Project Charter

[Insert Project Name]

Author: [Type the author name]

Last Updated: January 6, 2017

Project Charter [Insert Project Name]

Purpose of Project Charter

The purpose of the project charter is to clearly outline what is to be done and authorize the Project
Manager to proceed and apply organizational resources. The charter provides the opportunity for the
sponsor to authorize the project based on measurable objectives in relation to a business need, and
defined parameters such as scope, milestones, roles, responsibilities, and budget. The project charter
is not meant to approve the project, which was done through intake, nor to document how things will
be done, which is done through planning (after initiation is complete). It is simply documentation
around the authorization provided to the Project Manager for that project. The project charter is part
of the Portfolio Management Groups project initiation process.
A project charter is required as part of the project initiation process when a project is medium or large
in size, with moderate or substantial complexity, according to the project complexity chart. Projects of
this nature may include risks that need to be monitored and mitigated, a resource commitment
(expenses and people time) of at least $250,000, a significant change in processes or how resources
are used, and/or a solution that requires collaboration and commitment across various business
units/departments.
Project Charter Participants and Approvers
Input into the project charter may come from many different sources including, but not limited to,
Sponsor, senior leadership, project intake form and/or business case, initial analysis/research done
when proposing the project, subject matter experts within business unit(s), and other stakeholders
(such as staff, students, faculty).
The author is typically the Project Manager for the project. If somebody else authors the charter, the
Project Manager will still provide a signature that they agree to execute the project according to the
documented parameters.
The approver of the project charter is the Sponsor.
Instructions
1.

2.

3.
4.

5.

Research and understand project information by reading any prior documentation (such as
intake form, business case, research/analysis, and lessons learned for similar projects, etc.)
and speaking to Sponsor and other stakeholders. The Project Artifact Library is one source of
information.
Create the project charter with input from applicable stakeholders and Sponsor by filling out
the sections in the template. The green italic text contains instructions for filling out the
template and can be removed for the final version of the document.
Review charter with applicable stakeholders for accuracy and completeness, if required.
Obtain appropriate approval for project charter to indicate agreement between the Project
Manager and Sponsor about the parameters of the project and authorizing the Project Manager
to begin.
Scan the signed project charter and upload to the Project Artifact Library

Next Steps
Once the project charter has been approved, the Project Manager can begin the stakeholder analysis
and fill out the initial version of the stakeholder register to understand who needs to be represented
on the Project Team. Based on the Project Managers understanding of stakeholders, he/she can then
talk to Functional Managers to negotiate time from their resources for the project and schedule a
project kickoff meeting. The Project Manager can also start documenting the risks in a risk register.

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Project Charter [Insert Project Name]

Project Purpose
Provide a paragraph or two describing the project and the benefit it is expected to
deliver. Links to previous project documents such as the business case or intake
form can be included to keep this section brief.
[Insert Introduction]

Scope
Provide a high level description of the projects scope. This should include what is
within scope, and what is not in scope. Include any assumptions pertaining to
scope. For larger projects, this description is high level and there should be a
reference to a more detailed scope description in the Project Management Plan.
[Insert Scope]

Success Criteria
Describe what criteria will be used to measure the success of the project, known at
the time of initiation, by providing measurable objectives and benefits in the charts
below. Consideration should be given to what can be measured upon project
closure, and what may have to be measured after closure and transitioned to the
functional manager who is in charge of the product/service from an operations
perspective after project closure. It is understood that this list will change as
the project evolves through planning and execution.
Project delivery success will be measured based upon whether the project delivered
what was asked for, whether there are benefits to what was delivered, and the
process to get there. The list of preliminary success criteria is listed in the charts
below. This list will be further expanded with changes tracked in the project
management plan.
Success of Product/Service (Scope, Requirements, Quality, Functionality)
How will it be determined that what is delivered is what was asked for, relevant to
constraints such as scope (requirements, functionality, et cetera), and quality?
Criteria for Success of
Product/Service
e.g. The product delivers a
fully functioning, automated
process for creating and

Planned Measurement(s)
Is the entire process for hiring managers to
post a monthly staff job posting automated,
including approvals?

