Project Charter ©

For [Project Name]

Document Control

Document Information
©

Information
Document Id [Document Management System #]
Document Owner [Owner Name]
Issue Date [Date]
Last Saved Date [Date]
File Name [Name]

Document History

Version Issue Date Changes

[1.0] [Date] [Section, Page(s) and Text Revised]

Document Approvals

Role Name Signature © Date

Project Sponsor

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Project Review Group

Project Manager ©

Quality Manager
(if applicable)

Procurement Manager
(if applicable)

Communications Manager
(if applicable)

Project Office Manager

(if applicable)

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Table of Contents

Template Guide
1 Executive Summary
2 Project Definition
2.1 Vision
2.2 Objectives
2.3 Scope
2.4 Deliverables

3 Project Organisation
3.1 Customers
3.2 Stakeholders
3.3 Roles
3.4 Responsibilities
3.5 Structure

4 Project Plan
4.1 Approach
4.2 Overall Plan
4.3 Resource Plan
4.4 Financial Plan
4.5 Quality Plan

5 Project Considerations
5.1 Risks
5.2 Issues
5.3 Assumptions
5.4 Constraints

6 Appendix
6.1 Supporting Documentation

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Template Guide

What is a Project Charter?

A Project Charter is a document which outlines the purpose of the project, the way the
project will be structured and how it will be successfully implemented. It describes the
project:

● Vision, objectives, scope and deliverables (i.e. what we have to achieve)

● Stakeholders, roles and responsibilities (i.e. who will take part in it)
● Resource, financial and quality plans (i.e. how it will be undertaken).
©

The Project Charter may also be referred to as a “Terms of Reference (TOR)” or “Project
Definition Report (PDR)”.

When do I use a Project Charter?

The Project Charter is usually presented by Senior Management within the business to an
identified Business Sponsor. It is completed after the Business Case and Feasibility Study
have been approved but before the Project Team is formally appointed.

Furthermore:

● The Project Charter defines the boundaries for the project. It describes in high level the
scope of the project, within which all deliverables must be produced. Activities should be
undertaken outside the defined scope of the project only if a valid ‘change request form’
has been approved by the Project Sponsor
● The next stage following approval of the Project Charter is the formal appointment of the
project team.©

How to use this template

This document provides a guide on the topics usually included in a Project Charter. Sections
may be added, removed or redefined at your leisure to meet your particular business
circumstance. Example tables, diagrams and charts have been added (where suitable) to
provide further guidance on how to complete each relevant section.

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 1. Executive Summary
Sum up each of the sections in this document concisely by outlining the project:

● Definition
● Organisation and plan
● Risks and issues
● Assumptions and constraints. ©

2. Project Definition
This section describes what the project sets out to achieve. It outlines the vision for the
project, the key objectives to be met, the scope of work to be undertaken and the
deliverables to be produced.

1. Vision
Describe the overall vision of the project. The vision statement should be short, concise and
achievable. Examples of vision statements include:

● To deliver a robust, scalable financial management system to the business

● To procure new work premises with adequate capacity and functional surrounds
● To successfully introduce new customer service processes to the marketplace. ©

2. Objectives
List the key objectives of the project. Objectives are statements which describe in more
detail what it is that the project is going to achieve. All objectives listed should be Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART).

Business Objectives
List the business-specific objectives to be achieved. For example:

● To deliver new accounts payable and receivable and payroll processes, thereby reducing
financial processing timescales by at least 30%
● To build brand new work premises with 50% more space, 30 more cark parks and 20%
fewer operational costs than the existing premises
● To provide a new customer complaints service to enable customers to issue complaints
on-line and receive a direct response from the company within 24hrs. ©

Technology Objectives
List the technology-specific objectives to be achieved. For example:

● To install new accounts payable and receivable and payroll system modules within the
existing accounting system, thereby achieving 99.5% system up-time
● To relocate existing technology infrastructure at the new building premises within 2 days
elapsed time and with no impact on customer service delivery
● To build a new website which allows customers to enter and track complaints through to
resolution.

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 3. Scope
Define the scope of the project in terms of the business:

● Processes which will change

● Organisational areas which will be affected
● Locations which will be impacted on
● Data which will be altered
● Applications which will be installed and/or altered
● Technologies which will be deployed and/or decommissioned ©

Where relevant, identify the related business areas which will not be affected as a result of
this project.

