The fllwing dcument is a sample Wrd template fr the creatin f a prject charter and r prject plan, which will demnstrate hw t apprach any type f prject and manage it effectively. The frmat is very basic and can be mdified t meet the presentatin level required. Prject Charter A prject charter allws management and the prject team t better understand the csts, gals and bundaries befre the prject is apprved and wrk cmmences. Once apprved the charter gives frmal authrity t the prject manager t carry ut the wrk. Withut a charter pririties get cnfused and unnecessary, ut f scpe, wrk is mre likely t be undertaken, wasting resurces. Hw d I use this template? Refer t the instructins under each heading. N need t be verbse as lng as each sectin is dealt with. D nt delete headings if they are nt applicable but instead enter N/A. It is nt necessary t spend t much time writing a charter. Althugh the dcument can lk daunting yu shuld be able t cmplete it in less than 20 minutes when yu are prficient. Prject Plan A prject plan allws management t be mre certain that the expected csts are knwn and the quality f the wrk assured. Yu may be directed, depending n the size f the prject, t prvide additinal detail, expanding the charter ut t a full prject plan. Add in the fllwing sectins t cnvert this charter template int a full prject plan: Include a detailed activity list which can be extracted and updated and used t track status as the prject prgresses. Generally yu will get this list frm a brainstrm with the likely prject team. Make the budget definitive instead f indicative (ranges frm under by 5% t ver by 10% instead f under by 25% r ver by 75%) Add detail in mst sectins Stakehlders sectin will indicate rles, impacts, knwledge and needs Resurces will detail the steering cmmittee in a separate table Risks will include mitigatin strategy as well as what t d if the risk eventuates The time line will include Stage Gates (pints at which the steering cmmittee has t make a frmal decisin t prceed The cmmunicatins sectin usually has at least three levels f regular reprting 1. Prject Team 2. Steering cmmittee 3. Stakehlders Include a Requirements Analysis stage where the stakehlders are cnsulted and a reprt is prduced utlining what is required frm their pint f view Include a Prcedures and Plicies required sectin Include a Quality Management Plan sectin (mentin use f stage gates, staff surveys, and redundancy planning) Include a sectin utlining hw change requests will be handled frmally Include a table f cntents at the start On executin include: Frtnightly steering cmmittee meetings and reprts Regular stakehlder updates Tracking prgress against the task list. Instructins are marked in italic red. Remve this befre submissin. EXAMPLE
PROJECT CHARTER <PROJECT NAME> 1. PROJECT DETAILS Prepared By: Date Issued: Prject Reference Number: Client Cntact (if applicable): 2.1 Revisin Histry Versin Date Wh Descriptin Be sure t maintain a register f prjects fr yur rganisatinal unit. Allcate a unique prject number fr apprved prjects 2. BUSINESS OBJECTIVE Describe the technical r business need fr the prject t be undertaken. Cmpare t the cnsequences f ding nthing and bvius alternatives. E.g. Office XP has been released and ffers the fllwing advantages. Speak in terms f added functinality f pssible savings (The savings claim wuld generally imply that yu have a stage in the charter timeline t develp and apprve a business case). D nt describe what yu will buy r d but what yu are trying t achieve in brad high level terms. Include any significant business risks frm the risk table belw, including the risk f ding nthing. 3. DESCRIPTION OF APPROACH A brief descriptin f hw the business bjectives will be achieved in practical terms. Indicate what will and will nt be dne. Remember, if yu get this in writing and get agreement frm the client and management yu wn t waste yur time designing/delivering smething that is nt what was actually required. E.g We will trial an upgrade f five desktps t ffice XP and if successful upgrade the remaining wrk-statins ver a perid f 2 mnths in time t be cmpleted befre Christmas. 4. STAKEHOLDERS List all the peple/grups that will be impacted by this prject and may need t have a say in the prduct design and implementatin prcess. D nt list yur rganisatinal unit staff ut individually but rather list the prject steering cmmittee (if applicable) as a single entry. Cmpany staff relevant t the prject can be listed in the Resurcing sectin. It is imprtant nt t frget t cnsult with a persn/grup that has a majr say in the prject. Wh will use the prduct and wh decides what it will be made up f? All stakehlders shuld sign the prject charter befre wrk prceeds. Name Rle Phne Apprval Signature Prject Manager Desktp Resurce Trainer Client Cntact Prject Owner (Initiatr) Dcumenter etc EXAMPLE
5. DELIVERABLES REQUIRED FOR SIGN-OFF AND HANDOVER List ff the basic cmpnents that yu can identify that will need t be delivered. Generally deliverables are measurable tangible milestnes in the prject that can be signed ff n when cmplete. E.g Tailred Office XP user guide, upgrade prcess dcumentatin, XP training curse. The prject wrk cannt cease until these cnditins are met. - Descriptin -???? - Dcumentatin - Training - User Guide Respnsibility Ours Client 6. TIMELINE List the expected stages and apprximate timings. Fr Charters just list the main stages. Fr a prject plan list all the activities. Where apprpriate use Feasibility study Reprt, Pilt reprt, Business case, Prject Plan develpment, Executin f prject plan, Pst prject review. Allw dates fr apprval f the abve. Phase/Task Time Estimate Due Date 7. APPROXIMATE BUDGET Charters nly require indicative budgets and can be under by 25% r ver by 75%. Prject plans must have definative budgets, ranging frm under by 5% t ver by 10%. If an indicatin f budget has been given by the client list it here. Be sure t include labr, hardware, sftware, dcumentatin, training etc Item Internal Labr External Labr Hardware Sftware Training Dcumentatin Cst EXAMPLE
