Having a proper project charter is the single most important thing you can do to improve the success of your projects.
Purpose - Gain authorization to move forward with the project – so that’s all the information you need to provide
Outcome - You and your team are aligned with your Executive Sponsor and Key Stakeholders. No questions on your part and you are ready to plan and then execute.
Key Elements of the charter
- Strategic Alignment to organizations strategy - How does this help to accomplish the overall organizational strategy
- Problem Statement - What problem are you trying to solve? Why are we working on this, how do we know this is the right thing to work on above all others?
- Objective - What are you trying to achieve; what does success look like? If we solve the problem, what is the outcome? What is the vision of the future state? It’s the team’s “common purpose” or “rallying cry”
- Goal - How do you measure that success of reaching the objective? Usually an X to Y by when statement.
- Identification of key stakeholders - Ensure key dependent groups are committed to support the project.
