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CPM BASICS 83

Baselines Do not expect to have an acceptable schedule after the first computa-
tion. Even without adjusting for resources, it is likely that there will have to be
several iterations before the computed schedule satisfies the stakeholders and the
key dates in the Project Milestone Schedule.

Once an acceptable schedule has been developed, it is customary to save the
set of dates as a Baseline Schedule. This baseline represents a set of targets that
will be used to compare progress as the work moves forward. Each task will gain a
new pair of dates, usually called Baseline Start and Baseline Finish. Target Start
and Finish are alternate headings.

Trick It is often desirable to be able to save multiple base-
lines. The first is usually the initial or contract baseline. A sec-
ond might be a set of negotiated revision dates. I usually
reserve one baseline set for my last schedule computation.
Then I can compare the next update to that baseline to ana-
lyze changes during the last period.

This completes our overview of critical path scheduling. We can go into con-
siderably more detail, but this might add to the confusion. At this time, you know
enough to be able to appreciate some of the issues associated with project sched-
uling, such as discussed in Chapters 3.2 (Critical Path, Critical Chain, and Uncer-
tainty) and 3.4 (How Important Are Schedules and Time Compression?). In
Chapter 3.5, Practical Scheduling, we look at ways to use these basic scheduling
capabilities in a practical and effective manner.