8. PROJECT RISKS Be sure t list the risks here. Fr example: The prject team is shrt f resurces and if we d nt make the deadline an entire department will be severely impacted. Fr smaller prjects just list the risks and fr larger prjects rank the risks and rate their likelihd, impact and mitigatin strategy t be adpted. Risk Descriptin Likelihd Impact Mitigatin Strategy e.g. Technical Difficulty X Medium High Mnitr in steering reprts. Assign staff frm ther teams if required. 9. PROJECT RESOURCING List the team members and their respnsibilities (esp. that will be respnsible fr the Analysis stage next). Recrd the number f hurs expected fr each resurce ver the duratin f the prject t help senir management assess impact and resurcing requirements Name Rle Phne Hurs/week Prject Manager Desktp Resurce Trainer Client Cntact Ttal Hurs/week 10. LIKELY TRAINING REQUIREMENTS Define the training required fr the prject team members t be able t cmplete the wrk? Curse Wh attend Apprximate Cst 11. REPORTING/COMMUNICATIONS Fr smaller prjects discuss the prject in weekly team meetings and reprt n status in nrmal team updates t management. If the prject is f sufficient size list the peple that the prject manager will have t reprt t and hw frequently. List what infrmatin shuld be reprted. Fr larger prjects use the fllwing: Meeting/Reprt Frequency Cntent Steering Cmmittee Reprt and Meeting. Frtnightly General Status, Issue summary, Risk status, Prgress, decisins t be made Timeline Reprt t be submitted the day befre the meeting. Budget Vs Actual EXAMPLE
Prject Team & Minutes Weekly Minutes f prject team meeting listing issues and what is being dne abut each ne. Client (Staff) & minutes Weekly Detailed issues list The minutes t be distributed within a week f the meeting. Preferably the next day. Tip and tricks Timeline The minutes t be distributed within a week f the meeting. Preferably the next day. 12. PROJECT DEPENDENCIES List the prjects that this prject will be dependant n in rder t be wrkable. Als list all prjects that will be dependant n this ne. Prject Name Dependency 13. CONSTRAINTS List any cnstraints that have been impsed by the client n the prject List wrk that will NOT be dne because it is ut f scpe. Eg. The slutin must be cmpatible with Linux. Must run the design past <XYZ> technlgy r <ABC> must be included in the pilt grup. The slutin must be delivered befre Christmas. 14. ASSUMPTIONS List any assumptins that the prject team is making in rder t have a successful prject E.g. The client will be respnsible fr the installatin and cnfiguratin f their wn desktp perating systems. That the departmental E-mail system upgrade that this prject is dependent n will be cmpleted befre the prject cmmencement date. 15. DEFINITIONS (IF REQUIRED) <Term 1>: <Explanatin 1> <Term 2>: <Explanatin 2> <etc> <...fr terms nt generally used, knwn r fr which there is a special in-huse meaning> EXAMPLE
16. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS <Describe any templates in use and where they can be accessed> <Describe any recrds kept, where they shuld be stred, and hw lng they shuld be retained> <Describe any ther dcuments which culd assist in understanding r applying this prcedure and where they can be accessed> FILE LOCATION DESCRIPTION Template Basic Prcedure 1 AAA Guidelines and Templates A standard template which can be used t develp plicies, prcedures etc 17. REVISION HISTORY VERSION DATE EDITOR SUMMARY OF CHANGES N 1 dd.mm.yy <Yur name> Initial versin EXAMPLE
18. PROJECT COMMENCEMENT SIGN-OFF The authr f this dcument may like t recmmend the next curse f actin using ticked bxes. The authrising staff member can then indicate what curse f actin they wuld like t ccur as a cnditin f their signing the dcument. The prject manager can then indicate which curses f actin have actually taken place as a way f tracking prgress. Prject Cmpnents Recmmendatin frm authr Instructin frm authriser Charter Write a Business Case - t cnfirm it will be wrth the expense Write a Feasibility study plan - t verify that the technlgy wrks Write a Pilt plan - t verify that the cncept wrks n actual users Cmplete a detailed prject plan NEXT COURSE OF ACTION: - t btain mre accurate cst, time, risk etc estimates Execute prject Reject prject Place prject n Hld Deliverables sign-ff IF EXECUTION APPROVED: - agreement frm client that prject is cmplete and can g peratinal Pst Prject Review - high level evaluatin f success f prject frm all pints f view Prject Manager Prgress Checklist Declaratin: I the undersigned prject spnsr/client have read and understand the cntents presented in this prject charter and agree that we shuld prceed based n my instructin abve. Prject Spnsr Name: Prject Spnsr Title: Prject Spnsr signature: Dated: EXAMPLE
19. PROJECT COMPLETE SIGN-OFF I the undersigned prject spnsr/client hereby agree that the deliverables f this prject have been cmpleted and that the prject can be handed ver tp peratinal respnsibility. The signatry must be the external client r if ne des nt exist, it will be the spnsr. Sign-ff: Prject Spnsr Name: Prject Spnsr Title: Prject Spnsr signature: Dated: EXAMPLE