Project Name Project Charter ______________________________________________________________________________
Prepared By: xxxxxxxxx
Date of Publication: mm/dd/yyyy
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Add Project Name Here Project Charter Table of Contents PROJECT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...............................................................................................................................1 PROJECT OVERVIEW...............................................................................................................................................1 PROJECT OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................................................1 PROJECT SCOPE........................................................................................................................................................2 IN SCOPE:....................................................................................................................................................................2 OUT OF SCOPE:................................................................................................................................................... 2 DELIVERABLES PRODUCED:.................................................................................................................................... 2 ORGANIZATIONS AFFECTED OR IMPACTED:.............................................................................................................. 3 PROJECT ESTIMATED EFFORT/COST/DURATION......................................................................................4 ESTIMATED COST:................................................................................................................................................ 4 ESTIMATED EFFORT HOURS:.................................................................................................................................. 4 ESTIMATED DURATION:......................................................................................................................................... 4 PROJECT ASSUMPTIONS.......................................................................................................................................5 PROJECT RISKS........................................................................................................................................................5 PROJECT CONSTRAINTS.......................................................................................................................................6 PROJECT DEPENDENCIES.....................................................................................................................................6 PROJECT ORGANIZATION....................................................................................................................................7 ORGANIZATION CHART:......................................................................................................................................... 7 Project Approvals..........................................................................................................................................................8
ii Copyright 2005-2008 TenStep, Inc. All Rights Reserved Add Project Name Here Project Charter Revision History
Version Date Author(s) Revision Notes
1.0 (Original author)
Copyright and Intellectual Property Statement
This template is the intellectual property of TenStep, Inc. It may be used and modified within the terms and conditions of your TenStep, Inc. license agreement (Member, Browse, Consultant, etc.) Unauthorized use, sale, resale, copying, etc. are strictly forbidden by USA and international copyright law. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
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Project Executive Summary
(Optional) The executive summary provides a summary of the Project Charter document. In many cases, this is a PowerPoint presentation. If it is, then a reference to the external document can be included here. This section contains high-level explanations of the project objectives, scope, assumptions, risks, costs, timeline, approach, and organization. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
Project Overview Describe the background and context for the project and why it is being undertaken. Speak to the business value of the work being performed. Put enough information here so that the rest of the sections in the Project Charter make sense. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
Project Objectives Objectives are statements that describe what this project will achieve and deliver. The completion of an objective should be evident through the creation of one or more deliverables. If the statement is at a high level and does not imply the creation of a deliverable, it may be a goal instead. If the statement is too low level and describes features and functions, then it may be a requirement statement instead. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
This project will meet the following objectives:
Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3
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Project Scope This section is where you clearly define the logical boundaries of your project. Scope statements are used to define what is within the boundaries of the project and what is outside those boundaries. Examples of areas that could be examined are data, processes, locations or business areas. If the scope statement is a true boundary you should be able to tie at least one out-of-scope statement for each in-scope statement. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
The scope of this project includes and excludes the following items:
In Scope:
Out of Scope:
Deliverables Produced: All projects have deliverables. In this section, describe the deliverables of the project. Provide enough explanation and detail that the reader will be able to understand what is being produced. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
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Organizations Affected or Impacted:
Specify areas or groups affected by, or that may participate in, the project. This is meant to be comprehensive but high level. Individual names should not appear, but the organizations they represent are included here. (Remove this comment section from final document.) The impact of this project on other organizations needs to be determined to ensure that the right people and functional areas are involved and communication is directed appropriately.
Organization How Are They Affected, or How Are They
Participating?
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Project Estimated Effort/Cost/Duration
The estimated effort hours and project costs may be depicted in many ways, including costs by team member, cost by deliverable, cost by milestone, or cost by category (internal labor, external labor, travel, training, supplies, etc.). Also include a chart showing the project start date, major milestones, and end date. The deliverables included in this milestone chart should all have been described in the scope section. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
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Project Assumptions Assumptions are statements that you believe to be true typically for planning purposes. Project assumptions are circumstances and events that need to occur for the project to be successful. They are listed as assumptions if there is a HIGH probability that they will, in fact, happen. The assumptions provide a historical perspective when evaluating project performance and determining justification for project-related decisions and direction. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
Certain assumptions and premises need to be made to identify and estimate the required tasks and timing for the project. Based on the current knowledge today, the project assumptions are listed below. If an assumption is invalidated at a later date, then the activities and estimates in the project plan should be adjusted accordingly. Assumption 1 Assumption 2 Assumption 3, etc.
Project Risks Project risks are circumstances or events that exist outside of the control of the project team that will have an adverse impact on the project if they occur. (In other words, whereas an issue is a current problem that must be dealt with, a risk is a potential future problem that has not yet occurred.) All projects contain some risks. Risks may not be able to be eliminated entirely, but can be anticipated and managed, thereby reducing the probability that they will occur. Risks that have a high probability of occurring and have a high negative impact should be listed below. Also consider those risks that have a medium probability of occurring. For each risk listed, identify activities to perform to eliminate or mitigate the risk. Project risks are characteristics, circumstances, or features of the project environment that may have an adverse effect on the project or the quality of its deliverables. Known risks identified with this project have been included below. A plan will be put into place to minimize or eliminate the impact of each risk to the project. Risk Area Level Risk Plan (H/M/L ) 1. Project risk 1 Risk plan activity 1 Risk plan activity 2, etc. 2. Project risk 2 3. Project risk 3
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Project Constraints Constraints are events or limitations that are outside the control of the project team and need to be managed around. They are facts. They are not necessarily problems, but could be. Date constraints, for instance, imply that certain events (perhaps the end of the project) must occur by certain dates. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
The project manager should be aware of constraints because they refer to limitations that the project must execute within. Constraint 1 Constraint 2 Constraint 3, etc.
Project Dependencies List any other projects that are in progress of pending that have a dependency with your project. These dependencies are deliverables-based. That is, a project will pass a deliverable to you or you will pass a deliverable to the other project. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
Project Date Due Deliverable Dependency
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Project Organization It is important to understand who the major players are on the project. An organization chart works well. Otherwise list the major project roles and the actual people involved. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
An appropriate project organization structure is essential to achieve success. The
following list depicts the proposed organization: Project Executive Sponsor: Project Sponsor: Project Director (Manager of the Project Manager): Steering Committee Members: Project Manager: Project Advisors: Project Team Members:
Organization Chart: Add a project organization chart, if available. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
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Project Approvals Add any signatures that are important for the approval of the project. (Remove this comment section from final document.)
______________________________________ ___________________ Project Executive Sponsor xxxxx Date
______________________________________ ___________________ Project Sponsor xxxx xxxx Date
______________________________________ ___________________ Project Director xxxx xxxx Date
______________________________________ ___________________ Project Manager xxxx xxxx Date
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