Project
Charter
Objectives
Strategic goals
Project Charter Vocabulary
‘Company strategy is to innovate and
improve our services faster than our
competitors.’
‘The objective of this project is to design
and implement a new customer
feedback system.’
Describe the direction of
change of the organization
Specific achievements
resulting from the project
work, that can be measured.
The tangible results of
doing project work, that
can be verified.
Deliverables
New menu structure, plan for customer
journey, graphics design brief…
Requirements
Scope
(scope statement)
‘Customers must be able to provide
feedback and comments to us at
any point in their customer
journey.’
‘The project includes an app to enter
information; it does not include a
database’
What the project
deliverables or other
outcomes must do for the
stakeholders
A written description of
the project boundaries in
and major deliverables.
The (positive) effects that
occur when stakeholders
interact with the
deliverables.
Project Charter Vocabulary
Scope
(Work Breakdown
Structure)
Benefits ‘The new customer feedback system
will show our marketing team how our
services are performing straight away’
‘The new customer feedback system
includes a mobile app to enter
information; it does not include a
database to store historical data.’
A systematic, hierarchical
decomposition of all the
deliverables into
constituent parts
The project charter…
PMBOK Guide (6th Ed), Part 2, Sec. 2
• Formally authorizes the existence of the project
• Gives the project manager authority to apply resources
to project activities
• Provides a direct link between the project and the
strategic objectives of the organisation
• Shows organisation commitment to the project
• Creates a formal record of the existence of the project
PMBOK Guide (6th Ed), Part 1, Sec. 1.2.6
Charter and
PMP
In the project
lifecycle
What goes in your project Charter?
Presentation assignment brief & rubrics
Outline the components of your project charter
including details of how this project delivers
organisational strategy
Systematic demonstration of how the project has been
selected and/or designed to support stakeholder and
business needs.
Charter provides a well-developed outline of the
project. WBS provides confidence that the team has
formulated a practical solution to deliver the project.
PMBOK 6th Ed. Part 1, Sec 4.1.3.1: charter item
Project purpose
Objectives and success criteria
Requirements
Assumptions, constraints
Description and project boundaries
High level risks
Summary milestone schedule
Summary budget
Stakeholder list
Approval requirements
Definition of success
PM nomination
Sponsor nomination
Setting SMART objectives Objectives
SMART(A) Objectives An MM cell …
Specific A robot cell… for research into incremental forging technology
Measurable A robot cell for research into incremental forging technology…
that will be used by PhD students and student project teams
Action-oriented Design and Build… an MM cell for research into incremental
forging technology that will be used by PhD students and student
project teams
Realistic (All areas)
Timely Design and Build an MM cell for research into incremental forging
technology that will be used by PhD students and student project
teams… within six months of delivery of major components.
(Achievable) (All areas)
Stakeholder identification
PMBOK Guide (6th Ed), Part 2, Sec. 1.6
PMBOK Guide (6th Ed), Part 1, Sec. 13.1 & 13.1.2
After understanding the business case, the organizational
context and needs for the project, the first step in planning
is to identify the project stakeholders.
Identifying and analysing your stakeholders is the best way
to start writing the project charter…
Project team and project internal stakeholders
3 6 10 15, 21, 28…
1. Why can’t you have too many people in a team?
Too many communication channels = Too much complexity.
2. Therefore, we need to introduce some structure around
communication channels and team members
• Organizational
• Communication structures created by the PM
Project key stakeholders You! (PM)
Your Sponsor
Steering
Committee
Project
Team
Subject Matter Expert
Steering Committee
MemberTechnical
Team
Another
Technical
Team
• PM has a central coordinating role for
the project team.
• PM needs a strong 2-way line of
communication to the Project
Sponsor.
• Sponsor chairs steering committee,
uses it to make timely decisions.
• Subject Matter Experts have leading
role in their technical teams (may be
a PM themselves)
• Technical Teams can be internal to
project executing organization or
could be contractors/ suppliers
• There can be many technical teams
(only 1 project team and 1 steering
committee)
• Subject matter experts
move between their technical team
and the project team
The project manager is the
person assigned by the
performing organization to lead
the team that is responsible for
achieving the project
objectives.
Stakeholder register – how do we
find stakeholders?
• Identify stakeholders:
Brainstorming, expert
judgement, surveys,
questionnaires, meetings
• Analyse stakeholders
• Classify stakeholders
Stakeholders in ‘100% digital delivery and
assessment in GSOE9820 T2 20’
• Students
• Convener
• Guest lecturers
• Experienced demonstrators
• New demonstrators
• MME school management team
• Engineering faculty school
management team
Tip: Identify stakeholders as people, not
organizations or other inanimate entities.
Benefits only make sense when they are
related to stakeholders
Example: Some benefits of building a new online university course…
Benefits Stakeholders
• Students
• Convener
• Guest lecturers
• Demonstrators
• Program authority
• OH&S officer
• Study from abroad
• Use new technology
• Work at home
• Use last year’s resources
• Large cohort
• Comply with social distancing rules
Methods for stakeholder analysis (part of
PMBOK ‘Identify Stakeholder 13.1.2.4’)
le
ve
l o
f
au
th
or
ity
(p
ow
er
)
Concern about outcomes
(Interest)
Power interest grid
le
ve
l o
f
au
th
or
ity
(p
ow
er
)
Ability to change
outcomes (influence)
Power influence grid
Students
Convener
Demons
-trators
Program
authority
OH&S
officer OH&S
officer
Program
authority Convener
Students
Demons
trators
Stakeholders in a new online university course
Engagement level of stakeholders
Name Unaware Resistant Neutral Supportive Leading
OH&S officer C D
Program
authority
CD
Convener C D
Demonstrators C D
Students C D
C=Current position
D=Desired position
Outcomes of stakeholder classification
le
ve
l o
f
au
th
or
ity
(p
ow
er
)
Concern about outcomes
(Interest)
Power interest grid
Students
Convener
Demons
trators
Program
authority
OH&S
officer
Frequent
communication in MS
Teams
Final Metrics and/or
grade report
This would be one way to
inform the project
Communications Plan….
Many other PM Plans require
input from the Stakeholder
Register*:
Project charter,
Benefits realization,
Risk management,
Change management,
Human resources…
PMBOK Guide (6th Ed), Part 1, Sec. 13.1.3.1
More videos on project stakeholders
Kasimtseva, N. “Identify Project Stakeholders” video in course Managing Project Stakeholders,
accessed 16/02/2021, LinkedIn Learning accessed through UNSW
Biafore, B. “Identify Project Stakeholders” video in course Project Management Foundations
accessed 16/02/2021, LinkedIn Learning accessed through UNSW
Biafore, B. “Analyze project Stakeholders” video in course Project Management Foundations
accessed 16/02/2021, LinkedIn Learning accessed through UNSW