To put it simply, there is no right or wrong way to write a project charter. After all, the length and format depend on the situation, though there are some preset rules that can guide through the writing process. Here’s how you can write a business process management project charter.
Why a project charter is necessary?
Your project charter has certain value both for you and for the people you will be presenting it to. But you should also understand its functions to be able to write a good project charter:
- Your project charter provides brief details about your project including its purpose and scope. In addition to that, the charter clarifies what is expected of the team that will be working on the project.
- It keeps the executing team focused on the critical process that is being improved and instills a sense of commitment and ownership of the project by the team.
- Moreover, a project charter provides the stakeholders with a bigger picture of what is going on and helps eliminate any secondary activities that are not directly related to the process.
What are the three key components of a project charter?
The three key elements of a project charter are:
- Mission Statement: Your project charter must contain a mission statement that will answer such questions as what you want to achieve, why you are starting this project, and what problem your project will solve.
- Project Proposal: The project proposal is the main body of your project charter. It includes all the details about the project as well as any specific requirements, rules, and so on.
- Organization Chart: Lastly, an organization chart helps to visualize what will work what way in your business process management project.
How to write a project charter?
And now, let’s get into the process of writing the project charter. There are seven main sections that you have to include:
- Background: The first section of your charter must talk about the background of the project. Talk about the basic reasons for doing the project and show the reader what issues the project will solve. Discuss how you got the idea for the project, how it developed, and why you decided to go along with it. Don’t forget to include how you will be actualizing the idea. When writing about the background, it is important to think about your project from the reader’s side as if you have no prior knowledge of it. By the way, if you don’t want to write your project charter yourself, you can easily hire a professional from an online writing service like Trust My Paper or GrabMyEssay to do it for you.
- Goals: The next section of your charter must talk about the project goals. Make sure to describe them in detail and provide the reader with information on how you are planning to achieve them. In addition to that, include a timeline and deadlines. You must always remember that your goals have to be achievable so that you don’t end up failing. Moreover, each goal has to be as clear as possible so that you don’t have to rework your tasks afterward.
- Scope: The scope of your project is basically a bird’s eye view of the whole picture. This section talks about where you start and where you finish your project. It also details the components which will be included and which will be excluded. The scope helps your team to visualize the ending point and motivates your team members to work to reach the aims you have set.
- Team: This is where you put the list of key stakeholders of your organization. Outline who is sponsoring the project, the management members, and the key formulators of the project. Always include both their credentials and expertise. List the titles each team member holds as well as departments in the organization and which team member works in which department. You can also talk about the input they will have on the project. If there are any experts that will be consulting you, mention them too.
- Key Milestones: This section combines your timeline and project goals setting specific dates that are significant for your project. The three main dates are the start date, the end date, and the invoicing date, but you can still include others if you find it necessary. If you are unsure about the exact dates, you should still set them approximately to set people into action.
- Forecasted Budget: Every project must have a budget to be able to become a reality. In fact, the success of every project depends on its budget, and that not only means how big that budget is. You can have a small budget and still succeed if you use it properly. This is why it is so important to specify all the expenses and streams of income you will have. Categorize them into recurring and non-recurring and make sure to include a note saying that they are only rough estimates.
- Risks, Assumptions, & Constraints: The last section of your project charter has to describe the risks, assumptions, and constraints associated with your project. You can also classify them as technical, financial, legal, natural, or labor risks. Discuss how you will deal with these challenges. In addition to that, give any assumptions you have about the project that are not supported by facts but may be true. Include any limit factors that work as constraints.
What to do after writing a project charter?
After you’ve written your project charter, there are some things that you still have to do to ensure that everything is done right.
First, you must review your project charter to see if it is effective enough. This is important because a poorly written charter will not achieve what you want it to. A great idea would be to review your project with your team so that you get enough feedback on it and take into account all perspectives. The more input you get from your team members, the better.
Second, revise your project charter to add any new information or developments that you forgot or left out for the time being. If you revise your project once in a while, you will be able to add any changes that happen from time to time. After revision, you can also cut some parts from your charter and add or reduce the number of stakeholders.
Last but not least, make sure to proofread your project charter so that there are no linguistic mistakes. You can use Grammarly or Studicus that will check your text for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes.
Final Thoughts
All in all, writing a project charter is not as complicated as it seems once you know what to include and what to leave out. Just make sure that you don’t make it too long. Otherwise, nobody will want to read it.