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Criteria for Success of

Product/Service
approving a monthly staff
complement job posting that
reduces paper by 85%

Planned Measurement(s)

# of paper job postings HR receives vs # of

job postings done in the system by hiring
managers

Success of Outcome (delivery of benefits/objectives)

How will it be determined that what is delivered provides benefit to people?
Criteria for Success of Outcome
e.g. Ensure minimal
disruption of University
services due to employee
turnover by reducing the
time to
create a job opening, have it
approved, and posted

Planned Measurement(s)
# of days between the drafted posting
date/time stamp and the posted date/time
stamp for a job posting
# of days to fill an open position
Hiring manager satisfaction with new
automated process

Success of Process (how the project was managed)

How will it be determined that the process that was followed to achieve the
projects end deliverable(s) was successful (considering process activities such as
resource management, budget management, schedule management, project team
satisfaction, change management, communication, transition to operations, sponsor
satisfaction, procurement management, et cetera)?
Criteria for Success of Process
e.g. The project constraints
were managed efficiently by
the Project Manager

Planned Measurement(s)
# of days/months variance after December
31, 2016 target date (time constraint)
Budget variance is within planned
contingency with no additional funds
requested (budget constraint)

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Constraints
Provide a list of any known project constraints at the time of initiation. It is
understood that this list is subject to change as the project evolves through
planning and execution.
[Insert Constraints]

Dependencies
Provide a list of any project dependencies that are known at the time of initiation. It
is understood that this list is subject to change as the project evolves through
planning and execution.
[Insert Dependencies]

Budget
Provide the source of funding, and an estimation of project costs that are known at
the time of initiation. List any assumptions pertaining to the budget. It is
understood that this can change as the project evolves through planning and
execution, and that budget will be tracked and managed accordingly in a separate
document.
[Insert Budget]

Deliverables and Milestones

List known deliverables and milestones for the project, and possible timelines (if
known). It is understood at the time of initiation that this list is subject to change as
the project evolves through planning and execution.
[Insert Timeline]

Resource Roles and Responsibilities

The text below contains standard roles and responsibilities for a standard project,
therefore are not meant to provide an exact match to University position titles, job
descriptions, or career path descriptions. One person may be responsible for more
than one role on the project, or the responsibilities within a role may be
performed by more than one person on the project. The responsibilities can be
moved accordingly based on who will be doing what. If the who and what is not
known, retain the standard roles and responsibilities until more information is
known during project planning and execution. If name and FTE estimates for the
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role are known at the time of initiation, that information can be included. A RACI
chart for standard project roles and responsibilities can also be used.
Role
Sponsor

Responsibilities
The Sponsor is accountable for the success of the project.
To achieve this, the Sponsor will:
o Ensure the business needs are valid, correctly
prioritized, and documented in the business case (if
applicable)
o Ensure the project delivers the agreed sustainable
business benefits, goals and objectives
o Ensure the project is properly launched
o Ensure changes to the project are properly approved
o Resolve issues and conflicts and remove obstacles
that are beyond the control of the Project Manager
o Obtain commitment and buy in from senior
leadership
o Obtain and commit appropriate resources (budget
and people)
o Ensure Project Manager achieves project objectives
Approve key project deliverables such as the business
case, charter, milestones/stage gates, final sign off and
closeout
Provide appropriate updates and negotiations/facilitations
with senior leadership and IT Governance bodies

Project
Manager

Ultimately, the PM is responsible for the success of the project. To

achieve this, the PM will:
Initiate the project with the charter, negotiate for project
resources, and execute a project kickoff
Develop, execute and monitor Project Plan and schedule
Manage and lead Project Team in formation and motivation
towards commitment and completion of tasks
Secure acceptance and approval of deliverables and
milestones from Sponsor and Stakeholders
Cultivate trust and communication with and amongst
projects stakeholders
Remove obstacles for Project Team
Perform appropriate project risk management: identify,
document, monitor and ensure appropriate mitigation of
project risks
Manage expectations by aligning projects to business
goals, managing stakeholders and conflicts, and

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Role

Primary
Stakeholders

Responsibilities
communicating project status, milestones, and unexpected
difficulties/issues effectively
Manage project constraints (time, scope, budget plus any
others) and dependencies, ensuring requirements and
expectations are met without unforeseen, unapproved
impacts
Manage and forecast project costs and expenditures
Create and achieve, in partnership with the sponsor, clear
and attainable project objectives that align with
stakeholder expectations and business goals
Procure, manage and appropriately close vendor
partnerships pertaining to the project
Manage project issues, ensuring they are assigned and
addressed appropriately, and escalate issues that cannot
be resolved within Project Team
Ensure quality standards are met
Create, execute and manage appropriate project
communications strategy/plan
Establish and manage appropriate project change
management process/mechanism
Manage project training
Liaise with management and governance bodies, relevant
to risks, complexity and impact of project
Plan for and execute appropriate cutover and transition
processes for the final deliverable(s)
Perform project closeout

