Set a baseline in Onplana Schedule

A baseline is the plan as you agreed it, kept beside the plan as it is now, so you can see what slipped and by how much. Plan > Set baseline… saves each task’s and each assignment’s start, finish, duration, work and cost into the file, the same way Microsoft Project’s Set Baseline does, and Microsoft Project reads it back.

Pro and above

Setting and clearing a baseline unlock when the app is signed in to an organization on the Pro plan or above. A baseline the file already carries draws for everyone. See Unlock the paid features of Onplana Schedule.

Set a baseline

1. Open the schedule and choose Plan > Set baseline….

2. In Baseline, pick Baseline or one of Baseline 1 to Baseline 10. One already in the plan reads “(set)”, and choosing it says “Setting it again replaces it.”

3. Select Set Baseline (the button names the one you picked). The status bar reads “Baseline set for 15 tasks. It is kept in the file when you save.” with Undo.

4. Save. The baseline is written into the Project XML file.

The plan’s own dates do not move. Setting a baseline is one step you can undo like any other edit.

Read the drift

• On the Gantt: tick View > Baseline. Each bar shows how many days it starts after its baseline start (+2d, or -1d when early), a dashed Baseline finish line marks the latest baseline finish, and pointing at a bar adds its baseline dates.
• In the grid: open View > Columns and fields… and show Start Variance, Finish Variance and Work Variance.
• In Schedule quality: the DCMA checks that need a baseline (missed tasks, the Baseline Execution Index and the Critical Path Length Index) assess once one is set. See Check a schedule against the DCMA 14-point assessment.

Clear a baseline

Choose Plan > Clear baseline…, pick one of the baselines the plan carries, and select Clear Baseline (named for the one you picked). It is removed from every task and assignment. The plan does not change, and Undo puts the baseline back. The command reads “This plan carries no baseline” when there is nothing to clear.

Example

A fit-out plan is approved on Monday. You open the XML in Onplana Schedule, choose Plan > Set baseline…, keep Baseline, and select Set Baseline, then save. Three weeks later the joinery supplier is a week late. You move the joinery task, the tasks linked after it follow, and with **View

Baseline** on, the handover bar reads +5d and the Finish Variance column shows 5 days. Before the client meeting you set Baseline 1 to record the re-plan, keeping the original in Baseline.

Limits

• The bars and the variance columns read Baseline. Baseline 1 to 10 are saved for Microsoft Project, but the app does not draw them.
• Resource-level baselines are not written, only task and assignment ones.
• The cost of material and cost resources is not worked out for a baseline.
• Baselines in Onplana… is a different command: it compares the plan with a baseline saved in an Onplana project. See Capture and compare baselines.

FAQs

Will Microsoft Project see the baseline? Yes. It is saved in the Baseline fields Microsoft Project uses, and Project reads every value back when it opens the file.

Can I see a baseline without Pro? Yes. A baseline the file carries draws on the Gantt and fills the variance columns on every plan. Only setting and clearing are locked.

Does setting a baseline change my dates? No. It copies the dates the plan has now. The plan itself is unchanged.

What happens if I set Baseline again? It replaces the saved values with the plan as it stands now. The dialog warns you first, and Undo brings the old values back.