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Download project charter template in Microsoft Word format.
Get Your Project Authorized using a Project Charter Example
How important is the project charter to the success of your project? According to experts, the project charter is essential for getting a project off the ground, not just as an informational tool, but also as a way to organize your project and to identify processes and procedures that are necessary for successful completion. Those who want to ensure that their project charter will accomplish these tasks, may want to first consult a quality project charter example—one that contains all the required information, organized for easy comprehension. In this article, to help you create a document that will meet the required objectives, we will first provide a brief description of the project charter document, and show you what the finished document should contain using a project charter example.
Defining the Project Charter
A project charter is a formal document that describes, in detail, the project being proposed—a document that seeks authorization from the project sponsor for the project manager to move forward. The project charter defines the project and its purpose, identifies the people who will be either directly or indirectly involved with its implementation, and highlights the need the project will address—either in the business or in the community. It will also detail the processes and procedures that will be used to accomplish project goals and the various ways stakeholders will communicate with each other regarding the project’s progress—or lack thereof. Finally, the project charter should define the project’s proposed schedule and budget, including the various funding sources both in and outside of the organization.
Project Charter Example
For newly-named project managers, the task of creating a project charter can seem daunting to say the least. It is not that they lack the necessary information, but more a matter of organizing that information cohesively within the document. Fortunately, it is fairly quick and easy to find a project charter example online, which if constructed correctly will contain the following topics/information:
• Description of the Project and the Need. Projects are, and should be designed to meet specific needs, which is why project charters that fail to define a project adequately—those that fail to address a certain need—are often rejected by project sponsors.
• Project Stakeholders. Stakeholders include the team members who will be directly involved with project delivery, as well as those individuals who will benefit from the project once it is completed.
• Strategy. Information on how you plan to approach the project from beginning to end is an essential part of any project charter example. This section will include the various processes and tasks necessary for success.
• Schedule. Merely listing the estimated completion date of a project is not enough. Quality projects are typically divided into several phases or milestones to help keep track of progress and costs.
• Budget. What are the projected costs for each phase of the project, including the cost of salaries and other resources? How will those costs be met? Answers to these questions must be included in the project charter.
Using a project charter example is an ideal strategy for ensuring that every detail of the project is duly recorded, without omissions that could potentially set the project back.