Fillable Printable Project Management Charter Template

Project Management Charter Template

Project Charter

A. General Information

Provide basic information about the project including: Project Title – The proper name used to

identify this project; Project Working Title – The working name or acronym that will be used for

the project; Project Manager – manager who will be in charge of managing the project; Project

Sponsor – The executive that will be responsible for direction of the project; Prepared by –

The person(s) preparing this document.

Project Title: Project Working

Title:

Project

Manager: Project Sponsor:

Project

Client:

Prepared By:

B. Project Overview

Included are a brief description for each section along with an explanation of the contents of the

section and/or the rationale for including that section in the Project Charter.

I. Identification: Identify the formal name and any associated acronyms or abbreviations for the

project, the project team, and the product.

II. Project Background: Provide background information about how and why the project was

initiated.

III. Purpose / Business Need: A brief description of the project should be provided. This should

describe in business terms the reason for the project and the overall timing and expectations.

IV. Project Scope: Identify boundaries of the project with respect to the project scope and the

product/service scope. The product scope defines the spectrum of features and functionality that

will be delivered and the limits that have been imposed in order to control the release or delivery

of the product or service (what the project will accomplish).

V. Project Objectives: Identify the overall objectives for the project.

VI. Sponsorship & Ownership: Identify the project sponsorship and final product ownership.

This should include a listing of sponsoring stakeholders.

VII. References: Identify any other documents pertinent to the project.

VIII. Terminology: Define any unique or significant terms and/or acronyms that will be commonly

used within the project.

C. Project Approach Section

A brief description of the project approach should be included. Provide a high-level overview of

the project approach, project team structure, and project plan.

I. Project Deliverables and Quality Objectives: Provide a list of major and key

deliverables that will be generated during and on completion of the project. Identify key

milestones. For each deliverable, provide a description of its quality objectives in terms

of output quality and approval requirements.

II. Organization and Responsibilities: This section identifies the required Project

Team and, taking the project skill requirements into account, assigns roles and

responsibilities to named individuals. At a minimum, this section should address the

Business Leader, Project Manager, and the Executive Committee.

III. Reporting, Oversight, & Review: Reporting relationships and project interfaces

should be described within this section. Identify required approvals and interfaces with

organizations such as procurement.

IV. Dependencies: Any dependencies outside of the Project Manager's direct control,

or outside of the scope of the project (but which may influence the project success)

should be identified.

V. Plans for Support Activities: Plans for project support activities are described here.

VI. Project Facilities and Resources: The project's requirements for facilities and

resources are described here.

VII. Risk Management: Any risks associated with the project and the actions that can

be taken during the project to minimize the risks need to be identified.

VIII. Process Options and Deviations: A defined Project Management Methodology

and Systems Development Life Cycle Methodology should be identified by reference in

this section.

IX. Process Stages: A description of the project life cycle should be detailed here. For

each life cycle phase, applicable procedures, methods, and standards should be

referenced or identified.

X. Project Control: Project control explains the methods and processes that will be

implemented to assist the Project Manager in identifying project progress and

communicating that progress to the project team, project sponsor, and project

stakeholders. This section should also identify the methods and policies to be used for

project scope control, issue management, and change and configuration management.

Project Approach Section Continued

A brief description of the project approach should be included. Provide a high-level overview

of the project approach, project team structure, and project plan.

D. Approval Section

This section identifies the names and roles of the major project stakeholders and indicates their

approval of the project charter.

E. Appendices

Changes to the original Project Charter must be signed by the appropriate parties and included in

this section.

XI. Quality Assurance and Control Activities: Quality assurance and control

activities relate to both the project management processes and deliverables, and the

product development processes and deliverables. A list of the quality reviews and

quality tests that will be carried out during the project should be included.

XII. Project Schedule: Include a high-level schedule for the project.

XIII. Project Cost Estimate: This section outlines the estimated project cost

Signatures are included in this section.

Other appendices should include a fully developed and completed business case,

additional agreements, and other documents related to project scope, cost, and

schedule.