Project Charter 1.Overview / Background Section 2.Governance / Authority Section 3.Approach Section

Project Charter Overview / Background Section – Executive Summary (for the senior executives) – Definition of business need – Project Objectives – Measures of success (*Quantifiable) – Assumptions (tested for accuracy) – Constraints (e.g. budget, resources, schedule, etc.)

Project Charter Governance / Authority Section – Organization structure – Identifying sponsor(s) – Identifying Steering Committee members – Roles / responsibilities and assigning people to them – Terms of reference (mandates) for any committees involved in the project (e.g. defining up front: why are the people there) – Project approval processes

Project Charter Approach Section – Scope statement (in-scope, out-of-scope) – Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of the tasks (typically completed AFTER the project charter is in place) – High level schedule – Timeline – Milestones / deliverables – Budget (capital vs. operating) – Risk Management Approach (matrix) – ongoing and actively managed sections of the Project Charter

Project Charter High level mapping (not an exact flow, but a reasonable prism to view the steps through) – Business Need Project Objectives – Project Scope » WBS