Capability
Baseline Schedule Development
Build a logic-linked programme the project can perform against: complete scope, real calendars, honest constraints, and a structure that can be updated.
C02 — The problem
The technical problem
A bar chart can look complete and still be unusable as a control instrument. Missing logic, decorative constraints, incomplete scope, calendars that do not match the contract, and a WBS the cost file cannot share all produce a file that cannot be updated honestly.
Baseline Schedule Development is the assignment to produce a programme that can survive progress, change, and recovery — including the planning basis, coding, milestones, and measurement hooks the later updates will need.
C03 — Engagement
When this capability is needed
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01
Contract mobilisation
A baseline is required for approval or notice.
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02
Rejected submission
The submitted programme failed review and must be rebuilt, not decorated.
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03
Re-baseline
The live path no longer matches the authorised works and a new baseline is being considered.
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04
Control readiness
Project controls cannot lock a time baseline because the file is not performable.
C04 — Scope / method
How the work is approached
Scope includes WBS alignment, activity definition, logic, calendars, constraints, milestones, coding, and a basis-of-schedule note. It is not schedule review of a third-party file (that is Schedule Review & Assurance) and not recovery of a slipped live programme (Recovery Scheduling).
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01
Lock the planning basis
Contract dates, calendars, working hours, and coding before activity noise.
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02
Structure the WBS
A breakdown schedule, cost, and change can share.
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03
Build logic-linked activities
Remaining duration that can be calculated, with open ends and lags treated as risks not habits.
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04
Apply only justified constraints
Contractual and physical constraints documented; convenience constraints removed.
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05
Code for control
Activity IDs, control accounts, and milestones the update cycle can use.
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06
Issue for review
Programme file plus basis of schedule, ready for assurance or approval.
C05 — Outputs
Typical deliverables
| Output | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Baseline CPM programme | Logic-linked file used as the time baseline. |
| Basis of schedule | Calendars, constraints, coding, and assumptions. |
| WBS / coding dictionary | Structure shared with cost and change. |
| Milestone register | Contractual and control milestones. |
| Baseline issue record | Version submitted for approval. |
C06 — Decision value
What this work is used to decide
Whether the proposed programme is performable enough to accept as the time baseline, return for correction, or reject. Acceptance is a management decision, not a promised project outcome.
C08 — Project environments
Relevant project environments
C09 — Who we support
Who commonly needs this capability
C10 — Boundaries
Important distinctions
A baseline programme is not design certification, method-statement approval, or a guarantee of completion.
C11 — Next step
Discuss your project
If this is the technical problem you are facing, talk to Value Construction about the work, the records required, and what you would receive. Outcomes are not guaranteed.