LESSON 3: SCOPE
The Project Charter
A project charter is a document that formally recognizes a project and begins to define the project's objective and management. Some organizations may create a project charter from a standardized template, while other organizations may take a more free-form and adaptable approach. A project charter can contain:
- Title and date
- Purpose and objectives
- Anticipated start date and project length
- Project manager's name
- Initial scope assessment
- List of stakeholders
- Project sponsor
- Role and responsibility matrix
- Management approach
- Initial risk and assumptions
- Comments section
Examples of project charter templates can be found on Schwalbe's companion website in Appendix D.
Not all organizations use a project charter. In some organizations, a verbal go-ahead to create a response to a Request for Proposal may fill a similar role. The advantage of a formal project charter, especially to larger organization managing multiple projects or potential projects, it that the commitments of the organization in general and individuals in particular are documented. This can help to avoid confusion or unexpected conflicts for resources.
Now that we've talked about a project plan, you will have an opportunity to create one! The following Web page in this lesson contains Assignment 2, where you will find out the background information you will need to do it.