Benefits of a project baseline
There are three main benefits of having an approved project baseline:
- Improved estimates: The ability to measure your actual cost, schedule, or scope against a baseline can help provide insight into where a project has under- or over-performed. This knowledge can then be used to improve future project plans and estimates.
- Better performance assessments: As mentioned above, a baseline provides a standard to measure a project’s progress. Without one, it is difficult to compare how a project is performing.
- Calculating earned value: Earned value (EV) allows you to compare actual performance against your plan. But, it’s more than a simple performance assessment tool. It also enables you to analyze project trends and forecast whether a project is expected to run into problems in the future.