Project Charter

How to Write a Project Charter: Template & Examples

Getting a new project off the ground involves a lot of documentation—from project requirements and scope documents to risk assessments and project plans.

As a project manager, you’re used to sifting through project paperwork. But it’s not always easy for your team and stakeholders to make sense of it all when they’ve got limited time to spend on the details.

That’s where a project charter comes in.

A project charter acts as a reference guide for successful project delivery so you can get everyone up to speed and on board with the project more quickly.

Let’s take a closer look at what a project charter is, why it’s important, and how to create one for your projects.

What is a project charter, and why is it important?

A project charter is a document that details your project’s goals, benefits, constraints, risks, stakeholders, and even budgets. It may also be referred to as a project brief or project definition document.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a project charter as “a document issued by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes the existence of a project, and provides the project manager with the authority to apply organizational resources to project activities.”

The purpose of a project charter is to set clear project expectations so you can lead even the largest teams and complex projects to an on-time and under-budget delivery. A project charter also brings benefits like aligning stakeholders and teams to the project’s objectives and clarifying important details that could impact the project.

Project charter vs. project plan: What’s the difference?

Having multiple documents related to your project might sound overwhelming—and it can be! But, every key document plays an important role in project success.

So when should you use a project charter versus a project plan? The simple answer is you should always use both to manage your projects. But let’s take a quick look at the difference between a project charter and a project plan.

Think of your project charter as the document that explains the what and why of your project, while your project plan outlines the how, when, and who.

Remember, the purpose of the project charter is to detail your project in its entirety—but at a high level. We’re not talking about tasks and milestones here.

A project charter spells out the details needed to understand a project and its objectives, usually in Word, Excel, Google Docs, or PDF format. It’s delivered early in the project cycle to ensure everyone’s on the same page about goals and deliverables.

A project plan, on the other hand, is a line-by-line action plan for leading a project to completion once all the details have been approved. It’s typically formatted as a Intuitive chart with task deadlines and milestones mapped out on a timeline so you can track progress along the way.

How to write a project charter

Ready to develop a project charter framework for your organization?

To create a project charter for your next project, your first step should be to discuss the project with your team and stakeholders. This will enable you to gather the information needed to execute the project, while also setting expectations around what it will take to get the job done.

Be sure this initial discussion covers the following project details:

• Goals
• Constraints (including deadlines and budgets)
• Risks
• Stakeholders
• Any other details that will help you truly define your project

Gaining this level of insight and understanding from your team and stakeholders early on will go a long way in helping you maintain alignment throughout the project.

Just like everything else in project management, there’s no single way to write a project charter. The most important thing to remember when creating your charter is to make it easy to read and accessible to anyone involved in your project.

Remember, the charter should be a high-level review of the project, not a turn-by-turn accounting of what will happen. Feel free to use short descriptions—or even bullet points—to help you keep it brief.