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This article needs additional citations for verification.(January 2021) This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.(November 2021) In project management, a project charter, project definition, or project statement is a statement of the scope, objectives, and participants in a project. It provides a preliminary delineation of roles and responsibilities, outlines the project's key goals, identifies the main stakeholders, and defines the authority of the project manager.[1] In Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD), this document is known as the project charter. In customer relationship management (CRM), it is known as the project definition report. Both IPD and CRM require this document as part of the project management process.
The project charter is usually a short document that explains a project clearly and concisely, and refers to more detailed documents for additional information.[2] A project charter should:
A project charter typically documents most of the following:[4][5] The project charter establishes the authority assigned to the project manager, especially in a matrix management environment.[6] It is considered industry best practice.
The three main uses of the project charter are:
A project charter will be created in the initiating process group of a phase or a project at the very start. Developing the charter and identifying the stakeholders are the two main actions of the initiating process group. Typically a project manager takes the lead in developing the charter. The project manager will employ his or her expertise and experience to develop the charter. The project manager will work with the key stakeholders (customers and business sponsors), the PMO, Subject Matter Experts inside and outside the organization, other units within the organization and may also work with Industry groups or professional bodies to develop the charter. The project manager will employ facilitation techniques such as brainstorming, problem solving, conflict resolution, meetings, expectations management etc. to develop the charter. Inputs to develop a charter can be:
The charter once signed will provide authority to the project manager to officially execute the project and employ organizational funds and resources to make the project successful. For a large multi-phased project, the charter can be created for each individual phase.[6] For example, there can be an initial charter during the Scope and Seek phase of a project, followed by a Planning charter and an Execution Charter during the build phase of the project.
When you initially charter a plane, you don’t need to provide a seating chart or list of names to the airline company. But you need to know how many passengers you have, the cost of the trip, and your destination. The project charter is similar to that for your project. Table of contentsWhat is a project charter?Back to top A project charter is a short document that explains the project in clear, concise wording for high level management. Project charters outline the entirety of projects to help teams quickly understand the goals, tasks, timelines, and stakeholders. It is is an essential deliverable in any project and one of the first deliverables as prescribed by the PMBOK Guide and other best practice standards. The document provides key information about a project, and also provides approval to start the project. Therefore, it serves as a formal announcement that a new approved project is about to commence. Contained also in the project charter is the appointment of the project manager, the person who is overall responsible for the project. What does the project charter contain?Back to top When preparing the project charter, utilize the SMART method. Be Specific, ensure your goals are Measurable, Attainable, Relevant to the project, and Timely. The project charter includes:
Read also: How to Write SMART Project Management Goals Main components of a project charterBack to top A project charter is a living document outlining the issues, targets and framework of a process improvement effort. A charter should have six main components that frame the document. Each of these component helps define the reasons for the project, explains how it improves the business, enumerate what steps are necessary to complete, and identifies the stakeholders responsible for the project. The project charter components are:
Why are project charters useful?Back to top The main reason every project needs a project charter at the very start is because without it, there is no proof or official document that an authorized project manager defined and presented a project and gained its approval from stakeholders to proceed. A project charter also provides several benefits:
Read also: Significance of Keeping Documentation in Project Management Key sections of a project charterBack to top Most project management methodologies and frameworks prescribe the use of a project charter but do not define the actual contents of the template. This is understandable, because projects differ in a variety of ways, such as in size, criticality, type, or approach. But the accepted principle in writing a project charter is that the document should help clarify the what, why, who, when, and what cost aspects or questions of the project. Referencing the PMBOK Guide, the inclusion of following sections in a project charter will answer these aspects and questions: Project informationThis section includes the name of the project, its ID (if organizations use one), the name of the project manager, and its sponsor(s). It can also include additional but brief project description details. Business need, problem, or opportunityThis section tries to identify what the main driver for the project is for it to exist. It provides the context or situation that led the sponsor to start the project. Project objectives and benefitsThis lists the goals that the project will try to achieve. A guide for writing the objectives is to use the SMART acronym: they should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bounded. Project organizationThis section identifies the people governing the project. It should clearly show the key roles for its management and direction. Using a RACI chart can be helpful. High-level project scopeThis section outlines the boundaries of the project at a high level. It is important to identify not only its scope, but also what is out of scope. Specifying key deliverables of the project should also fall in this section. High-level project timescaleThe project charter should list the key stages and the estimated duration of the project at a high level, including its milestones. However, the project manager should exercise caution in writing the project schedule, assuming that the project will immediately start after the approval. High-level project budgetThis section identifies the budget requirements of the project at a high level. It should include capital and revenue expenditure forecasts. Key assumptionsThis section lists the main assumptions that the project team took. It is important also to assess how these assumptions can impact the project should the team realize later that the assumptions they made were false or inaccurate. Key project risksThis lists the main risks that may impact the project if they materialize. It assumes that the project team cannot avoid encountering the identified risks. Success criteriaThis section identifies the key metrics to help assess if the project is successful or not. The measurable terms describe an outcome that is acceptable to the end-user, customer, and stakeholders. One-page project charter exampleBack to top When creating a project charter, it is important to understand context. Project charters are usually very lengthy documents. This is to ensure that it completely describes the background of the project, the different options considered, the details of the scope, and other factors. For large projects, an additional one-page Project Charter Summary provides the summary of the most important sections of the full project charter. For small projects, this one-page template is an acceptable alternative. This short project charter is also useful when communicating with executives, who are usually not interested in all of the details and particulars. The sections of the document are as follows:
Tips for writing a project charterBack to top Writing effective project charters comes with experience. However, it is possible to write good enough ones early on by following some advice from professionals who have spent their careers learning how to write great project charters. Keep it briefTry to keep the project charter simple and brief. Most likely, the more pages it contains, the less chances it will get read. Be explicitTry to get to the point as early as possible. Project sponsors and other stakeholders are busy professionals who may not show interest or enthusiasm reading a vague summary of a project. Build it with your sponsorMost often, the sponsor hands it over to the project manager to write the project charter. However, the project charter is always better with the involvement of the sponsor, whether in support or actually co-creating and reviewing the document. Next steps for your project charterBack to top After creating the project charter, let the sponsor sign it without delay. Without the sign-off, there is no formal approval and authorization—and no project. Also, it is advisable to share the document promptly after approval. When more people in the organization know what the project is about, the easier it is to have supporters on board. Since the project charter is a key document in the initiation phase of a project, creating a great project charter lays the right foundation for the project and provides a greater chance it will proceed smoothly in its remaining phases. Back to top A helpful tool in creating a project charter is project management software, which allows your team to analyze risks and choose appropriate stakeholders based on their existing resources and abilities. Project management tools also provide a view of the project’s timeline, each goal, and the progress team members make. Five of the best project management software listed below can make teams more aware of what exactly should be in each project charter. |