ARCHIVED - Project Charter Template Guidelines

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Project Overview

Project Purpose

A brief description of the project should be provided. This should describe in business terms the reason for the project and the overall timing and expectations. Some background information about how and why the project was initiated should also be included. Describe who (in terms of individual roles and/or organizational areas) will use the final outcome of the project and identify any other stakeholders who will be impacted by the results of the project. The Business Case document may already contain the information to be included in this section and should be referenced as appropriate.

Project Scope

Identify the project scope and the product/service scope.

The product scope defines the spectrum of features and functionality that will be delivered and the limits that have been imposed in order to control the release or delivery of the product or service (what the project will accomplish). The product scope description within the Project Charter will not constitute the requirements specification for the product. Rather, it is expected to provide a general description of the product and the initial understanding and agreement about the scope of that product.

The project scope defines the work that is required to deliver the project product or service to meet the project objectives (how the project will be accomplished).

Although the product scope and project scope are tightly related, the remaining sections of the Project Charter cover the project scope and the processes required to deliver the project. The focus within the Charter should remain on project processes.

Project Objectives

Identify the overall objectives for the project. Identify what the project is intended to achieve, in business and technical terms. Refer to the Investment Decision, the Business Case and the Logical Framework Analysis.

Outstanding Issues

Identify any outstanding issues that need to be resolved within the scope of the Project. These are issues that have been identified during the Business Case creation and approval process and/or through the project initiation process.

Approvals

This section identifies the names and roles of the project stakeholders and their approval of the Project Charter. Signatures are often included in this section, though in some organizations a listing of the Project Sponsor and Project Manager is all that is required.

References

Identify any other documents, including, for example, the IM/IT Investment Decision, the Business Case and/or the Logical Framework Analysis, (in electronic and/or paper form) that relate to the project at the time of development of the Project Charter. Include the current revision number, issue date, author, location of the document and method of access for each document or reference. It is not necessary to repeat the detailed content of these related documents. Rather, enough information should be provided in this section to explain how the document relates to the project, what it contains that is pertinent to the project, and how it can be located.

Terminology

Define any unique of significant terms and/or acronyms that will be commonly used within the project. Terms that may be new or confusing to project stakeholders should be clearly explained.

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