Initiating

Project Charter

The project charter is a document that formally authorizes a project or phase. The project charter defines the reason for the project and assigns a project manager and his or her authority level for the project. The contents of the charter describe the project in high-level terms, such as:

Project purpose
High-level project description
Project boundaries
Key deliverables
High-level requirements
Overall project risk
Project objectives and related success criteria
Summary milestone schedule
Preapproved financial resources
Key stakeholder list
Project approval requirements
Project exit criteria
Assigned project manager, responsibility, and authority level
Name and authority of the sponsor or other person(s) authorizing the project charter

The project charter can receive information from:

Agreements (contracts)
Statements of work
Business case
Benefits management plan

It provides information to:

Stakeholder register
Project management plan
Scope management plan
Requirements management plan
Requirements documentation
Requirements traceability matrix
Project scope statement
Schedule management plan
Cost management plan
Quality management plan
Resource management plan
Communications management plan
Risk management plan
Procurement management plan
Stakeholder engagement plan

The project charter is an output from process 4.1 Develop Project Charter in the PMBOK® Guide – Sixth Edition. This document is developed once and is not usually changed unless there is a significant change in the environment, scope, schedule, resources, budget, or stakeholders.

Tailoring tips

Consider the following tips to help you tailor the project charter to meet your needs:

Combine the project charter with the project scope statement, especially if your project is small.
If you are doing the project under contract you can use the statement of work as the project charter in some cases.

Alignment

The project charter should be aligned and consistent with the following documents:

Business case
Project scope statement
Milestone schedule
Budget
Stakeholder register
Risk register

Elements of a Project charter

Document element	Description
Project purpose	The reason the project is being undertaken. May refer to a business case, the organization’s strategic plan, external factors, a contract agreement, or any other reason for performing the project.
High-level project description	A summary-level description of the project.
Project boundaries	Limits to the project scope. May include scope exclusions, or other limitations
Key deliverables	The high-level project and product deliverables. These will be further elaborated in the project scope statement.
High-level requirements	The high-level conditions or capabilities that must be met to satisfy the purpose of the project. Describe the product features and functions that must be present to meet stakeholders’ needs and expectations. These will be further elaborated in the requirements documentation.
Overall project risk	An assessment of the overall riskiness of the project. Overall risk can include the underlying political, social, economic, and technological volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It pertains to the stakeholder exposure to variations in the project outcome.
Project objectives and related success criteria	Project objectives are usually established for at least scope, schedule, and cost. The success criteria identify the metrics or measurements that will be used to measure success. There may be additional objectives as well. Some organizations include quality, safety, and stakeholder satisfaction objectives.
Summary milestone schedule	Significant events in the project. Examples include the completion of key deliverables, the beginning or completion of a project phase, or product acceptance.
Preapproved financial resources	The amount of funding available for the project. May include sources of funding and annual funding limits.
Key stakeholder list	An initial, high-level list of people or groups that have influenced or can influence project success, as well as those who are influenced by its success. This can be further elaborated in the stakeholder register.
Project exit criteria	The performance, metrics, conditions, or other measurements that must be met to conclude the project.
Assigned project manager, responsibility, and authority level	The authority of the project manager with regard to staffing, bud- get management and variance, technical decisions, and conflict resolution. Examples of staffing authority include the power to hire, fire, discipline, accept, or not accept project staff. Budget management refers to the authority of the project manager to commit, manage, and control project funds. Variance refers to the variance level that requires escalation. Technical decisions describe the authority of the project manager to make technical decisions about deliverables or the project approach. Conflict resolution defines the degree to which the project manager can resolve conflict within the team, within the organization, and with external stakeholders.
Name and authority of the sponsor or other person(s) authorizing the project charter	The name, position, and authority of the person who oversees the project manager for the purposes of the project. Common types of authority include the ability to approve changes, determine acceptable variance limits, resolve inter-project conflicts, and champion the proj- ect at a senior management level.