Anticlue

Why do a Charter?

Why do i have to do a charter, the customer knows what they want. I just wanna program it! Sounds like a childish whine. Here is why.

A charter acts like a requirements document. It clearly defines the scope of work. It also defines the intent and usage of the product. The user community of the product. The charter also goes beyond the what, it covers, the who, where, why, and how. It identifies the risks of the project, the people involved in the project and their expertise, and the communication mechanism for the project. It also establish guidelines of how people will act who are involved in the charter. The charter also makes ideally clear to executive management the impact of a project. All of these are good things.

If there is a major development request (more than 3 weeks of work), it is best to charter. Then in the first week, establish a comprehensive requirements document with the user understanding, this is what they have requested, and what will be done. (This needs to be the same)