What is a Project Charter?

A Project Charter is a document that officially declares the onset of the project and specifies important information necessary to carry on further project tasks. Ideally, this document is issued and validated by the Project Sponsor only.

Benefits of Project Charter

A Project Charter:

• Formally authorizes a Project in the company. Resource Managers, for instance, may start discussing resource requirements internally within their functional units to make sure they can meet the project’s resource needs.
• Authorizes the Project Manager to spend approved funds required to start project activities.
• Provides high-level requirements of the project.
• Identifies important assumptions and constraints that may affect project activities.

Why is a Project Charter Necessary?

Many companies start projects without preparing well-defined Project Charters. When that happens, the Project Manager in charge finds it difficult to:

• Approach anyone for resources because the project is not officially recognized at the company.
• Spend any funds required for initiating activities because the accounting/finance department is unaware of the planned activities.
• Find the ‘right’ personnel, stakeholders, or primary decision makers necessary for project success (behind/on schedule, within budget, and according to the expected quality).

Does the Project Charter Change?

The simple answer is ‘No’. A project charter is usually broad enough that it does not need be changed throughout the course of a project.

A Sample Project Charter Outline

• Project Title and Description
• Project Manager Assigned and Authority Level
• Reason for the Project
• Pre-Assigned Resources
• Project Stakeholders
• Stakeholder Requirements
• Deliverables or end-result of the project
• Constraints and Assumptions