What is a Project Charter?
- Project Charter is a document that formally authorizes the commencement of a project or a phase.
- Project Charter authorizes the project manager to obtain, negotiate and deploy organizational resources to project activities.
- PMBOK recommends that the project manager be identified and assigned as early as possible in the project, prior to the start of planning, and preferably while the project charter is being developed.
- It is also recommended that the project manager be involved in the development of the project charter. But, it should be noted that even though the project manager/ the project management team may help in preparing the Project Charter, the approval and funding should always be external to the project boundaries. Projects are generally authorized by someone external to the project such as the Project Management Office (PMO), project sponsor or someone from the senior management.
- Project Charter documents the initial requirements that addresses the stakeholders' needs and expectations
Inputs to the development of a Project Charter
The following are the necessary inputs for the development of a project charter:
- Project Statement of Work (SOW)
- Business Case
- Contract
- Enterprise Environmental Factors
- Organizational Process Assets
