HBR Guide to Project Management

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PRESS

A Written Charter: Your Marching Orders

Every project should have a charter that spells out the nature and scope of the work and management’s expectations for results. A charter is a concise written document containing some or all of the following:

• Name of the project’s sponsor
• Project’s benefits to the organization
• Brief description of the objectives
• Expected time frame
• Budget and resources available
• Project manager’s authority
• Sponsor’s signature

Creating a charter forces senior managers to clearly articulate what the project should do. Consider this example:

Phil was the sponsor of his company’s effort to reengineer its order fulfillment and customer service operations. As an outspoken critic of these functions, ...