Cost Baseline

Ultimately, project management includes a variety of responsibilities within one’s team in order to achieve maximum results for their employer. In regards to money and remaining in business, providing a budget that is adjusted to time is considered a cost baseline. This is used as a example in which cost performance is measured and monitored to gauge the importance of said project. This cost baseline is created by estimating the costs by the particular period that the project would be completed. This cost estimation is usually illustrated in a S-curve.

A cost baseline is essentially an important facet of the project management plan that companies use to ensure success. Most projects, most often the larger ones, have a variety of baselines that must be calculated. Some of these cost baselines include resource baselines as well as production variations. These measurements of various project performance aspects ensure that cost is evaluated in regards to the overall yield of a particular project. This process is used in successful companies who wish to work on projects that will serve a service to their futures.

This term is defined in the 3rd edition of the PMBOK but not in the 4th.