In configuration management, a baseline is an agreed description of the attributes of a product, at a point in time, which serves as a basis for defining change.
[2] Typically, significant states are those that receive a formal approval status, either explicitly or implicitly.
A baseline may be established for the singular purpose of marking an approved configuration item, e.g. a project plan that has been signed off for execution.
For this reason, baseline identification, monitoring, and retrieval are critical to the success of configuration management, and ultimately, project quality.
Fixed baselines often coincide with or signify project milestones, such as the set of items at a particular certifying review.
[3] Some examples include: Though common in software revision control systems as labels' or tags, the existence of baselines is found in several other technology-related domains.
In addition to the field of hardware and software engineering, baselines can be found in medicine (e.g. monitoring health progress), politics (e.g. statistics), physics and chemistry (e.g. observations and changes), finance (e.g. budgeting), and others.