4. Deliverables
Highlight the key project deliverables in the following table (includes examples):

Item Components © Description

New physical ● New physical building ● 1200 sq m premises near city centre with outdoor
premises facilities, parking and signage
● Interior fit-out ● Open plan environment with 5 offices, 3 meeting
rooms and a staff games room
● Telecommunications ● Voice / data telecoms infrastructure and video
conference facilities

New financial ● Accounts payable module ● A new system module which enables staff to
system quickly enter accounts payable transactions
● Accounts receivable module ● A new system module which enables staff to
quickly enter accounts receivable transactions
● Payroll module ● A new system module which enables staff to
quickly enter payroll information

New ● Complaints website ● New website with customer complaints forms, a

customer complaint tracking page and company contact
complaints information
process ● Complaints resolution process ● New full-time staff complaints role and process for
resolving complaints made
● Complaints measurement ● New process for assessing complaint
process characteristics (such as numbers, business areas
and resolution timescales)

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 3. Project Organisation

1. Customers
Describe the customers who will use the deliverables produced from the project. Customers
may be individuals or groups within or outside of the company. The success of the project
will be primarily based on whether or not the deliverables produced match the requirements
of the customers identified in this table.

Customer Representative ©

Customer Group Customer Name

2. Stakeholders
List the key stakeholders for this project. A ‘stakeholder’ is simply a person or entity outside
of the project who has a key interest in the project. For instance, a company financial
controller will have an interest in the cost implications of the project, a CEO will have an
interest in whether the project is conducted in accordance with the vision of the company.
Examples of stakeholders include:

● Company Executives
● Legislative bodies
● Regulatory bodies.

Complete the following table (includes examples):

Stakeholder © Interested in
CEO Alignment with company vision and strategy
Financial Controller Alignment with company budget
Health and Safety Office Alignment with health and safety standards
Government body Compliance with legislation
Industry body Compliance with codes of practice

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 3. Roles
Identify the roles required to undertake the project. Examples of typical roles include project:

● Sponsor
● Review Group
● Manager
● Team Member

For each role identified, list the resource likely to fill each role and his/her assignment details
by completing the following table:

Role Organisation © Resource Name Assignment Status Assignment Date

Role Organisation Person Unassigned / Assigned xx/yy/zz

For larger projects with more than 10 resources, list only the key roles in the above table.
Include a detailed listing and description of all roles within a separate Resource Plan
document if required.

4. Responsibilities
List the generic responsibilities for each role identified. A full list of the responsibilities,
performance criteria and skills required should be documented within a separate Job
Description for each project role.

Project Sponsor

The Project Sponsor is the principal ‘owner’ of the project. Key responsibilities include:

● Defining the vision and high level objectives for the project
● Approving the requirements, timetable, resources and budget
● Authorising the provision of funds / resources (internal or external)
● Approving the project plan and quality plan
● Ensuring that major business risks are identified and managed
● Approving any major changes in scope
● Receiving Project Review Group minutes and taking action accordingly
● Resolving issues escalated by the Project Manager / Project Review Group
● Ensuring business / operational support arrangements are put in place
● Ensuring the participation of a business resource (if required)
● Providing final acceptance of the solution upon project completion. ©

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Project Review Group

The Project Review Group may include both business and 3 rd party representatives and is
put in place to ensure that the project is progressing according to plan.

Key responsibilities include:

● Assisting the Project Sponsor with the definition of the project vision and objectives
● Undertaking Quality Reviews prior to the completion of each project milestone
● Ensuring that all business risks are identified and managed accordingly
● Ensuring conformance to the standards and processes identified in the Quality Plan
● Ensuring that all appropriate client/vendor contractual documentation is in place prior to
the initiation of the project.
©

Project Manager

The Project Manager ensures that the daily activities undertaken on the project are in
accordance with the approved project plans. The Project Manager is responsible for
ensuring that the project produces the required deliverables on time, within budgeted cost
and at the level of quality outlined within the Quality Plan.

Key responsibilities include:

● Documenting the detailed Project Plan and Quality Plan

● Ensuring that all required resources are assigned to the project and clearly tasked
● Managing assigned resources according to the defined scope of the project
● Implementing the following project processes: time / cost / quality / change / risk / issue /
procurement / communication / acceptance management
● Monitoring and reporting on project performance (re: schedule, cost, quality and risk)
● Ensuring compliance with the processes and standards outlined in the Quality Plan
● Reporting and escalating project risks and issues
● Managing project interdependencies
● Making adjustments to the detailed plan as necessary to provide a complete picture of
the progress of the project at any time.

Project Team Member

A Project Team member undertakes all tasks necessary to design, build and implement the
final solution.

Key responsibilities include:

● Undertaking all tasks allocated by the Project Manager (as per the Project Plan)
● Reporting progress of the execution of tasks to the Project Manager on a frequent basis
● Maintaining all documentation relating to the execution of allocated tasks
● Escalating risks and issues to be resolved by the Project Manager. ©

5. Structure

Depict the reporting lines between each of the key roles described above within a Project
Organisation Chart. An example follows:

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 4. Project Plan
1. Approach
Describe the approach to be taken to implement each of the phases within the project.

