Project Charter

What is a Project Charter?

The project charter is part of your Project Strategy document. This document is one of the first deliverables on your project. The project charter should be no more than one page, even on large projects. The intention of the project charter is to provide an overview of the project, in business terms, that everyone can understand. It is not a list of requirements. In a sense, it is the project's mission. The project charter should consist of the following sections:

• Background

  Who is requesting the project? Focus on the original group requesting the change, not those joining the project with their own requests. This section is a very brief statement of the business area originating the request and who eventually owns the application.

• Problem Statement

  What problem is the project's completion solving? It is very easy to include too much detail in this section - don't! Instead, focus on solving the main problem. This should not be a list of requirements, simply an explanation of the problem to solve.

• Justification

  Why should the project be done? This section should be a high-level statement of the reasons why the project should be done. Do not give detailed justifications, such as cost-benefit ratios.