baselines
Reference points initially
Baselines are starting points for measurement or comparison.
A baseline establishes what's normal or expected before changes occur: We need to establish baselines before the experiment begins.
In sports, baselines are boundary lines—the back lines of a tennis court or the lines connecting bases in baseball.
In typography, a baseline is the invisible line on which letters sit.
Standard for comparison
- standardLevel of quality accepted
- normAccepted behavioral standard
- criterionStandard for judgment
- yardstickThirty-six-inch ruler
reference point · control group · starting point · comparison · metric · threshold · guideline · target
Systematic accumulation of facts
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- surveySystematic data collection
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
- measurementDetermining size or amount
monitoring · tracking · readings · metrics · indicators · vital signs · test scores · observation
Something that extends outward
- forecastPrediction of future conditions
- timelineOrdered display of events
- milestoneNotable event marking progress
- scopeExtent or range
deliverables · budget · schedule · requirements · assumptions · constraints · objectives · targets
benchmark
Standard for comparison
yardstick · reference point · control group · starting point · comparison · metric · threshold · guideline · target · anchor
data collection
Systematic accumulation of facts
- assessmentFormal evaluation of worth
- surveySystematic data collection
- evaluationDetermining worth or quality
measurement · monitoring · tracking · readings · metrics · indicators · vital signs · test scores · observation · sampling
projection
Something that extends outward
- forecastPrediction of future conditions
- timelineOrdered display of events
- milestoneNotable event marking progress
scope · deliverables · budget · schedule · requirements · assumptions · constraints · objectives · targets · goals
- standardsstandard, standards, norm, norms, criterion
- environmental dataair quality index, climate data, carbon dioxide level, ozone level, weather data
- performance metricsmetrics, metric, KPIs, benchmark, benchmarks
- DevOpsdeployment, pipeline, rollout, containers, automation
- surveyingsurveyor, theodolite, land surveys, survey markers, triangulation
- logframesgoal, goals, objectives, outputs, outcomes
baselinesdeviations
Departures from a norm
variations · fluctuations · anomalies · changes · shifts
baselinestargets
Intended aims or marks
goals · objectives · outcomes · results · achievements