Updating Baselines

As a project progresses, you might choose to update baseline data without restoring the baseline or creating a new baseline. When a project is in progress, creating a new baseline may not yield accurate comparison results. When you update a baseline, only the data types you select will be updated.

To update a baseline:

1. Click Projects.
2. On the Projects navigation bar, click Activities or EPS.
3. On the Activities or EPS page
   1. On the Activities or EPS page, click the Actions menu and select Define Baselines....
   2. In the Define Baselines dialog box:
      • Select the baseline which you will update.
      • Click Update Baseline.
   3. In the Update Baseline dialog box:
      • Select Run Optimized to optimize the speed of updating the baseline.
      • Select Ignore Last Update Date to update all activities in the baseline, regardless of the last time they were updated.
      • On the Project Data tab, select which types of project data should be updated.
      • On the Activity Data tab, select whether to update all activities or activities matching a filter, whether to add new activities to the baseline which have been added to the project since the baseline was created, and whether to delete activities from the baseline which no longer exist in the project.
      • On the Update Options tab, select which types of activity data should be updated.
   4. Click Update.

Tips

• If you choose to update project details, the following items are NOT updated: all data in the Default, Settings, and Resources tabs; the Risk Level and the Project Leveling Priority fields in the General tab; and, the Default Price/Unit for Activities Without Resource or Role Price/Units field in the Calculations tab.
• If you choose to update Dates, durations, and data date, the following date fields are not updated because they are calculated by the scheduler: Early Start, Early Finish, Late Start, and Late Finish. To update these fields after updating the baseline, restore the baseline project, schedule the restored baseline project and re-attach it as a baseline to the project.
• If you select Run Optimized error logging is switched off. If errors occur during the baseline update process when you have Run Optimized selected, update the baseline again without Run Optimized selected to see which activities caused the errors.
• When Ignore Last Update Date is off, data items are updated only with additions or modifications that have occurred since the last time the baseline was updated. Select this option when you want to update a data item that you did not include in your last baseline update.
• If you only want to update project-level data (and not activity-level data), clear the Add new activities and activity data (except actuals), Delete from baseline any activities no longer in the current project, and Update existing activities already in the baseline options on the Activity Data tab.
• If the Planned values with planned dates option is selected for the When calculationg earned value from a baseline use setting on the Earned Value page of Application Settings, the BL Project Start and BL Project Finish dates are updated with the planned dates of the project. When the Planed Values with Current Dates option is selected, the BL Project Start and BL Project Finish dates are updated with the current dates of the project.
• If errors occur while the project is updating, the module logs the errors in the specified log file (if the Run Optimized option is not selected) and continues updating the project.
• If you encounter errors during the Update Baseline process, schedule the project to the current data date, then run Update Baseline again. This may resolve some errors that can occur when updating a baseline.
• If you have insufficient privileges, you may encounter errors when updating baselines.The Run Baseline Update privilege is a minimum requirement. We also recommend users should have all project and global view, create, edit, and delete privileges (for example, View Project Costs/ Financials, Add/Edit/Delete Work Products and Documents, etc.).
• You cannot update a project's baselines if the project has been opened in Exclusive mode or checked out by another user.
• Project calendars, activity codes, and the WBS are always updated.
• New or modified Primary Resource assignments are always updated for an activity if you choose to update 'General activity information' in the Update Baseline Options dialog, even if you do not choose the 'Update existing resource and role assignments' and 'Add new resource and role assignments' options in the Update Options dialog.
• If you choose to update activity relationships, only relationships between activities within the project are updated; relationships to activities in external projects are not updated.
• If you choose to update issues or work products and documents but not activities, the new issues or work products and documents are added without activity assignments.
• If you choose to update activities that fall within a filter and choose to add new activities, only activities that meet that filter's criteria will be added.
• If Publish is selected for the baseline, you can publish the baseline for reporting. To publish the baseline, click Publish Baseline.
• For further information about how baseline dates are calculated see the following Knowledgebase article: How Baseline Dates Are Calculated in P6 (Doc ID 893342.1)

Related Topics

About Baselines

Working with Baselines

Creating Baselines

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Last Published Friday, October 1, 2021