The HBR Guides Collection (8 Books) (HBR Guide Series)

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Chapter 3

A Written Charter

Every project should have a charter that spells out the

nature and scope of the work and management’s expecta-

tions for results. A charter is a concise written document

containing some or all of the following:

• Name of the project’s sponsor

• Project’s benefi ts 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:

Adapted from Harvard Business Essentials: Managing Projects Large

and Small (product ...