What’s in a project charter
There are several components in a complete project charter:
- Basics: Include the completion date, details about who’s leading the project,and the name of the project.
- Project goals: Detail the desired outcome. If possible, explain why collaborators chose that target.
- Collaborators: Define collaborator roles in the project. For example, explain whether they’re actively involved or beneficiaries. List anyone who can approve or request changes to the project charter.
- Customers: List all customers who will receive a product or service from this project and their relative share of investment. Collect information from customers. Different customers may expect varied things from a project, so write down the most important expectations of each customer.
- Project managers and staff: List every staff member and their role in the project.
- Previous process: This section is only necessary if the current project extends a process. It outlines goals and results of the previous process. For example, you can include unmet metrics or standards.
- Process: The process section is an important part of the project charter. This section should clearly define the process that you plan to implement in order to meet each part of the project’s main goals. Everyone should clearly understand what’s happening with the project and how it will help improve metrics. If this section follows a previous process section, make sure you emphasize a clear contrast that shows how the new approach will be different and bring about better results.
- Risk: There is always some risk in undertaking a project. The possibilities include wasted money, wasted time for staff or unsatisfactory outcomes for customers. There may also be broader risks if the project fails, such as damage to clients or the company. Outline these risks and what the team intends to do to mitigate them or prevent them altogether.
- Timeline and expected expenses: An experienced project manager should structure the project timeline and budget.
- Signatures: Like any legally-binding document, a project charter is not complete until it has the signatures of all collaborators. It’s best practice to obtain original signatures. If you must use photocopied or scanned signatures, this should be agreed upon by all collaborators.
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Advantages of creating a project charter
A project charter can improve:
- Clarity
- Communication
- Understanding of individual roles
Without a project charter, the project lacks direction. Customers, collaborators, project managers and staff may all have different visions or expectations for the project. You can prevent miscommunications and misaligned expectations by having everyone review and contribute to the project charter upfront.
A project charter can also stand as a contract. Since it defines everyone’s responsibilities and the agreed-upon outcome, there’s less room for debate about whether parties meet their obligations.
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Project charter FAQs
Here are some commonly asked questions about project charters:
Can a project charter be changed?
Project charters can be updated if there’s a major change in scope, a change to the organization, or a process that isn’t working.The board should approve all updates. If you need to change one or more elements of your project charter, discuss with all collaborators and project members.
Who develops a project charter?
Creating a project charter is a job that a good project manager should be able to handle. If it’s a particularly large project, you may benefit from putting more than one project manager in charge. Input from various collaborators can also help make the project charter a success.
What’s the difference between a project charter and a project plan?
A project charter defines the objectives and expected roles of everyone in a project. It’s the formal document that project managers present to collaborators to get official approval on their proposal. A project plan outlines roles and milestones.
