Project Schedule Baseline - Is History Kept when Re-baselined?

Carolynh

We are using the Project Schedule Baseline functionality, but recently learned that the Schedule can be Reset or Removed. Is there anyway to track how many times a Schedule has been 'Reset' or 'Removed' and baselined again? Our concern is that without the history being tracked on how many times it's been reset, we won't truly know the original intended scheduled dates. And the PM can continuously reset the baseline if their project goes off-track, hence looking like their projects are always 'on time'. Is that original data from the 1st baseline saved anywhere, or in any Metadata report? Thanks!

Andrée Starå

Hi @Carolynh

I hope you're well and safe!

To add to Genevieve's excellent advice/answer.

Here's a possible workaround or workarounds

• One idea could be to use Workflows combined with the Record a date Action or similar to record when anything changes.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Genevieve P.

Andrée Starå

Apr 20, 2022

Hi @Carolynh

I hope you're well and safe!

To add to Genevieve's excellent advice/answer.

Here's a possible workaround or workarounds

• One idea could be to use Workflows combined with the Record a date Action or similar to record when anything changes.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Great idea, @Andrée Starå!

Genevieve P.

Hi @Carolynh

You can right-click on a cell to see the Cell History. This will show you if the Baseline has been reset at any point:

If they cell history is greyed out, this means there is no history or data to be reported on.

If you're an Admin or Owner of the sheet in a Business or Enterprise plan, you can also view the Activity Log to track any big batch-changes of cells. See: View Changes Made to Smartsheet Items

Cheers,

Genevieve

Carolynh

Thank you, @Genevieve P. ! I knew about Cell History, but not about Activity Log. I think we were trying to find a way to have a report run to automatically show if that Baseline changed, but we might have to use PowerBI to have it be an automated report, so we can be proactive to look at those that have re-baselined their plans. I appreciate your help!

Andrée Starå

Hi @Carolynh

I hope you're well and safe!

To add to Genevieve's excellent advice/answer.

Here's a possible workaround or workarounds

• One idea could be to use Workflows combined with the Record a date Action or similar to record when anything changes.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Genevieve P.

Andrée Starå

Apr 20, 2022

Hi @Carolynh

I hope you're well and safe!

To add to Genevieve's excellent advice/answer.

Here's a possible workaround or workarounds

• One idea could be to use Workflows combined with the Record a date Action or similar to record when anything changes.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

✅Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

Great idea, @Andrée Starå!

Carolynh

Love that idea, @Andrée Starå !!! That might work better do I don't have to monitor manually the cell history. I'll try that. Thanks for all your help!

Andrée Starå

@Carolynh

Excellent!

Happy to help!

✅Remember! Did my post(s) help or answer your question or solve your problem? Please support the Community by marking it Insightful/Vote Up or/and as the accepted answer. It will make it easier for others to find a solution or help to answer!

@Genevieve P. Thanks!