A project charter is often the first document a new team member reads, and drafting one is a task assistants and officers are regularly given. It is short, but it settles the arguments that would otherwise come up again and again.
What a charter is
A charter is a one or two page document, agreed at the start, that says why the project exists and the basic terms it runs on. Once the people in charge agree to it, the project has permission to go ahead. Organisations may call it a project brief, inception note or terms of reference, but the content is similar.
What goes in it
- Project name and purpose. One or two sentences on the problem and why it matters.
- Goal. Specific and checkable: what will exist or change, for whom, by when.
- In scope. The main things the project will deliver.
- Out of scope. Things people might expect that the project will not do.
- Budget. The total amount and where it comes from.
- Key dates. Start, end and a few important milestones.
- People. Who is accountable overall, who is on the team, who the main stakeholders are.
- Main risks or assumptions. Things that must hold true for success.