A baseline is a snapshot of an initiative and everything within it, taken at a point in time. Amplify keeps it alongside the live data, so you can compare where things are now against where they were planned to be — on dashboards, ledgers, and the schedule. Baselines are usually taken at key moments, such as when a business case is approved or a stage gate is passed.
This article covers both the Advanced and Simple Models. For switching baselines on, and the permissions that control them, see Configuring Baselines. For taking, updating, and managing baselines, see Taking and Updating Baselines.
What a baseline records
A baseline is taken on one initiative, and records it and everything beneath it in the hierarchy:
- The initiatives themselves, their fields, and where they sit in the hierarchy.
- Benefits and measures, with their plan, forecast, and actual values.
- Costs, with their budget, forecast, and actual values.
- Tasks and milestones from the schedule.
- Stage gate history.
The live data carries on changing as normal. The baseline stays as it was, unless it's an editable baseline that's updated later.
Editable and non-editable baselines
There are two kinds of baseline:
- Non-editable — locked once taken. Use these where the original commitment must stay fixed, such as the approved business case.
- Editable — can be updated later, to add or change an initiative, benefit, or schedule within it. Use these where the baseline should keep up with agreed changes, such as an approved change of scope.
Where both kinds are turned on, each baseline you take is recorded as a pair: a non-editable copy that keeps the original, and an editable copy that can be updated. The pair shows as one baseline, and Show Updates chooses which copy is used — see Taking and Updating Baselines.
Which kinds are recorded is set for each initiative classification. Simple Model program baselines, and baselines taken automatically on a schedule, are always editable. Baselines taken when a stage gate is approved can't be updated. See Configuring Baselines.
The active baseline
An initiative can have many baselines, but only one is active at a time. The active baseline is what dashboards, ledgers, and the schedule compare against.
Benefits, costs, and initiatives use the active baseline of the nearest initiative above them that has baselines enabled. Where an initiative has its own active baseline, its data is shown from that, even if it's also part of a baseline taken higher up.
Where baselines appear
- Benefits — a Baseline series, showing the benefit's plan as it was when baselined, on the benefit's charts, dashboards, and the benefit ledger.
- Costs — a Baseline series, showing the cost's budget as it was when baselined, on dashboards and the cost ledger. It's shown where the cost category records a budget.
- Schedule — Baseline, in the schedule's Settings menu, shows each task's baselined dates. See Schedules.
- Return on investment — where a classification's Return on Investment Series is Baseline, return on investment is worked out from baselined values.
- Amplify Index — where a benefit classification's Amplify Index Comparison Series is Baseline, the benefit's plan is scored against its baseline. See Amplify Index.
- Initiative Workbook — past stages show the stage gate baseline taken when each was approved. See Initiative Workbook.
On the benefit and cost ledgers, choose whether to show the Baseline series from the ledger's Series filter — see Ledger View.
A Baseline row or series only appears for items that are in the baseline. A benefit or cost created after the baseline was taken has none, until it's added.
For taking and updating baselines, see Taking and Updating Baselines.