RESEARCH
According to PMBOK;
The project Charter is
used to satisfy the stakeholder’s needs and expectations, by developing a document
which is formally allowed the project or a phase to document initial
requirements. So the charter establishes a partnership between the performing
organization and the requesting organization. The project manager participating
in developing the charter, so then project manager has the authority of applying
resources to project activities. The project charter is developing before
starting planning session. The approved project charter is initiated the
project.
To develop a project
charter it needs inputs, tools and techniques.
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Inputs
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Tools &
Techniques
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Outputs
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1.
Project statement of work
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1.
Expert judgment
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1.
Project charter
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2.
Business case
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3.
Contract
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4.
Enterprise environmental factors
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5.
Organizational process assets
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1.
Project Statement Of Work (SOW)
The
statement of work describes about the products or services that would be
delivered from the project. So based on business needs, product or service
requirements the project initiator or sponsor provides the statement of work
for internal projects.
The
statement of work references:
·
Business need
·
Product scope description
·
Strategic plan
2. Business
case
The
business case provides the details of the necessary information from business
standpoint to decide whether the project is worth the required investment. The reason
of creating business case has mentioned below.
·
Market demand
·
Organizational need
·
Customer request
·
Technological advance
·
Legal requirement
·
Ecological impacts
·
Social need
3. Contract
If
the project has been done for external customer then only the contract become an
input.
4. Enterprise
environmental factors
To
develop the project charter the enterprise environmental factors can be
involved, but it doesn’t limit the governmental or industry standards,
organization infrastructure and marketplace conditions.
5. Organizational
process assets
The
organizational process assets also can be influenced the develop project
charter process and it is not limited to organizational standard processes,
policies and standardized process definitions for use in the organization,
templates and historical information and lessons learned knowledge base.
Expert
judgment
During
this process the expertise and judgment can be applied to any technical and
management. Expert judgment evaluates the inputs which are used to develop the
project charter.
Finally
all the inputs and tools and techniques create the charter as the output.
According
to PMBOK (2008) “The project charter documents the business needs, current
understanding of the customer’s needs and the new product, service or result
that is intended to satisfy, such as”
·
Project purpose or justification
·
Measurable project objectives and
related success criteria
·
High level requirements
·
High level project description
·
High level risks
·
Summary milestone schedule
·
Summary budget
·
Project approval requirements
·
Assigned project manager, responsibility
and authority level
·
Name the authority of the sponsor or
other person(s) authorizing the project charter
As
Kathy Schwalbe (2006, p.147) said, “A project charter is a document that
formally recognizes the existence of a project and provides direction on the project’s
objectives and management”.
The
project manager mainly involving, in developing the project charter. So he/she
gets the access to use the organizational resources to complete the project. The
format of the project charter can be different. But it should include at least
the following basic information.
1. The
project’s title and date of authorization.
2. The
project manager’s name and contact information.
3. A
summary schedule, including the planned start and finish dates. If a summary
milestone is schedule is available, it should also be included and referenced.
4. A
summary of the project’s budget or reference to budgetary documents.
5. A
brief description of the project objectives, including the business need or
other justification for authorizing the project.
6. Project
success criteria, including project approval requirements and who signs off on
the project.
7. A
summary of the planned approach for managing the project, which should describe
stakeholder needs and expectations, important assumptions and constraints and
refer to related documents, such as a communications management plan as
available.
8. A
roles and responsibilities matrix.
9. A
sign-off section for signatures of key project stake holders.
10. A
comments section in which stakeholders can provide important comments related
to the project.
Starting
with a project charter helps a lot in taking decisions in the project. Otherwise
because of the unclear requirements and expectations projects can be failed.
ANALYSIS
In
developing a charter, PMBOK is all rounder when comparing with Kathy Schwalbe.
Because Kathy Schwalbe has only concentrate about creating the document which
should be impressed the customer. But it is the base of the project. Once the
charter accepted, them it initiates the project. While developing the charter project manager
and the developing team has to imagine the whole scenario of the project
gradually. Then only the developing team can impress the customer by providing
all the details of the project. As both PMBOK and Kathy Schwalbe said the
project manager has to contribute mainly when developing the charter.
According
to PMBOK, to develop the charter it involves project statement of work (SOW),
it includes of request for proposal, request for information and etc. So as
Kathy Schwalbe mentioned all her details are included in this statement of
work. Business case in PMBOK provides the business analysis of the whole
project. So then customer gets the idea that how much he/she has to invest to
the project. so then the developing team also can have an idea whether this
project makes profits or loose and then they can take decision about the
project. Market demand and legal requirement of the product is measure when
analyzing business case. If the project is for an external customer then it becomes
contract base. Enterprise environmental factors and Organizational process
assets can influence the project charter but not limited to governmental or
industry standards or organizational standard processes. It means it is
independent from any other organizations or government.
In
both (PMBOK and Kathy Schwalbe) it has mentioned that judgment and expertise is
applied to any technical and management details during the process. In PKBOK it
has clearly explained what the charter is, the project charter is a clear
document which provides the details of business needs, current understanding of
the customer’s needs and the new product, service or result which can satisfy
the customer. And also it provides the decision whether the project is doing or
not.
CONCLUSION
To
develop a project charter project manager and developer team should have knowledge
of how to create and what are the facts have to be concerned. So we can mainly
concentrate about what PMBOK said. Because it has clearly and specifically
mentioned, all the steps that has to follow while developing a project charter.
From project charter, customer would able to get an idea, how the project going
to flow. As Kathy Schwalbe said the project charter should provide the details
such as the project’s title and date of authorization, project manager’s name
and contact information and etc. Information can help the customer whenever
he/she wants to contact them. And also this explains that project manager is
the mainly responsible character in the project. To develop a good project
charter both PMBOK and Kathy Schwalbe’s explanations and ideas really useful and
then we can come up with a good project charter which can be a combination of
both. Finally I would like to say a project charter must be a good document which
provides the direction of the project’s objectives and management and including
business needs, current understanding of the customer’s needs, and the new
product, service or result which would satisfy the customer.
Reference
List
Project
Management Institute. (2008). Project Management Body of Knowledge,4th ed.Pennsylvania:
Project Management Institute, Inc.
Schwalbe,
K., (2006), Information Technolog Project Management,4th ed. Thomson
Learning