Commit and provide appropriate resources to the Project

Team, if applicable
Educate the Project Team about their business and
objectives, ensuring the project fits with their business
strategy
Provide specific, precise requirements, and set requirement
priorities
Make timely decisions
Review and provide timely feedback regarding relevant
project work
Promptly communicate changes to requirements
Ownership of business processes and procedures, and
project deliverables
Keep informed of project progress, and send information to

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Role

Responsibilities
others who need to know
Assist in establishing and executing training
Approve key project deliverables, if applicable, including
final sign off/acceptance during closure
Identify and resolve any project issues and risks

Subject
Matter
Experts
(SMEs)

The responsibility of the SME is to ensure the facts and details are
correct so that the projects deliverable(s) will meet the needs of
the stakeholders, legislation, policies, standards, and best
practices. To achieve this, SMEs will:
Support the definition of processes and policies, supply
business rules and procedures, and communicate the
contexts in which the rules, processes and polices are
applied
Accurately represent their business units needs to the
project team
Validate the requirements and deliverables that describe
the product or service that the project will produce
Bring information about the project back to the customer
community
Provide input for the design and construction of test cases
and scenarios, and may also validate executed test results
Provide input into and/or create and execute user
documentation and training material
Test the product or service towards the end of the project
(User Acceptance Testing), using and evaluating it for
accuracy and usability, providing feedback to the Project
Team
Guide other professionals on the project to ensure the
content is accurate
Resolve issues relevant to project deliverable(s) within their
area of expertise
Obtain or provide approval for changes to rules, processes
and policies

Project Team

The Project Team is responsible for contributing to the overall

project objectives and specific team deliverables, by contributing
towards the planning of project activities and executing assigned
tasks/work within the expected quality standards, to ensure the
project is a success. The Project Team will:
Provide information, estimates and feedback to the PM

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Role

Responsibilities
during project planning
Provide business and/or technical expertise to execute
project tasks (work)
Liaise with stakeholders to ensure the project meets
business needs
Analyze and document current and future processes and
systems (functional and technical)
Identify and map information needs
Define and document requirements
Support and provide end user training
Report issues and status to PM
Work collaboratively with other Team members towards
achieving common project goals/objectives

Project Owner

Business
Analyst (BA)

Customer

Same responsibilities as Project Team, as well as:

o assists the PM in providing leadership for, and
managing the Teams performance of project
activities
o actively encourages buy in from project stakeholders

Elicit, translate, validate, communicate, negotiate and

manage requirements through techniques such as
interviews, walkthroughs, surveys, use cases,
specifications, and modeling
Scope a project to meet business needs
Identify, define, communicate, and negotiate for solutions
(technical, business process/procedural, etc.) that will
maximize the value delivered by an organization or
business unit to its stakeholders
Act as communication conduit between the stakeholders
and the Project Team
Translate technical and architectural issues so that project
stakeholders can understand and make effective decisions
Assist in writing user acceptance tests/cases, and liaise
between testing resources and stakeholders
Represent stakeholders on the project
Identify and model processes, data, and business rules
Provide representatives who will:
Have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the
areas of their business unit(s) that will be using or be
affected by the product or service the project will deliver

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Role

Functional
Managers

Responsibilities
Achieve business unit consensus on project issues and
outputs, and communicate it to the Project Manager and
Project Team
Attend requested project meetings
Review and approve process deliverables
Provide appropriate subject matter expertise resources to
the Project Team
Communicate changes to their resources availability to the
Project Manager
Track project status and understand impacts to their
resources and areas of responsibility
If directly responsible for function affected by or affecting
deliverable
o assists the PM in providing leadership and achieving
buy in for that function
o Evaluate and assess overall effectiveness and
quality of deliverable
o Ensure performance of their function improved and
cross-functional integration is working and effective
o Participate in project decision-making, relevant to
impact on the functions he/she is responsible for
o Communicate with Project Manager on any changes
to the project that affects the quality or scope of
deliverable
o Ensure appropriate requirements for the deliverable
are communicated and understood
o Participate in project risk and issue management
with Project Manager, where required
If has direct supervision over one or more resources on the
Project Team
o Ensure their resources time is not over allocated
between project work and other responsibilities
o Decide which resources to allocate to project,
ensuring allocated resources have the appropriate
skills required for the project, or have the ability to
acquire those skills
o Understand the work required of his/her resource(s)
on the project and any new skills they may acquire
as a result of the project work
o Ensure resources are available to the project, as
originally promised

