What Is a Project Charter?

A project charter is a formal written statement and certification document proving the existence of the project. Signed by senior management, specifies the scope of the project, such as constraints on quality, time, cost and deliverables, and empowers the project manager to allocate organizational resources for project work Usually the first official document after the project has started. It mainly includes two aspects: one is the commercial requirements that the project meets, and the other is the product description. It also usually includes a description of the main responsibilities and tasks undertaken by the project manager, project staff, project sponsor and senior management in the project. ^[1]

Project charter

The competent authority must make a decision to approve or disapprove a project and issue a project charter. The decision is based primarily on the value and attractiveness of the project to project owners and sponsors. The prerequisite is the review and approval of a feasibility study.

In a sense, the project charter is actually the requirements for the project and the responsibilities, rights, and benefits of the project implementer. Therefore, the basic content of the following aspects should be included in the project charter.

1. Project or project

The charter of any project is not compiled by people from imagination or at will, but is prepared through comprehensive balance according to the characteristics and conditions of the project. Therefore, when formulating a project charter, people need to rely on the following aspects of information.

1. Project initial decision

Regardless of whether the project is a self-development project or a business project, the primary basis for preparing the project charter is the initial decision of the project. This includes the decision at the beginning of the project, the conclusion of the project feasibility analysis, the main objectives and special indicators of the project.

2. Project's main contract

When the project is run by a contractor or

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The project charter is mostly formulated and issued by the project sponsor or project sponsor. It provides the main requirements for approving the project and guiding the project work, so it is the fundamental law to guide the implementation and management of the project. The project charter may be prepared and issued by the project owner, the user of the project, and the sponsoring organization of the project such as the government and social organizations. The project charter specifies the authority of the project manager and the resources available to it, so most project managers should be determined when the project charter is released so that they can better participate in determining the plan and goals of the project. The project charter is generally prepared and released after people have made the initial decision of the project, because people must first decide whether to carry out the project and the main indicators and requirements of the project, etc., before the project charter is formulated.

In summary, the role of the project charter is as follows:

Formally announce the existence of the project, and give legal status to the start of the project.

Roughly specifying the scope of the project is also an important basis for the subsequent work of project scope management.

Formally appoint a project manager and authorize it to use the organization's resources to carry out project activities.