project, do the initial planning with it and then forget about it.  It sounds like you want to use it to manage your project life cycle and this too is a strong positive indicator for your future.

The first thing you should always keep in mind is that the project baseline represents a contract between the project manager (you) and your principal stake holders (the people that write your paycheck).  You need to protect it carefully, keep it as stable as possible and formally document each change (when, why it was changed, who (which stakeholder) approved the change).  This is critical because this is the basis for measuring your performance as a project manager when else is said and done.

So much for the motherhood and apple pie.

Microsoft Project allows you to store a total of eleven baselines.  The baseline used in the default tracking views is simply called baseline.  While you can build your own views to use other baselines, this one is easier to work with.  The other 10 baselines are simply numbered and can be found as baseline1 through baseline10.  Remember that baselines are not a complete copy of your project.  They store Start, Finish, Work, Duration and Costs.

Start by saving your baseline before any work begins, as soon as your stakeholders approve your plan.  As a matter of practice, I generally copy this original baseline to one of the other numbered baselines (just in case I do something silly).  To copy a baseline select Tools | Tracking | Set Baseline.  In the Set baseline dialog, select the Interim Plan option, select Baseline on the Copy drop down menu, select the numbered baseline you want to use on the Into drop down menu, be sure Entire Project is selected and click the OK button.  I also make it a practice to save a dated copy of the entire project plan in a separate folder on my computer each time I modify a baseline.

The project management terms used to describe the type of planning you are using include "Progressive Elaboration" and "Way Forward Planning". This means that you have a detailed (and approved) project plan for the current phase and a rough plan for future phases.

There are a couple of ways to implement these methods in Microsoft Project.  

You can wait untill the end of the current phase, get your stakeholders approval for the next phase and save a whole new baseline.  Its easy, but you can loose a lot of the original baseline details.  If your organization does things this way, be sure to back up your plan first.

When possible, I prefer to add incremental changes to the existing baseline.  To do this:

  Start by backing up your project plan (stuff happens...)
  Copy your baseline to a numbered baseline
  Carefully select each of your new tasks
  Open the Set Baseline dialog
    Select Set Baseline option and select Baseline in the drop down menu
    Select the For Selected Tasks option
    Check both of the Rollup option boxes
    Click the OK button
  Check your results carefully

The first and last steps are absolutely critical.  If the results are not what you expected or if you didn't get your tasks selected just right, you can always close the project and use the backup you saved before starting.

Remember that you only get to keep 10 additional baseline versions in the project plan before you have to start overwriting data.  Keep a separate written project log with the when, why, who and other details each time you touch a baseline.  Over the span of a project's life cycle it is easy to forget which baseline was used for what.

Finally, allow me to recommend the book "Dynamic Scheduling with Microsoft Project 2003" by Eric Uyttewaal, ISBN 1-932159-45-2.  It is an easy read and probably the best book ever written on this topic.

Does this answer your questions?

Bob Segrest, PMP
Microsoft Project blackbelt