When you update your schedule relationships, how can you include those relationship changes in your existing baseline?
The baseline is a static copy of the schedule and functions as a ruler to measure progress. Schedules can have multiple baselines; one should be created to show the entire schedule plan before any progress.
Adding an activity to a schedule does not automatically update the activity attributes in the existing baseline. We demonstrated how, after task insertion, to update the baseline to include the task’s baseline project start and baseline project finish and a (yellow) bar for the Gantt chart; we did this in the blog Updating a Baseline in Primavera P6.
This referenced blog, however, does not discuss how to include edited schedule relationships in the baseline updates. The default settings in the P6 Professional update baseline options do not include task relationship updates.
Suppose part of your intention is to restore the updated baseline as a complete working copy of the project. In that case, you will want relationship changes to be reflected in your baseline update.
This article demonstrates how the baseline update default options do not include any schedule relationships changes and, second, how we include task relationships in a baseline update.
Demonstration – Insert New Schedule Task
Figure 1 shows a schedule and an existing baseline in yellow.
In Figure 2, we added a new activity but did not connect it to the schedule logic.
In Figure 3, we created new relationships to connect this activity with Lay Rebar and Pour Concrete.
We calculate the schedule to place the new activity in the schedule logic properly. The new activity embedded in the schedule logic appears in the Figure 4 Gantt chart.
Observe that its baseline date fields are not populated (BL Project Start and BL Project Finish), and there is no Gantt chart (yellow) bar for this new activity, Figure 4. We need to update the baseline for these to appear.
Demonstration Baseline Update – Relationships Excluded
We first demonstrate a baseline update using the default “update baseline options.”
We choose Project | Maintain Baselines…
We select baseline B1 and click Update, Figure 5.
In the Update Baseline dialogue, Figure 6, we choose Update Options.
In Figure 7, we note that relationships are not included in the baseline update.
Again, excluding relationships is the default setting for the update options. In Figure 8, we click to update the baseline.
To view how this baseline update affected the schedule, we copy the updated baseline and then restore the copy. We choose Project | Maintain Baselines, then copy this updated baseline, Figure 9.
We then restore the baseline copy as a project in the Enterprise Project Structure (EPS), Figure 10.
Figure 11 shows the updated and restored schedule.
The new activity is placed in the schedule but not linked properly to the logic. This baseline schedule is only good for measuring progress; it is not a working copy of the project schedule.
Demonstration Baseline Update – Relationships Included
Figure 12 shows the inserted activity, similar to the beginning of the prior demonstration.
In Figure 13, we click to update the baseline.
We then choose the Update Options button, Figure 14.
This time, we toggled to include Relationships in the baseline update, Figure 15.
We then update the baseline, Figure 16.
We want to view how this baseline update affected the schedule. As before, we copied the updated baseline and restored the copy as a project in the EPS. In Figure 17, we copy of the updated baseline.
In Figure 18, we restore the updated baseline copy to a complete working schedule of the project in the EPS.
Figure 19 displays the baseline project schedule.
Note that the relationships connecting the New Activity in the schedule logic appear when the project schedule is opened. This makes for a good working file of the updated project schedule.
Summary
There are several update options to choose from when updating a baseline. If you want your baseline to reflect the updated schedule logic, you must include the relationships option in the update options. In this way, you have an up-to-date baseline for measuring progress or, if restored, a working copy of your project before progressing the schedule.