Category: Marketing Automation

Project charters provide a guiding light for any new initiative. So, whether you work as a project manager or operations professional, you’ll need to become a pro at writing these documents.

Besides providing you with the authorization to begin projects, project charters help you sell your project’s viability to stakeholders. This document will also help get your entire team on board with your plans and deadlines.
In this guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about project charters. We’ll cover:

What is a project charter?
The Benefits of Creating Project Charters
How to Write a Project Charter
The Anatomy of a Project Charter
Project Charter Examples
Mistakes to Avoid When Creating a Project Charter

The Benefits of Creating Project Charters
“The project charter is such an important document that a project cannot be started without one,” says Rita Mulcahy, a renowned project manager, trainer, and author. This document can keep your team on track to achieve your project objectives on deadline.
Here are other benefits of creating a well-written project charter:

You’ll decide on a project budget.
You can define the project outcome.
You’ll avoid scope creep and meet your deadlines.
You can get stakeholders’ buy-in for your project.
You can set the expected start and end dates of the project.
You can clearly explain how your project goals align with organizational objectives.

Next, we’ll explore best practices for writing a project charter.

How to Write a Project Charter
When writing your project management charter, it’s important to get it right from the onset. “You shouldn’t change a project charter after its approval,” says Mary Beth Imbarrato, author of The Project Roadmap. Last-minute changes can make stakeholders question the project’s feasibility.
This step-by-step guide will help you write a great project charter from the get-go.
1. Gather insights from your project team.
Talking to your team members is essential when creating project charters. Your colleagues can help you set realistic project timelines. They can also help you uncover the goals, scope, and risk mitigation plans for the project.
“You should set aside time for your team members to discuss the project, how they want to approach it, and what’s their current bandwidth,” says Will Yang, Head of Growth at Instrumentl. “Doing this ensures your project team is on the same page.”
2. Store the charter in a central location.
To foster collaboration, store your project charter in a central hub so team members can comment on and edit it.
This gives everyone a sense of ownership of the project. Programs like Google Drive and Dropbox offer co-editing capabilities.
3. Keep the project charter brief.
You may be tempted to capture every detail in your project charter. But remember: You should go in-depth in your project planning document, not in the project charter.
“Stakeholders won’t have the time to read a verbose 15 pages charter because they have other priorities,” advises Konstandinos Christofakis, head of marketing at ULTATEL. “That’s why charters should be a high-level overview of projects, remain short enough to be useful, and long enough to be valuable.”
If information is digestible, the chances of project approval rise, according to Christofakis.
4. Add visuals to your charter.
Using images or design elements can help improve the readability of your project charter and keep your document brief.
For instance, if you want to outline a lengthy communication plan or milestone in your charter, a Gantt chart can help. These charts also stand out in the project charter, allowing team members to reference them easily.

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5. Create a project charter template.
Have you written a project charter in the past? Or perhaps the document you just completed is a masterpiece. Turn these documents into templates that you can use in the future.
Having a template for your project management charter helps you save time and maintain consistency in the future. This approach to project charters also ensures you don’t skip important elements in your document.
Pro tip: If you don’t already have a template, you can browse options online. HubSpot offers a free project charter template that you can download at any time.

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Now that you know the basics of creating project management charters, let’s go over the anatomy of a project charter.

The Anatomy of a Project Management Charter
After developing a project charter, project managers send them to the project sponsor to get approval. A sponsor may include the government, individual financier, or top management of the organization executing the project.
Here are the elements your project charter needs to get approval from sponsors.
1. Project Objective
The project objective is the high-level reason for undertaking the project. Tying objectives to your company goals is a brilliant way to pique stakeholders’ interest in your project.
Pro tip: Use the SMART framework to make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.
2. Project Overview
Your project overview goes into greater detail about the timeline and ownership of a project. This section outlines details like the project name, project sponsor, project Manager, expected start and completion dates, and estimated budget.
Pro tip: Add a table to your project overview. This makes information skimmable and easy to find.

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3. Project Deliverables
This is a list of the services or products the project team will provide to stakeholders. Be clear on what your team is delivering to avoid any disagreements that’ll make you extend your deadline.
4. Project Scope
The project scope explains the boundaries of the project. While PMs typically write detailed project scopes, keeping it brief in the project charter is a best practice. Why? You can create a detailed scope statement in the project planning phase.
5. Project Stakeholders
This is a list of the names and responsibilities of the parties involved with a project. Stating who’s responsible for different tasks holds your team members accountable.
6. Project Risks
Outlining the risks to a project will help you identify blockers to the success of your project and their potential impact. Doing this enables you to devise risk mitigation strategies.
Pro tip: Create a table of potential risks. Be sure to explain why the risk poses a threat to your project and the mitigation strategies you plan to enact.

