Lessons · Project management · the project charter
The charter: one page that says the project exists and why
The charter names the project, its purpose, its rough scope, budget and dates, its sponsor and its manager, and is signed by the person who can pay for it.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
Three months in, a department head says the project was never approved and pulls his people. With a signed charter, you show him the sponsor's signature and the line that says which teams contribute. Without one, he is right.
How to think about it
Write it short and get it signed before planning starts. If a line cannot be filled in yet, write the assumption and say so; a blank is a hole somebody will fall through.
Worked example
Purpose: replace the paper timesheets so payroll closes in 2 days instead of 5Why, with a measurable target. Every later decision is tested against this line.
Scope, roughly: the timesheet app, the payroll link, training for 120 staffEnough to know the shape; the detailed scope comes in planning.
Budget: about $150,000. Target: live by 30 SeptemberRough numbers, marked rough. They are the start of the baseline, not the baseline.
Sponsor: the operations director. Project manager: you, with authority to assign the two developersWho pays and who runs it. The authority line is the one you will need later.
Signed: the sponsor, 4 MarchNow the project exists.
Your turn
Write the line that turns the charter into an authorization.
by the sponsor, with the date.
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Treating the charter's budget and date as the plan. They are the sponsor's first guess written down so that planning can start; the plan replaces them with numbers built from the work.