Checklist of Charter Components by Anticlue

The following is the list of components that should be included in a charter document. However, depending on project size and complexity, some of the components may be excluded while some unique sections can be added. The listing of components does not assume any set sequence to create the documentation. Each project may require different emphasis for different components, ie for one project the project organization may be the first aspect that should be documented, for another project it may be the milestone timeline. However, the executive summary should usually be the last section created.

• Executive Summary
• Project Goals and Objectives
• Revised Scope and Requirements
  o should also include the current and ‘to be’ state
  
• Project Team
  o Identify the project organization, including governance, reporting, and escalation points
  o Define the project roles and responsibilities
  
• Implementation Strategy
  o Timeline – Include at a minimum a milestone timeline, but may also be a project plan to the known level of detail. Should also include a resource estimate for both IT and user.
  o Contingency Planning – describe what the impact on the project would be if the proposed live date is not met
  o Deliverables – identify the known deliverables for the project (should be referenced in timeline)
  o Testing approach – at a high level, describe the testing approach that will be utilized
  o Training approach – at a high level, describe the training approach that will be utilized
  o Cutover – document the known assumptions, constraints and approach for production cutover, including any contingency planning that will be needed
  
• Communication Plan
  o Describe how the project team will be kept informed. Describe how IT and user management will be kept informed.
  
• Critical Success Factors
  o Identify the major risks to the project and how these risks should be mitigated
  o Include any revised assumptions and constraints on the project, especially if they are different from Phase 1
  
• Issues list
  o Document any known issues. This should be the initial list that will be updated throughout the course of the project.
  

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