Project Integration Management - Develop a Project Charter

How do we get a project started in our company?

A project starts with an idea, business opportunity or a vision for the future. They are initiated by a sponsor who is at the level to provide funding and commit resources to the project. They will be the one to formally sign off on the Project Charter to approve the work to begin. We create a Project Charter to formally authorize the existence of a project and give the assigned project manager authority to apply organizational resources to project activities. Once created, the document is rarely changed.

So let's look at our inputs, tools and techniques and outputs of this process. 

1. Project statement of work (SOW):

• It is a formal document that defines products, services, or results to be delivered by a project. 
• It references the business need which can be based on a market demand, legal requirement or government regulation.
• It references a product scope description that describes what the product, service or results that the project will create.
• It references a strategic plan that outlines the business vision, goals, and objectives.

2. Business case: 

• It is a document that contains the necessary information to identify whether or not the project is worth the required investment. 
•  It helps with project selection.

3. Agreements

• They are contracts, letters of intent, letters of agreement, email or other written agreements that define the intentions for a project.

4. Enterprise Environmental Factors

• They are factors that are outside of anyone's control that affect the project. The factors could be cultural, economic, logistical, or regulatory in nature. 
• Government standards or regulations can affect the development of a project charter
• Organizational culture and structure
• Marketplace conditions

5. Organizational Process Assets

• They are the plans, processes, policies, procedures that are specifically used by the organization
• Templates for developing a project charter that an organization uses
• Historical information and lessons learned knowledge base that an organization has

6. Expert Judgement

• When defining the project charter you need the experts to help you (consultants, stakeholders, industry groups, subject matter experts and/or project management office (PMO). 

7. Facilitation techniques

• When you have all those people giving you their expert judgement you need to make sure you sort through the information correctly so we use facilitation techniques.
• Brainstorming, conflict resolution, problem solving and meeting management. 

8. Project charter

• Now that you have taken the inputs and tools and techniques to sort through they information you now have a Project Charter. The contents will include the following:
• Project purpose or justification
• Measurable project objectives and relates success criteria
• High-level requirements
• Assumptions and constraints
• High-level project description and boundaries
• High-level risks
• Summary milestone schedule
• Summary budget
• Stakeholder list
• Project approval requirements
• Assigned project manager, responsibility, and authority level
• Name and authority of the sponsor or other person(s) authorizing the project charter

Source: PMBOK 5th ed.