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Role

Project
Governance

Responsibilities
o Handle any resource performance issues Project
Manager brings forward

Approve project intake, and pull the plug if project is underperforming

Ensure that the project proposal uses the intake process,

and contains a business case(s) stating alignment to UW,
department and IT strategic plans, the objectives of the
project and specifying the in-scope and out-of-scope
aspects, a fully-costed (i.e., total cost of ownership)
estimate, and clearly stated assumptions

Provide input to, review, and ensure appropriate approval

of the business case

Ensure appropriate management of project

Assess compliance of the completed project deliverable to

its original objectives and benefits

Review changes in scope, benefits, budget, schedule, and

prioritization and ensure appropriate approval

Contribute to identification of all stakeholders

Assist with communication to stakeholders, as per agreed

upon communications plan

Ensure a set of business-level requirements are defined

and align with strategy, objectives, and benefits as agreed
by all stakeholders

Ensure agreed upon specifications for deliverable

Appointment of a project manager and project team

members when necessary

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Role

Manager,
PMO

Responsibilities

Ensure clear assignment of roles and responsibilities

Review a current, published project management plan and

schedule that spans all life cycle phases

Ensure and enable accurate status- and progress-reporting

Use the central document repository for project artifacts

Ensure appropriate management and resolution of

escalated issues that arise during the project

Ensure appropriate management, communication and

resolution of escalated risks identified during the project

Manage escalated project issues and risks

Periodically review quality of key governance documents

and of project deliverables
Accountable for program and project management
methodology to be used for program and component
projects
Accountable for program and component project health
checks, when applicable
Provides skilled Program/Project Managers, where
applicable, and monitors their performance
Provides guidance and advice towards program and
component project deliverables, issues, processes, and
risks when applicable
Assesses program and project size and complexity
Monitors program and component project performance for
program/projects within PMO responsibility
Ensures program and project management artifacts
appropriately signed and entered into applicable
repositories
Assigns facilitators for lessons learned and project closure

Enterprise
Architect

Provides architectural guidance and support for IT related

programs and projects

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Role

Responsibilities

Assesses architecture fit and conformance with EA

Documents reference architecture, principles,

standards, and best practices

Conducts impact analysis to identify areas that

might need to change in business, information,
application, and technology architecture

Defines and documents integration requirements

and identifies the appropriate future integration
interface

Identifies information needs; develops and maintains

the logical data model

Provides guidance and consultation on project work from

ideation to closure
o

Reviews requirements and ensures alignment with

business and information technology goals and
objectives

Reviews solution architecture to ensure it is aligned

with business requirements

Documents the current state architecture required

for the project

Develops a high level conceptual architecture

Guides and assists in the development of solution

architecture artifacts

Provides guidance for project/program deliverables, issues,

processes, and risks
o

Recommends architecture strategy and provides

planning consultation

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Role

Responsibilities

Guides the project architecture design with project

team members

Identifies and assesses potential risks

Evaluates program/project outcome

o

Develops performance and evaluation matrix

Reviews the solution architecture and update EA

accordingly

Approvals
This charter formally authorizes the [insert project name] project, based on the
parameters outlined and the information known at the time of project initiation. It is
understood that some of this information may change during planning and
execution and, if so, will be discussed and documented through proper project
change management processes. This approval indicates an acknowledgement
between the Sponsor and Project Manager of the projects parameters, and
authorizes the Project Manager to proceed with forming the Project Team and
project kickoff.
Sponsor Authorization:
[print name of Sponsor, title here]
___________________________________________________________________

Signature:

_______________________________________

Date: ________________

Project Manager Acknowledgement:

[print Project Manager name, title here]
___________________________________________________________________

Signature:

_______________________________________

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Date: ________________

Project Charter [Insert Project Name]

Revision History
Change
Made By

Date Change
Made

Details of
Change

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Change
Reviewed/
Approved
by

Date change
reviewed/
approved