Baseline variance in Zoho Projects is the difference between a task’s or project’s planned dates (recorded in the baseline) and the actual or current scheduled dates. A positive variance means the task is running later than planned; a negative variance means it is ahead of schedule.
Zoho Projects displays baseline variance in the Gantt chart by showing the original baseline bars alongside the current schedule bars. Variance reports summarise the extent of slippage by task, task list, and milestone, helping project managers identify which areas of the project are most at risk.
When variance grows beyond an acceptable threshold, the project manager should assess whether to crash the schedule (add resources to accelerate critical path tasks), negotiate a scope reduction with the client, or formally re-baseline after stakeholder agreement on the revised plan.
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