The Project Charter
What is a Project Charter and why may it be such a large contributor to the project management process?
The project charter is a large contributor to the project management process because it lays the foundation for the entire project. The project charter contains information such as the project’s mission statement, which is the reason what the team is trying to accomplish, the roles and responsibilities of the team, the team sponsor, the objectives of the project, and the scope of the project. The charter may also contain the goals of the project, higher organizational goals, and budget and resourcources available.
The charter is important and critical because it outlines the scope of the project and what the team is going to achieve. The charter can also prevent scope creep by because the outcomes are stated right away and stakeholders are aware of the original outcomes. After the charter is finished and signed off by the project sponsor, it should be distributed to members of the project management team and all stakeholders. It should lead to fewer misunderstandings as the project progresses.
The project charter can also be used as a focus point throughout the project if it gets off topic. It is better to spend the time planning and writing a cohesive charter before work begins to ensure that expectations are that the group is following the correct path.
If organizations standardize project charters they can easily compare projects and prioritize them in order of importance. It can also be used after projects are complete to see what the project accomplished and can be used to as part of an assessment to see if the objectives were met.
Hi Lisa! Again, thanks for your observations! Perhpas the most important role of the project charter is that it serves as an authorization for the project from the sponsors who control the funds.
Thanks again for your participation in the discussion forum.
Jay Hollowell
ML115 Facilitator
the charter laids out all problems you may foresee and can help to dissolve a problem before it causes a lot of problems
Thanks, Janice, for your comments. The Project Charter also serves as a formal authorization by the project sponsor(s) and points to funds approval.
Jay Hollowell
ML115 Facilitator
Project Charter consists of key information about the project, such as Stakeholder information, Time and Cost estimate and most important approval section of the Project Sponsor.
Hi Abdulaziz, without question the formal approval from the sponsor, along with the necessary identified resources, is crucial; the charter is worth its weight in gold (no pun intended)for the very reason of funds approval.
Jay
ML115 Facilitator
Typically a project charter is created during the defining and organizing phase of a project. The written document should be distributed to all stakeholders and group members. A charter is a "blueprint" of a project - it defines the nature and scope of the work along with result expectations and can include the following: mission statement, roles/responsibilities of members, scope, objectives, goals, time frames or schedule, budget, allocations, resources, constraints, assumptions, risks, benefits, etc. By creating a charter, the group shares all of the pertinent information needed to be successful at completing the project or the desired outcomes, without suffering from "scope creep".
Thanks Clarine for your comments. Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding; I have been on extensive travel with limited internet access.
I particularly in your posts like your references to the project charter being a blueprint of the project and to the fact that though the project life cycle is sequential, many of the activities can overlap - particularly in the planning/budgeting area and in work/task breakdown.
The charter as you know also serves as the official authorization including the name of the sponsor and anticipated funds allocation.
You obviously have project management experience, thanks again for your input.
Jay Hollowell
ML115 Facilitator
The Project Charter is another crucial/pivot and grundnorm of the project which encompasses official authorization, the nature, direction, scope (i.e., project objectives and deliverables, customers involved and their needs and requirements as well as the project stakeholders) and envisaged constraints of the project. It is the official document that lays out the modus operandi, and the organizational management's expectations for results. It includes the names of the project manager, the sponsor, key project team members, the scope, schedule, deadline, staff effort limit (constraints), budget (cost), and other organizational constraints that the project must live with and a guide to avoid "scope creep."
The Project Charter must be disseminated to all team members and the project stakeholders for their guidance during and on completion phase also it will help to ascertain that the project guideline was properly followed to the letter.
You are right, Clarine!
It includes the names of the project manager, the sponsor, key project team members, the scope, schedule, deadline, staff effort limit (constraints), budget (cost), and other organizational constraints that the project must live with and a guide to avoid "scope creep."
The project charter contains the objective(s) of the project, the high level requirements, risk, cost, and possibly milestones with dates. The project manager should be identified and the project sponsor should sign off on it. The project charter grants authority to the project manager and it allows the project to procede.
A project charter is a concise document which defines the project. It should include the mission statement, the key players and their roles, the scope and objectives, time expected for completion, budget and available resources and any risks associated. The project charter plays a crucial role because it must be signed by the sponsor, and it serves as a formal agreement between the stakeholders and management team concerning the parameters and expectations. It should help all those involved stay "on task" during the execution of the project.
Hi Kamille,
Excellent points and summary regarding the project charter. Your statement about it playing a crucial role since it is a formal agreement is exactly right. This helps ensure that everyone is aligned and supportive of the details. What do you think happens to the charter if something changes in the scope, objectives, etc?
The project charter is the formal document that codifies and guides the project. Unless there is an established document that defines the project, stakeholders are left without a map or guide for action. A charter also acts as a central point of reference for stakeholders. Questions and challanges that arise in during project management can be addressed in relation to the original planning through reference to the document.
Hi Mitch,
Great point about this being like a map for action. What do you think happens if the project charter isn't detailed enough to guide the action or doesn't have the answers to questions that arise?
The charter exists as a fundamental guideline for the project. One should'nt expect that it would provide answers for a project. Questions will arise during a project but a well-designed charter will allow capable team members to work to find answers for challenges. Because it is the foundation of project success, if the charter isn't complete in its main elements, one could expect limited overall success.
Thanks Mitch for the reply! Great point as it would be impossible to anticipate all of the questions that would arise. As you suggest the completeness of the project charter is a key element that will contribute to the success of the project. There are also times where new information is surfaced that may prompt the organization to revisit the charter and potentially make adjustments.
To misquote a famous saying, you will never reach your objective if you don’t know what it is. The Charter is key is to defining the objective and scope. Another famous saying is that people hear what they want to. Therefore, it is imperative to have the Charter documented and clear, so that it can be referred to when arguments arise about what is included in the project.
Unfortunately, the true objective is often making the key sponsor happy, regardless of the exact wording of the charter. I must disagree somewhat with one the assessment answers regarding that issue. In the business world, if the project meets all of the original charter objectives, but is not what the sponsor (senior manager who sees his/her team as the ultimate customer of this project) currently wants, it will still be viewed as a failure. It should not be, and perhaps the original project should be canceled and new one started, but that is the reality at most, large corporations.
Thanks Monty and I you are exactly right with your quote. You have to have a goal in order to achieve it. I know we've been planning a trip and someone once said often times people spend more time planning a vacation than they do planning their lives...I'd imagine there is a corollary to the workplace although project management certainly makes a major difference.
Nice point about the importance of making sure the charter is what the sponsor wants. Have you seen a project proceed without having this alignment?
