Project Management: Foundations to Practice · Project Initiation and the Business Case
The Project Charter
A charter that is signed once and filed away provides far less value than one actively referenced throughout a project's life. This chapter covers what belongs in a charter and how to keep it useful.
The project charter is the document that formally authorizes a project and gives the project manager the authority to apply organizational resources to it [1]. At minimum, a charter typically identifies the project's purpose and objectives, the assigned project manager and their authority level, a high-level budget and timeline, key stakeholders, and the name of the sponsoring authority who holds ultimate accountability for the investment decision.
Key Takeaways
- A charter formally authorizes a project and defines the project manager's authority, budget, timeline, and key stakeholders.
- The business case justifies why a project should exist; the charter establishes that it now does and who is accountable.
- A charter actively referenced throughout the project resolves authority and scope disputes faster than one filed away after signing.
- In matrix organizations, the charter is often the only formal source of a project manager's authority over non-reporting team members.