The types of baseline
Most frameworks describe three baselines and one that combines them:
- Scope baseline: the agreed deliverables and what is excluded.
- Schedule baseline: the approved milestones and dates.
- Cost baseline: the approved budget, usually spread over time.
- Performance measurement baseline: scope, schedule and cost combined, used to measure variance. Some teams list a quality baseline as a fourth type instead.
How a baseline is used
During delivery, the question is always the same: where are we against the plan we agreed? A baseline answers it by showing variance, such as a milestone two weeks late or a budget 20% over. It should change only through an agreed change request, otherwise it stops being a reference.
In Worksynk
Worksynk does not keep a formal baseline document. The agreed plan lives on the project as milestone dates and a budget, and progress against it shows up as budget threshold alerts and a delivery confidence score captured daily, so the trend is visible rather than a single snapshot.