Lecture 8 Project Charter By:Asmar.

Project Charter
The project charter is the document issued by the project initiator or sponsor
that formally authorizes the existence of a project and provides the project
manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project
activities. It documents the business needs, assumptions, constraints, the
understanding of the customer’s needs and high-level requirements, and the
new product, service, or result that it is intended to satisfy.
Project charter templates often include the following components:

 Project goal - documents the reasons for undertaking the project in

clear, concise language.
 Project participants - identifies what people need to be involved in the
project and clearly states their roles.
 Stakeholders - identifies other people who will be directly affected by
the project and need to know about the project's progress.
 Requirements - identifies what resources are required for the project's
objectives to be achieved.
 Constraints - documents potential roadblocks or bottlenecks.
 Milestones - identifies start date and completion dates as well as dates
for other important checkpoints.
 Communication - specifies how the project manager will communicate
with project owners, participants and stakeholders through the project.
 Deliverables - documents what specific products, processes or services
the project will provide upon completion.

When do we create a project charter?

As per the PMBOK® Guide, the project charter is created during the
"Define" process . This process is one of the first ones to be performed in a
project and is completed during the "Initiating" process domain
Lecture 8 Project Charter By:Asmar.K

Why is a Project Charter Important?

One of the key factors of project success is effective project communications.
Projects often involve various stakeholders of different backgrounds and
differing project interests. What the project charter does is clearly and
concisely document the agreed upon project scope, objectives, and approach
as well as the major deliverables of the project. It is meant to be referenced
throughout the project life cycle. In short, the project charter helps to ensure
that all the project stakeholders are on the same page and minimizes the
emergence and impact of miscommunication, role confusion, and conflicting
stakeholders interests.