[Project Name] Project Charter
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[PROJECT NAME] Project Charter
Prepared by: [Project Manager]
Purpose of the Project Charter
The purpose of the Project Charter is to identify and record all of the necessary information needed to
launch and complete the project.
Project Name
Enter the official name of the project. This should be the name used in all project documentation.
Project Sponsor
Enter the name of the Business Sponsor(s) as well as the department and campus they represent. This
may be copied from the project proposal.
Project Scope
Project Description
This section presents a high-level look of the project that captures its intended outcome and deliverables.
It should include information on how it ties to the organization’s strategic initiatives, if applicable. This
may be copied from the project proposal.
Preliminary Understanding of Business Need
This section contains a high level statement of the business need being addressed by this project. It also
includes information about predetermined data needs and any specific problem or project justification
statements. This may be copied from the project proposal.
Project Deliverables and Objectives
This is a high level statement of what will be delivered as a result of this project. It should be understood
by all that this may change as a result of analysis.
Objective Owner Measure of Success
Desired deliverable or outcome. Indiviual responsible. Metric used to determine if the
desired deliverable or outcome
is achived.
Additoinal deliverable or
outcome.
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[Project Name] Project Charter
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Project high level deliverables
In Scope
This section lists the items that are to be included in this project.
Example item 1 (replace with your own item).
Example item 2 (replace with your own item).
…
Out of Scope
This section lists the items that are not included in this project.
Example item 1 (replace with your own item).
Example item 2 (replace with your own item).
…
Work and Project Process Description
Preliminary Description of Work
This is a high level statement of the work that is required to complete this project.
This is your overview and first thoughts on what the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) may look like.
Indicate what big tasks will need to happen and in what order. For instance: Are you going to have an
extensive requirements gathering process with focus groups first? Are you going to iteratively design
the solution? What testing process will you go through? Requirements first, then divide work into 4
week phases, if required.
Project Processes
This section describes the project oriented processes that will be performed. This includes items such as-
document storage locations, meetings, status reports, issue tracking, time entry, etc. Think about the
following questions:
What will you use for project planning, tracking, and time reporting? Examples include: Clarity,
BaseCamp, and MS Project.
Where will you store project materials, documentation and artifacts? Examples include: Wiki,
sharepoint, file shares, box
Document other processes to consider such as: Status Reporting, Sponsor Meetings, Etc, Issue
Tracking, Time Entry, Communications (if not in a separate Communication Plan) etc.
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[Project Name] Project Charter
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Change Management
Document the change management process here. A sample process for your reference is documented
below.
Once the project charter is approved and the project planning is underway, all changes to project scope
and any significant changes to project budget and schedule must go through the change management
process:
1. Change Request form completed in SharePoint or information sent to project manager.
2. Project manager enters data into Change Request tracking system within SharePoint.
3. Project manager works with project team members to assess impact on budget and schedule.
4. Project manager consults with sponsor and either approves or denies the change request.
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Known Risks
Risk Risk Description Impact –low, medium, Likelihood of Mitigation and Contingency Plan Owner and Trigger
high and note what is Occurrence
impacted (budget,
schedule, scope)
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[Project Name] Project Charter
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Impact and Dependencies and Assumptions
Impact:
List any systems or interfaces impacted by this project.
Dependencies:
List any dependencies for this project. This could include hardware, software, and other project or
resource dependencies, RFP/Purchasing processes, other processes, external vendors, external groups,
testing resources etc.
Assumptions
List assumptions being made that impact this project. Include major assumptions about the timeline
(that we can wait to start this, or that it has to be done before Fall), Resource availability (that the
required resources will be made available to the project), costs that the department will pay for
materials or licenses, and departmentally provisioned resources for this project. Assumptions are items
that if changed will impact the budget, timeline, or scope of this project.
Initial Project Team
The project team is identified below. Those identified as the lead will be responsible for reporting the
status for their area of responsibility. The table below has sample data for your refrence; please add
your own roles as needed.
Role Resource Responsibility
Project Sponsor Name of individual. Provide direction for project
Stakeholder Committee Name of all individuals in Provide feedback from their unit
stakeholder group.
Project Manager Name of individual. Lead team in completion of project tasks
Application Support Name of individual. (lead) Upgrade the application and infrastructure
Name of individual.
Database Name of individual or Upgrade of the database and any database
individuals. tasks during the project
Reporting Name of individual. (lead) Transition of reporting
Name of individual.
Deployment Name of individual or Coordinating the rollout of the upgrade
individuals.
Testing Name of individual. Testing the functionality of the application
Functional Admin Name of individual or Initial testing of application and learning
Testing individuals. the upgrade process
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Preliminary Estimate of Project Size
This is the initial estimate that is based upon the project proposal. List all hours, by area, estimated for
this project. This may be copied from the project proposal. However, this estimate should be the best
guess at the time of filling out the charter & may not necessarily match what is listed in the project
proposal. Detailed estimates will be coming at a later date from the project plan. The table below is
provided with sample data; please modify the data below to fit your project.
Task \ Resource IT Other Vendor Totals
Dept
Project Administration 40 10 10 60
Gather Requirements 40 30 30 100
Research Alternatives -
Process RFP -
Develop Application 100 20 60 180
Test Application 30 10 30 70
Document Application 10 5 10 25
Train Staff 8 2 8 18
Communicate Changes 4 2 4 10
Deploy Application 50 5 25 80
Post-Implementation 20 5 20 45
Annual Maintenance per year -
Total Project Hours 302 89 197 588
Preliminary Cost Benefit Analysis
This is high-level information about the benefit that this project will bring. This might include items such
as costs savings or service improvements. This may be copied from the project proposal.
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Agreement
The following section outlines the individuals needed for review and approval of the project charter. If a
response is not received by the review date indicated we will assume the individual has reviewed and
accepted the project charter as written.
Role Name Approve or Review Review Date
Project Sponsor Name of individual. Approve
Project Manager Name of individual. Review
Revision History
Date Version Description Author
29 November 2010 0.5 Initial Creation Name of individual.
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