Generate project baselines and gain approval
Overview
This standard is about generating project baselines and gaining approval for them, both initially and for any subsequent approved changes.
You will need to assemble information and apply appropriate techniques to set baseline(s) for project delivery. You must present the information in an appropriate format, explaining and justifying how the baseline(s) meets the requirements of delivering the project and enables project control.
Who this standard is for
This standard is for project controls-related roles, including project controls engineers, estimators, planners, schedulers, cost controllers, risk analysts, risk managers and contract managers.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- identify and collate the information required to produce a project baseline across cost, schedule and risk
- confirm with project stakeholders that the information collated is correct and that the coding structures reflect this
- generate initial baselines, as required:
- for estimates, costs and schedules
- that integrate scope, cost, schedule, risks, assumptions, and contingencies for time and cost
- taking into consideration types of projects through:
- project complexity
- types of delivery model
- phases/maturity of the project
- justify that the baseline meets requirements of the project
- gain approval for baseline(s) and effectively communicating information on baseline(s) to stakeholders in an appropriate format
- use a baseline to produce a cash flow projection, cost profile and resource profile
- maintain the baseline as required, following change control procedures and gaining approval, and utilising version control
- set the strategy for the management of the baseline, especially in relation to change management
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
- the principles of generating a baseline that enables the control of projects
- the information required to generate a baseline and the sources of information
- integrated baseline reviews
- the principles of cost, schedule and risk techniques that can be used to generate a baseline and how to apply them
- the factors that influence the accuracy of baselines
- different project types and how a baseline process and the physical baseline may differ depending on the type
- the different styles and formats that can be used for presenting and justifying a baseline to gain authorisation for use
- how to establish the project cash flow, cost profile and resource profile from the baseline and how this supports earned value management
- principles of configuration management and how it supports definitions of change and configuration control
- the management of the baseline throughout the project life cycle and how to apply change control to meet requirements
- that projects may utilise multiple baselines
Scope/range
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Baseline
A fixed reference point to measure and compare your project’s progress against, including the progress of different project attributes, including schedule, cost, scope, risk and carbon or other environmental hazards.
This baseline will be the basis for variance identification and reporting.
Additional Information:
Delivery model
These may include:
- Internally delivered and managed
- Internally managed and delivered through supply chain
- Supply chain delivered
Information required
Information required to establish a baseline may include:
- work scope
- asset breakdown structures
- product breakdown structures
- work breakdown structures
- cost breakdown structures
- cost estimates
- carbon estimates or estimates for other environmental hazards
- risks and risk plan
- schedules
- information and reporting requirements for all stakeholders
- basis of estimates
- basis of schedules
- basis of risk