In project management, a baseline is a saved version of the project schedule at a given moment in time. Baselines are especially important for tracking the planned project data. Once the project actually begins, you can compare your saved baseline with your actual progress. This will show how far ahead or behind you are from the original project plan.

In Primavera P6, you can create a baseline at any time. As a best practice, you should create your first baseline after adding all project data, before the project begins. Then, you can create additional baselines as you perform status updates. With all these versions of the project schedule saved, you can then compare them and review variances. This can give you better insight on what specific activities may be causing potential delays.

In this article, we will look at how to maintain and assign baselines in Primavera P6 Professional. The following examples are from Primavera P6 Professional 20. However, these tools are available in all versions of P6.

How Do We Use Baselines?

To begin scheduling in Primavera P6, you first need to create a project and build a schedule. Here, you’ll add details about the work that needs to be done prior to project completion. These details include activities, relationships, resources, and costs. Before the project begins, all this data will display as original, or planned data. It’s up to the scheduler to estimate what work needs to get done, and how long it will take. Once you’ve added this data, you’ll have a project plan. This gives you and your team a roadmap to follow to ensure the project completes on time.

At some point, the project will actually begin. Once the project starts, you’ll need to update your schedule in P6 with actual data – such as when tasks actually started and finished. Actual data will save over planned data, so if you want to review your original schedule, you’ll need to save a copy of it. This is where baselines come in. When you create a baseline, it will save the project and all of its data as of a certain date. Even as you begin updating the project with actuals, you’ll always have access to the original project dates. You can even compare your actual data with your planned data to see how far ahead or behind you are from the original schedule.

P6 allows you to create an unlimited number of baselines for any project. Once created, you can compare up to four different baselines with your current schedule at once. It’s often useful to create multiple baselines for a project, such as after every status update. With multiple baselines saved, you can compare your actual data to different points in the project’s past. These comparisons are especially useful for filing claims. When maintained correctly, baselines can help determine which parties are responsible for delays.

Oftentimes, creating and maintaining baselines is a contractual requirement. Even if it’s not required, it’s a scheduling best practice to regularly create baselines.

Creating a Baseline

To create a new baseline in Primavera P6, select Project > Maintain Baselines.

The Maintain Baselines window will open. The top half of the window will display your saved baselines – if you have any. The bottom half allows you to adjust detailed information about those baselines.

In this example, the top of this window shows a folder for my project, expanded. Any baselines created will appear underneath this project folder. If you have multiple projects open, you’ll see folders for all open projects.

When creating a baseline, you only need to have a project open. You don’t need to worry about what’s currently displaying in the Activities screen. When you create a baseline, it will save all project data – rather than just what’s displaying within the table.

To create a baseline for the project, select Add.

A window will open, asking how you’d like to create a baseline. You can choose to either Save a Copy of the Current Version as a New Baseline or Convert Another Project to a New Baseline of the Current Project.

The default option, Save a Copy, will save the project as it is currently to a baseline. This is the option you’ll be using most when creating baselines. Typically, a baseline is a saved copy of the project as it is at this point in time.

The second option, Convert Another Project, lets you use another project as the baseline for the current project. This can be useful if you receive status updates from others as separate project files. With an update as a separate project file, you may need to turn the imported project into a baseline for comparisons. You can also choose this option to compare two separate projects with one another. With another project added as a baseline, you can similarly run schedule comparisons to compare the two.

In this case, I just want to save a copy of the project as it is at this point in time. I’ll keep Save a Copy of the Current Version as New Baseline selected and press Okay.

Immediately, the baseline will appear under the project folder. You have now successfully saved the current project data.

Adjusting Baseline Details

With the baseline created, you can now adjust its details. Select the baseline from the top table and use the bottom Details section to edit it.

In the Baseline Name field, you can set a new name for the baseline. In this example, I’ll name this baseline Original Baseline Version 00.  

Under Baseline Type, you can choose a type to best identify the baseline. This is not a mandatory field and you can leave it blank. For the first project baseline, I recommend using the type Initial Planning Baseline.  

The Data Date field will show the date the project was set to when you created the baseline. The Last Update Date field will tell you today’s date – or the date the baseline was created. These date fields are not editable.

Using Baselines to Compare Schedule Date

With your baseline saved, you can start updating activities. As activities actually start and finish, you’ll update their progress within P6. After each status update, you’ll want to save another baseline. Ultimately, this will provide you with several copies of the project at different points in time.

As your project progresses, you’ll want to compare your planned baseline data with the actual project data. To do this, you’ll need to both assign your baseline and set up a layout for comparison.

Assigning Baselines

Because you can create as many baselines as needed, you’ll need to specify which baseline data to show on the screen. You can do this by assigning baselines.

To assign a baseline, select Project > Assign Baselines. 

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Under Project, choose the project you’re working with (if more than one project is open). Here, you’ll find four different fields you can assign your baseline to: Project, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. Each of these fields relates to specific columns you can add to the Gantt Chart. You can even display data for all four of these baseline fields at once if desired.

In this case, I have just one baseline whose data I want to view. It doesn’t matter which field you use – each relates to specific columns we will add to the table next. In this case, I’ll assign my baseline to the Primary field by selecting my baseline from the dropdown menu. Then, press OK.

Creating a Comparison Layout

To view the assigned baseline’s data, you now  need to configure the layout. First, you’ll want to add some columns to the Activity table. To adjust the displaying columns, select View > Columns.

There are a variety of columns available for baseline data – many of which display under the Dates category . Here, you’ll find columns for Project BL, BL1, BL2, and BL3. These columns will show data for whichever baseline you assigned to the associated spot.

I assigned my baseline to the Primary spot, which relates to the BL1 columns. For comparisons, I recommend adding baseline columns for Start, Finish, and Finish Variance. I’ll choose the BL1 version of each of these columns to show my baseline data. Then, press OK.

Within the table, you can now compare your actual start and finish dates with your baseline dates. The Variance column will show how many days ahead or behind your actual dates are from the baseline dates. A positive number indicates that you’re finishing ahead of schedule, or your actual dates were earlier than the baseline dates. A negative number indicates that you’re finishing behind schedule. Now, you can quickly see if the project is running ahead or behind the original project plan.

You can also add baseline dates to the Gantt Chart. To adjust the Gantt Chart bars, right click on the Gantt Chart and select Bars.

By default, P6 has pre-made bars for each baseline assignment – but they are hidden by default. To turn on a baseline bar, simply check the box next to it. In this case, I’ll turn on the Primary Baseline bar. Then, press OK. 

Now, in the Gantt Chart, thin yellow bars will appear under the current bars. These bars visualize the baseline dates, quickly showing whether you are ahead or behind schedule.

Summary

In scheduling, a baseline is a saved copy of the project at a certain point in time. Baselines are especially useful for tracking the original project plan. When the project actually begins, you’ll update activities with actual data. You can then compare this actual progress with your baseline to see if your activities are running ahead or behind. In P6, you can create a baseline at any time using the Project menu. Once created, you can assign your baseline and adjust your layout to compare all project dates on one screen. With baselines, you’re given more insight on what is happening within your schedule. As activities start and finish, you can compare actual data with baseline data to identify any potential issues or delays.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please use the comment section on the bottom of this page. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to get more Primavera P6 tips & tricks directly in your inbox!

Lauren Hecker is the instructor for the Primavera P6 Professionals training courses. To see her next open enrollment course, please visit our calendar. To schedule an onsite or custom course, please contact us!