Project charter docs drive early alignment with cross-functional teams on special projects, define goals and non-goals, specify RACI stakeholders, and outline high-level plans.
Here is the Project Charter Template.
The sections are:
- At a glance
- Goals
- Non-goals
- Stakeholders using RACI
- Assumptions, Dependencies, and Risks
- Accountable sign-off
“At a glance” section must include the top things that the CEO must know: what, why, why now, and principles.
Goals must be SMART and mention stretch goals if any. The goals should inform whether the project is completed and successful at the end, and whether the project is on-track, delayed, or at-risk while executing. Non-goals are out-of-scope items and nice-to-haves.
The charter also includes high-level plans on how assumptions will be validated, dependencies will be confirmed, and risks will be mitigated.
PS: Typically I write about building products. I write to pay it forward and to clarify my thinking.
Niran Kundapur 