Phase Approach ©

Initiation Outline the method by which the project will be further defined, the project team appointed
and the Project Office established.
Planning Define the overall planning process to ensure that the phases, activities and tasks are
undertaken in a co-ordinated fashion.
Execution Describe the generic phases and activities required to build, test and implement the
deliverables of the project.
Closure Describe the steps required to release the deliverables to the business, close the project
office, reallocate staff and perform a Post Implementation Review of the project.

2. Overall Plan
Provide a summarized plan outlining the sequence of each of the phases listed above.

A more detailed Project Plan will be drawn up during the “Planning” phase of the project.

Milestones
List the major project milestones and the required delivery dates. A ‘milestone’ is a
significant event or stage to be completed. Explain why each milestone is critical to the
project, as follows:

Milestone Date © Description

Milestone Title xx/yy/zz Explain why milestone date is critical to business

Dependencies
List any project activities which:

● Will impact on another activity external to the project

● Will be impacted on by the non/delivery of another activity external to the project

Project Activity Impacts on Impacted on by Criticality © Date

Planned Activity External Activity External Activity Low/Medium/High xx/yy/zz

3. Resource Plan
Summarize the duration and effort required for each project team member, as follows:

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Role Start Date End Date % Effort
Project Role xx/yy/zzzz xx/yy/zzzz xx/yy/zzzz

A detailed Resource Plan will be drawn up during the “Planning” phase of this project.

4. Financial Plan
Summarize the project budget approved (within the Business Case) as follows:

Category Cost © Value

People ● Salaries of project staff $x
● Contractors and outsourced parties $x
● Training courses $x

Physical ● Building premises for project team $x

● Equipment and materials $x
● Tools (computers, cabling, phones…) $x

Marketing ● Advertising / branding $x

● Promotional materials $x
● PR and communications $x

Organisational ● Operational downtime $x

● Short-term loss in productivity $x
● Cultural change Describe

A detailed Financial Plan will be drawn up during the “Planning” phase of this project.

5. Quality Plan
Briefly describe the various processes to be undertaken to ensure the success of the project.

Process © Description
Quality Management Summary of how the process will be undertaken
Change Management
Risk Management
Issue Management
Configuration Management
Document Management
Acceptance Management
Procurement Management
Financial Management
Timesheet Management

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Project Reporting
Project Communications

A detailed Quality Plan will be drawn up during the “Planning” phase of this project.

5. Project Considerations

1. Risks
Summarize the most apparent risks associated with the project. Risks are defined as “any
event which may adversely affect the ability of the solution to produce the required
deliverables”. Risks may be Strategic, Environmental, Financial, Operational, Technical,
Industrial, Competitive or Customer related. Complete the following table:

Description Likelihood Impact © Mitigating Actions

Inability to recruit Low Very High Outsource project to a company with proven
skilled resource industry experience and appropriately skilled
staff
Technology solution Medium High Complete a pilot project to prove the full
is unable to deliver technology solution
required results
Additional capital Medium Medium Maintain strict capital expenditure processes
expenditure may be during the project
required in addition to
that approved

To complete this section thoroughly, it may be necessary to undertake a formal Risk

Assessment (by documenting a Risk Management Plan). To reduce the likelihood and
impact of each risk's eventuating, clear ‘mitigating actions’ should be defined.

2. Issues
Summarize the highest priority issues associated with the project. Issues are defined as “any
event which currently adversely affects the ability of the solution to produce the required
deliverables”. Complete the following table:

Description © Priority Resolution Actions

Required capital expenditure funds have not High Request funding approval as part of this
been budgeted proposal
Required computer software is only at ‘beta’ Medium Design solution based on current software
phase and has not yet been released live version and adapt changes to solution once
the final version of the software has been
released
Council approval must be sought to Low Initiate the council approval process early

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implement the final solution so that it does not delay the final roll-out
process.

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 3. Assumptions
List the major assumptions identified with the project to date. Examples include:

● There will be no legislative, business strategy or policy changes during this project
● Prices of raw materials will not increase during the course of the project
● Additional human resources will be available from the business to support the project. ©

4. Constraints
List the major constraints identified with the project to date. Examples include:

● The financial budget allocated is fixed and does not allow for over-spending
● There are limited technical resource available for the project
● The technical solution must be implemented after-hours to minimize the operational
impact on the business.

6. Appendix
1. Supporting Documentation
Attach any documentation you believe is relevant to the Project Charter, including:

● Curricula Vitae (CVs) for key project staff

● Approved Business Case
● Approved Feasibility Study
● Research Materials
● External quotes or tenders
● Detailed financial planning spreadsheets
● Other relevant information or correspondence. ©

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