UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

Faculty of Engineering
MEBS6003 Project Management

Project charter

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 1

Charter Development
◼ The charter initiates the project by
delineating the rationale and scope for
the project.

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 1

 UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
Faculty of Engineering
MEBS6003 Project Management

Project Charter
◼A document issued by the project initiator
or sponsor that formally authorizes the
existence of a project, and provides the
project manager with the authority to apply
organizational resource to project activities

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 3

Project Charter

◼ Identifies the project sponsor and the project

manager
◼ Demonstrates commitment for the project
and formalizes project manager authority
◼ Links the project to the strategic plan of the
organization and shows how the project
aligns with the organization’s operations

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 4

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 2

 UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
Faculty of Engineering
MEBS6003 Project Management

Inputs

◼ Business case (financial, non-financial)

◼ Contract (contract SOW, contractual terms)
◼ Enterprise environmental factors
◼ Organizational process assets

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 5

Enterprise environmental factors

◼ Any or all external and internal organizational

environmental factors that surround or
influence the project’s success.
◼ Factors from any or all of the organizations
involved in the project
◼ Include organizational culture and structure,
infrastructure, existing resources, commercial
databases, market conditions, and project
management software
K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 6

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 3

 UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
Faculty of Engineering
MEBS6003 Project Management

Organizational process assets

➢ Any or all process related assets,
from any or all of the organizations
involved in the project that are or can
be used to influence the project’s
success.
➢ Formal and informal plans, policies,
procedures, and guidelines.
➢ Knowledge bases, such as lessons
learnt and historical information.

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 7

Develop project charter – tools and

techniques
◼ Data Gathering (Brainstorming, Focus groups,
Interviews)
◼ Expert judgment (Internal / External
resources)
◼ Interpersonal and team skills (Conflict
management / Facilitation / Meeting
management)
◼ Meetings

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 8

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 4

 UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
Faculty of Engineering
MEBS6003 Project Management

Outputs

◼ The charter should provide a summary of the

project with enough information that the initial
team can read it, absorb it, and then use
progressive elaboration to plan the project in
detail.
◼ The needs of the organization and the project
should determine the actual contents
◼ Assumption log

K.F. Chan (Mr.) MEBS6003 9

Charter Development
◼ Key elements include:
❑ Business case

❑ Criteria for success

Business Case: Criteria for
Success:
❑ Scope

❑ Summary Budget &

Scope: Summary Budget
Resources + & Resources +
Authority Authority:
❑ PM & Team
Responsibilities PM & Team Responsibilities:
❑ Signature

10

K.F. Chan (Mr.) 5

 UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG
Faculty of Engineering
MEBS6003 Project Management

Assessing the Project Charter

◼ Is the project linked to the Business Strategy?
❑ If it is someone’s “pet” project, it may not be strategically oriented.
◼ Are the project benefits clearly defined?
◼ Can the goals of this project be achieved in the expected
timeframe?
◼ Is the goal of the project clear?
◼ Has the project been scoped properly? Does it have
specific boundaries?
◼ Is there baseline data available?
◼ Is the primary metric measurable?
◼ Does this project have full support from the
organization?
◼ Has a project team been identified?

11

Map the Process

◼ After the charter has been established, the
creation of a SIPOC is one of the first steps in
understanding the process being improved.
◼ A SIPOC is a high level map that looks at the
process:
❑ Suppliers
❑ Inputs Suppliers Inputs Outputs Customers

❑ Process Process

❑ Outputs
❑ Customers

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K.F. Chan (Mr.) 6