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Download project charter template in Microsoft Word format.
Create the Perfect Project Charter with a Free Project Charter Template
Have you been asked to develop a project charter for a project your company is proposing? Do you know what should be included in the project charter contents? If not, you may want to refer to a free project charter template—a project charter example that will highlight the required elements of this vital document. In this article we will discuss the project charter in a bit more detail, and outline some of the topics that should always be included in a free project charter template.
About the Project Charter
A project charter is an importance business document that is used in the initiation and planning stages of project management. This document is crucial to the overall success of your project, and a document you will refer to consistently as the project moves forward.
As with any business document, proper construction of the project charter is crucial, as documents that are not developed carefully, including all required elements, could potentially lead to many unforeseen pitfalls and obstacles.
Free Project Charter Template: What Should Be Included?
If you search online, you will undoubtedly notice that a free project charter template is not hard to come by, as these documents are available on a variety of websites specializing in business documents. However, not every template you locate online will contain all of the required information. Therefore, before you select a free project charter template to help you with this assignment, you’ll want to make certain the template contains, at minimum, the following information.
Project Overview
The project overview is typically broken down into several sub-categories, including:
• Project identification. This is simply the formal name of the project—the name all stakeholders will use going forward to ensure consistent terminology.
• Project Background and History. How did the project come about? What events led up to the initiation of the project?
• Project Purpose. Generally, a project is initiated to meet a certain need, such as a business need, social need or to meet a legal requirement. Meeting this need should be the “purpose” of any project.
• Project Scope. The project scope is basically a description of what the project will entail, including costs and human resources, and any potential boundaries or limitations.
• Project Goals. Any free project charter template should have a place to list measurable project goals and short-term objectives.
• Stakeholders. This is merely a list of all individuals who will be involved with the project, either directly or indirectly. This includes not only the project manager and his/her team, but also the project sponsor and those people who will benefit from successful project completion.
Project Approach
The project approach section should identify how the project will be tackled and by when. This section of the free project template should include topics such as:
• Deliverables. This section will describe what will be delivered, and the specific dates they will be delivered by, including the various milestones.
• Roles and Responsibilities. This section will again list the project team members and describe the roles and responsibilities of each.
• Project Resources. Other than the human resources that will be needed for successful project completion, what alternate resources will be used?
• Project Communication. Here you will list how the progress of the project will be communicated to all stakeholders.
• Project Schedule. The project schedule should list tentative start and end dates for each phase of the project, along with an estimated completion date.
The final portion of the project charter is the approval section, in which you will compose wording as to the authorization of the project.
When constructed properly, using a free project charter template as your guide, the project charter can be of significant benefit in helping your organization meet the desired goals and objectives of your project, without encountering unforeseen complications and delays.