Elements of the Project Charter
When kicking off a complex program and engaging a range of stakeholders, it is helpful to spend some time establishing a clear Project Charter. While every project will vary, the following are elements of an effective charter:
- What Are We Trying to Address and Accomplish?
- Situation
- Ambition and Vision
- Measureable Objectives
- In / Out of Scope
- Business Justification
- Org Readiness /Issues
- What Are We Committing to Deliver and Achieve?
- Key Deliverables / Dates / Milestones
- Measuring Success?
- Volumes
- Effectiveness
- Efficiency
- Reliabilty
- User Experience
- Quality
- Designing the Approach
- Hypotheses
- Related initiatives / programs
- Organizational Change
- Key Dependencies
- Key Assumptions
- Risks
- Buidling the Approach and Schedule of Activities
- Establishing Phases
- Scoping Phase
- Design Phase
- Build Phase
- Implement Phase
- Operate Phase
- Milestones / Owner/ Dates
- Identifying Stakeholders, Team Structure, Roles & Resource
- Stakeholder / Sponsors & Engagement
- Critical Resource Requirements
- Team Structure, roles, commitments
- Other resources needed
- Establishing the Project Office
- Resources / Suppliers
- Schedule
- Costs / Budget
- Change Control
- Risks/ Risk Register
- Team Workspace