Peter GausdenIT Director Corporate Applications| Cooperators InsuranceGuelph, Ontario, Canada
If a project has been re-baselined and the new baseline extends the scheduled end date (based on the original schedule) should it now show green, because you are now tracking to a new baseline, or should it show yellow because you extended the original dates. In other words does the new baseline give you a fresh start. Saving Changes...
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Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I think different companies will approach this differently, but the way we do it is to show the project as green. It is on target to meet the agreed delivery date. The change log will show that the agreed delivery date has changed. We use yellow for at risk dates, and your plan will not be at risk. Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I think different companies will approach this differently, but the way we do it is to show the project as green. It is on target to meet the agreed delivery date. The change log will show that the agreed delivery date has changed. We use yellow for at risk dates, and your plan will not be at risk. Saving Changes...
Mark Price PerryBusiness Driven PMO Evangelist| BOT InternationalOrlando, Fl, United States
Peter, great post. IMHO, there is quite a bit more to this question than initially meets the eye. Many folks advocate that a re-baselined project schedule is a new schedule and hence a fresh start, so the schedule status should be displayed as green. Others suggest that it should show yellow, since after all, the first schedule was missed. And then there are those that advise displaying the number of re-baselines next to the current schedule status (such as green) as that is information that can be interpreted as having a meaning of some kind. Naturally, this all lends itself to being addressed by way of PMO policy as opposed to being handled by each PM as they see fit as there are pros and cons to the different views and approaches.
I tend to favor the approach of treating a re-baselined project as a fresh start and I would show the number of re-baselines along with an explanation. I would also be mindful to create a project environment that is focused on the best possible application of project management techniques with respect to the needs of the business and realization of the product of the project benefits. Some projects may require aggressive scheduling and even negative buffering, where other projects may require conservative scheduling and positive buffer. Hence, I would not want a mindset that a re-baselined project is in some way bad or a poor reflection of project manager ability, as all of that would no doubt spawn unintended consequences and undesired behaviors. Saving Changes...
I vote green too. I'd make sure that the programme log is very clear that the change to green is as a direct result of the re-baselining, for openness sake. Saving Changes...
Kayo JulienFortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia
I vote for "green" and "fresh start" too.
However, I would like to remind you to keep the record of the original end date. If it (changing the end date) happens frequently, you will need to review and make a decision whether to have a project review and take a corrective action. You may also want to use the history in your post implementation review and lessons learned to improve future projects. Saving Changes...
I vote green as well, but it depends on what you are using your traffic lights for.
I use them to indicate something is going wrong and corrective action is needed. i.e. what can we do to get back to green?
If the project is replanned and rebaselined then that action has been taken an no further action is required.
If you keep them at amber how do you know when the current schedule starts to drift off course and new action is required? Saving Changes...
Wayne MackRetired| RetiredSouth Riding, Va, United States
To provide accurate reporting, I believe a status reset is in order. I am assuming that a project rebaselining includes extending the delivery schedule and increasing the budget. Once this is done, management needs the capability to track if the project is falling further behind or running even more above budget. To track against the old baseline hides whether the project is meeting its new targets or is still in trouble. Saving Changes...
Wai Mun KooPMO Director| Intergraph PP&MSingapore, Singapore
It should be green. What is the point if your project is still red after the re-baselining? Start fresh. Saving Changes...
Keith SellarsIT Manager| Georgia Federal-State Inspection ServiceBainbridge, Ga, United States
I would vote go go green, however, I also think it is very important from a historical perspective for the PM to keep track of the original baselines. Some PM software allows you to add additional baselines while keeping the original baseline intact for historical reference and then display or hide them as desired. As a PM, I'd to know how far past the original dates we actually finished, although if scope and budget increases were involved, then this historical information is only useful if considered in the proper context of the original scope and budget.
I believe that from a Lessons Learned perspective, it would be good to always have the original baseline available so that it can be determined if it was improper planning or uncontrollable circumstances that led to a need to re-baseline the project. Saving Changes...
