Expert judgment in project charter

Expert judgment is judgment provided on the basis of expertise in an application area, knowledge area, discipline or industry, as suitable for the activity being performed. It is a tool and technique of the Develop Project Charter process (and many others) in PMBOK. Experts may be groups or individuals with specialised knowledge or training.

Sources of expert judgment

• Other units within the organisation.
• Consultants.
• Stakeholders, including customers and sponsors.
• Professional and technical associations.
• Industry groups and subject matter experts.
• The Project Management Office (PMO).

How it is useful in developing the charter

1. Understanding the business case and strategy: experts advise whether the project aligns with business goals and the organisation's strategic plan.
2. Technical feasibility: specialists indicate whether the proposed technology is suitable, e.g. cloud versus on-premise.
3. Realistic estimates: experienced managers provide high-level cost, time and resource estimates, using similar past projects.
4. Risk identification: experts point out likely risks and constraints early.
5. Legal and regulatory compliance: legal, finance and industry experts note necessary approvals and standards.
6. Selecting stakeholders and understanding their needs.
7. Review and refinement: experts review the draft charter for completeness and clarity.
8. Using organisational knowledge: they apply knowledge of OPAs (templates, lessons learned).

Experts --> advice --> Develop Charter --> Charter

Precautions

Judgment may be biased or opinionated; verify with data, use several experts and document assumptions.

Example: For a core banking migration, the sponsor consults a senior database consultant and the compliance officer. They help set a realistic 12-month schedule and highlight Nepal Rastra Bank regulatory requirements in the charter.