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| Baseline
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A point of reference. The plan used as the comparison point for project control reporting. There are three baselines in a project—schedule baseline, cost baseline and product (scope) baseline. The combination of these is referred to as the performance measurement baseline.
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| Baseline Schedule
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The baseline schedule is a fixed project schedule. It is the standard by which project performance is measured. The current schedule is copied into the baseline schedule which remains frozen until it is reset. Resetting the baseline is done when the scope of the project has been changed significantly. At that point, the original or current baseline becomes invalid and should not be compared with the current schedule.
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| Bottom-up Estimating
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Approximating the size (duration and cost) and risk of a project (or phase) by breaking it down into activities, tasks and sub-tasks, estimating the effort, duration and cost of each and rolling them up to determine the full estimate. Determining duration through a bottom-up approach requires sequencing and resource leveling to be done as part of the scheduling process.
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| Budget
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The amount allotted for the project that represents the estimate of planned expenditures and income. The budget may be expressed in terms of money or resource units (effort).
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| Business Case
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The information that describes the justification for the project. The project is justified if the expected benefits outweigh estimated costs and risks. The business case is often complex and may require financial analysis, technical analysis, organization impact analysis and a feasibility study.
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| Business Case
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A document outlining the justification for initiation of a project. It includes a description of the business problem or opportunity, a list of alternative solutions, their costs and benefits and a recommended solution for implementation.
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