The Project Charter The driver for requirements and use cases
The Project Charter The driver for requirements and use cases
The charter is to the project what the Constitution is to the United States
¡ Scope ¡ Objectives ¡ Participants
¡ Roles ¡ Responsibilities ¡ Stakeholders
It is usually a short text
document
What does the charter tell us? ¡ Reasons for undertaking the project ¡ Objectives and constraints of the project ¡ Directions concerning the solution ¡ Identities of the main stakeholders ¡ In scope and out-of-scope items ¡ High level risk management plan ¡ Communication plan ¡ Target project benefits ¡ High level budget and spending authority
How to use the charter
¡ As proof of authority ¡ As a one-pager to sell
the project ¡ As a refocusing point
for the team
What is in the project charter?
Project Authorization ¡ A brief statement identifying the project by name
and maybe number
Project Manager
¡ The name of the project manager, including a description of his or her responsibilities
Key Stakeholders ¡ All key stakeholders ¡ Their functions or roles ¡ How they will contribute to the project
Project Goals
¡ The goals should be SMART: ¡ Specific ¡ Measurable ¡ Agreed upon ¡ Realistic ¡ Time bound
Project Priorities ¡ Time ¡ Cost ¡ Scope ¡ Etc.
Scope Statement
¡ What we will do ¡ What we will not do ¡ Makes scope creep obvious
Product Requirements ¡ Very big picture ¡ High-level ¡ Soft ¡ What the product is expected to do ¡ How it must perform
Project Assumptions ¡ May include the availability of specific ¡ Resources ¡ Information ¡ Funding ¡ Skills
Project Constraints & Boundaries
¡ Budgetary ¡ Time ¡ Regulations ¡ Quality standards ¡ … and so on
Initial Project Risks ¡ List ¡ Obstacles ¡ Risks ¡ Threats
¡ Each risk must be ¡ Analyzed, ¡ Quantified ¡ Prioritized
¡ Then list ¡ Risk responses ¡ Mitigations ¡ Risk sharing ¡ Risk avoidance ¡ Risk tolerances
List of Deliverables
Cost Estimates
Integrated Change Control ¡ Define how changes to the project charter and
other key documents will be managed ¡ Configuration management ¡ Software release centers ¡ Who has the authority to accept of reject these
changes
Conclusion ¡ The project charter defines the project we are embarking on ¡ We identify risks, mitigations, stakeholders, and the project
manager ¡ It is used as a compass to guide the team, marketing collateral
to sell the project, and a management tool to keep the team on track