Problems caused not having a project baseline
There are at least six possible problems that may occur when a strong project baseline is absent:
- Inadequate resourcing: If you don’t have a planned schedule, you may not know which resources you will need and when.
- Schedule delays (due to mistimed procurement, material delivery, etc.): Without knowing when you need material, it’s difficult to ensure it’s ordered on time, especially if it’s something that needs to be ordered weeks or months in advance.
- Issues with quality management: An unclear scope baseline can result in substandard quality. For example, if you know paint is needed but not what color or finish, the outcome may not meet the customer’s quality standards.
- A lack of proper change management: Without baselines in place, it’s difficult to track and manage changes. You have no yardstick to measure against, so it can be challenging to know if your outcome is different than originally expected.
- The inability to accurately report progress: As with the earlier example, it’s difficult to tell if you’re running behind schedule if you don’t have a baseline to compare against.
- Customer and/or sponsor dissatisfaction: Any of the five problems above can result in poor project performance, which will mean unhappy stakeholders, including your customer and/or sponsor.