Project Charters

We use the project charter to frame and limit the project.

The project charter is probably easily misunderstood and there are many different things people will include. At a minimum, the project charter defines three key features of the project:

  1. Project objective,
  2. The project sponsor, and
  3. Powers of the project manager.

These three things answer three important questions: What, Why, and How, in that order.

The project objective should be a definition of what is to be accomplished. It should be succinct and understandable by anyone. A common approach is to provide a set of SMART objectives. But it should not be a list of requirements.

Note

SMART objectives, also called SMART goals, are commonly used in strategic planning to evaluate goal achievement.

The project sponsor is the boss. It tells you for whom you are doing this. This person or group is also probably the principal stakeholder. This person should be working with the project management to ensure the objectives are met.

Finally, the powers of the project manager are important. It gives them authority to spend money, hire people, take people from other projects, or whatever else is appropriate for this project.

Additional information may be provided. For instance, some project charters include the budget while others provide for team members. It can be better, though, to think of the project charter as a limited document.

Tip

It may sound grandiose, but the project charter can be compared to a constitution. It should provide a framework for conducting business, not detailed micromanagement.

In addition to defining the core aspects of the project, the document provides authorization for the project management to conduct the project.

How to Write a Project Management Charter (video, 5:01 minutes)

How to Create a Project Charter (video, 13:33 minutes)

A Statement of Work

A project charter may take a lot of different forms. One form common in the government contracting world is the "Statement of Work." But the statement of work is a bit different, because the statement of work typically is part of a legal contract. It will add information about who is to perform the project, what the timetable for all deliverables are, along with standard language required by the agency or government for all contacts.

Warning

Sometimes the closest you can get to a "project charter" is the statement of work. If that is the case, it may be for the better because it will hold both sides accountable.

The statement of work will also include a high-level work breakdown structure and provide other decisions typically in the hands of the project management. When this is the case, the contracting organization will typically have their own project management who has a project charter and the statement of work is one of zirs own work products. In a sense, you will be managing a subproject.

Project Charter Templates

Below are a collection of project charter templates. Some of these are officially used by major organizations. Others are simpler affairs developed as part of practice of project management.