Develop project charter

Develop project charter is the first process among the 47 processes. When we start a project, all that we have is an idea and high level requirements and the sponsor (those who are investing in the project). Once we decide to go ahead with a project, a project charter is prepared by the sponsor (sponsor is accountable for it, others can help the sponsor to develop the project charter). A typical project charter will contain;

1) The product description

2) The business case of the project 

3) Alternatives analysis 

4) High level risks, assumptions 

5) Key stakeholders, their roles and contact details 

6) Major milestones with dates

7) Project manager's name, roles and responsibilities (gives authority to the project manager) 

8) Approved by the sponsor 

Project charter is the sponsor's document, so any changes to the charter has to be re-approved by the sponsor. Project chartering ensures that only validated projects with sound business case gets the green signal to go ahead.

Inputs 

Project statement of work

Business case

Enterprise environmental factors 

Organisational process assets 

Tools and techniques

Expert judgment 

Facilitation techniques 

Outputs 

Project charter 

PMBOK reference : Pages 68 to 72 (PMBOK V5)

Assignment

1) What are the contents of a project charter?

2) What are the contents of a business case?

3) What are the benefits of project chartering?