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Project charter
Short answer
A project charter formally authorizes the project and gives the project manager authority to apply organizational resources. It documents high-level requirements, objectives, summary schedule, budget, assumptions, constraints, and success criteria, linking the project to strategic goals.
What do you mean by project charter? Define project charter and explain it in detail.
A project charter is a document that formally authorises a project and gives the project manager the authority to apply organisational resources to project activities. It is issued by the sponsor or senior management (PMBOK: output of the "Develop project charter" process). It documents the business needs, assumptions, constraints and understanding of the customer's needs and the high-level product.
Purpose
- Formally recognises the existence of the project.
- Gives the project manager authority.
- Links the project with the organisation's strategic goals.
- Provides a basis for the detailed plan; it is short (1-2 pages is typical).
- Prevents misunderstanding between sponsor and manager.
Typical contents
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Project title and date | Name and authorisation date |
| Project manager | Name and level of authority |
| Business case / justification | Why the project is done, expected benefits |
| Objectives | Measurable goals |
| Scope summary | High-level description and deliverables |
| Success criteria | Measures of success |
| Summary milestone schedule | Key dates |
| Summary budget | High-level cost |
| Assumptions and constraints | |
| Risks | High-level risks |
| Stakeholders | Key stakeholders and requirements |
| Approval | Sponsor signature |
Developing a charter
Inputs: project statement of work, business case, agreement/contract, enterprise environmental factors, organisational process assets. Tools: expert judgment, facilitation. Output: project charter.
SOW + Business case + Agreement + EEF + OPA
|
Develop Project Charter
|
Project Charter
Example
For a "Campus Wi-Fi project", the charter names the manager, sets a budget of Rs 15 lakh, goal of 95% coverage within 4 months and gives authority to procure access points.
The charter differs from the project plan: the charter authorises, the plan explains how the work will be done.
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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