COEPD – Center of Excellence for Professional Development Happy Learning
PROJECT CHARTER
- Definition :
A Project Charter is a document that incorporates the statement of scope ,objectives and people who are participating in the project. It also explains in details about the project goals, roles and responsibilities of participants, identifies the main stakeholder and defines the authority of a Project Manager.
A project charter is also known as a Business Case, Project Definition or Project Statement.
- Purpose :
The main purpose of the Project Charter is to document the following :-
i, Reasons for initiating / undertaking the project.
ii, Goals , objectives , purpose and constraints of the project.
iii, Directions concerning the solution.
iv, Identities of the main stakeholder.
v, Target project benefits .
vi, High level budget and spending authority.
- Element of Project Charter :
Important elements of a Project Charter are as follows:
i, Business case.
ii, Problem / opportunity statement.
iii, Goals / Projected Benefits.
iv, Goal statement
v, Project scope.
vi, Project plan.
vii, Team structure
- Inputs :
Following inputs are required to create or develop a project charter.
i, Project Statement Of Work.
ii, Business case.
iii, Agreements
iv, Enterprise standards / Industry standards , Regulations and Norms
v, Organizational Process , assets and templates.
- How to create a Project Charter :
i, Identify the vision
ii, Describe the project organization.
iii, Plan the approach to implementation.
iv, List the risks and issues.
Conclusion
The project charter is a great communication tool for stakeholders and it provides direction to the project helps avoid confusion, and helps the project manager communicate his authority to run the project. This document should be signed by someone external to the project, such as someone from senior management, PMO or from the client.