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7. Project Resources
Always create a list of resources your project will need. And that’s not just money. Your resources should include team members, facilities, equipment, and other essential items which are critical to the success of your project. This helps you account for everything you need to take the project to the finish line.

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Project Charter Examples
1. Project Management Charter for Lean Six Sigma

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This sample project charter follows the Lean Six Sigma format, one methodology for project management. Teams that already use this framework may opt to structure their project charter in this way.
What we like: The Lean Six Sigma project charter offers a clear scope of work. Project goals also follow the SMART framework, making how the project will benefit the company extremely clear.
Project charter limitations: While this charter outlines key information, including the project goal and problem statement, some key information is missing. The process owner didn’t state the project costs or risks. If you emulate this format, be sure to include this information.
2. Project Management Charter for Website Redesign

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In this project charter, the University of Guelph explores exactly what its web team must do to redesign the school’s library website. That includes all of the necessary stakeholders and who’s owning the project.
What we like: This project has a well-defined scope and timeline. Sponsors know exactly who is working on what and when.
Project charter limitations: While this project explores the risks associated with the project, mitigation plans would improve this section of the document.

Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Project Management Charters
1. Missing a Clear Purpose Statement
Every project should have a clear goal and purpose. But sometimes, the primary objective becomes unclear. To combat this, apply the illusory truth effect, which states the use of repeated information increases understanding.
Lauren Carter, principal consultant at Lauren Ashley Consulting, says she uses this strategy to help her team remember the purpose of projects. In Lauren’s words:
“Project members often lose the ‘North Star’ in the thick of the work. One effective way I prevent this is by having a clear purpose statement in the charter, which I repeat in several ways throughout the project’s lifecycle.”
“This can be as a header on project documents, putting it at the top of timelines or charts, or using it as a metric against which you evaluate planned and unplanned activities that arise.”
2. Creating a Charter Mid-project
Project charters should kick off your initiative. Writing this document halfway through can lead to scope creep, ill-defined responsibilities, and confusion.
“Changing the project charter after initiation and planning means you’ll have to review any work you’ve completed and even rework some completed tasks,” says Mary Beth Imbarrato, a 25-year veteran in the project management industry.
She adds, “This can lead to delays, elevated costs, and create more project risks.”
Mary Beth also says changes to the charter may impact how team members view a project. The result? Reduced commitment and engagement.
The bottom line: Creating the charter before starting the project will help you avoid scope creep, prevent wasted time by redoing work, and keep extra risks to your project at bay.
3. Ignoring Your Company’s Project Charter Template
Using existing project charters as templates can save you time and ensure consistency.
Instead of creating new charters from scratch, request a sample of a completed charter document the company liked and use it as your template. This template will help you understand how your organization prefers to present ideas, allowing you to follow suit and begin projects on the right foot.
Start New Project Without Missteps
A well-thought-out charter is a roadmap for achieving your project objectives in record time.
Get started by gathering input from your team and creating a project charter that will get the green light from stakeholders.

Successful projects have support from stakeholders across the organization. That’s why stakeholder management is essential for any initiative.

Stakeholder management allows you to identify and meet leaders’ needs while keeping communication open.
In this article, you’ll learn what stakeholder management is, why it’s important, and how to create a stakeholder management plan.
Table of Contents

What is stakeholder management?
Why is stakeholder management important?
Benefits of Stakeholder Management
Inside the Stakeholder Management Process
Tips for Stakeholder Management

Why is stakeholder management important?
Projects fail when the interests and needs of stakeholders are ignored. This leads to a lack of buy-in from key stakeholders, which can jeopardize the success of the project.
When stakeholders feel their needs are being met, they’re more likely to support the project. On the other hand, if their needs are not met, they may try to block your initiative. Stakeholder management helps build positive relationships that keep your project running smoothly.
An effective stakeholder management strategy can help you:

Avoid or resolve conflicts between stakeholders.
Secure buy-in and support from key stakeholders.
Communicate effectively with stakeholders.
Manage expectations of stakeholders.
Monitor stakeholder engagement throughout the project.

Benefits of Stakeholder Management
There are many benefits of an effective stakeholder management strategy, including:

Improved communication. By identifying the interests and needs of stakeholders, you can tailor your communications to their specific needs. This ensures that your messages are received and understood.
Increased buy-in. According to KPMG, 61% of projects have highly involved sponsors. When stakeholders feel their interests and needs are being considered, they’re more likely to support the project.
Reduced risks. By engaging with stakeholders, you can identify potential risks early and take steps to avoid or mitigate them. This can help reduce the overall risk of the project.
Improved performance. An effective stakeholder management strategy can help you optimize resources and align project activities with stakeholder interests. This can lead to improved project performance.

Inside the Stakeholder Management Process

While stakeholder management may seem intuitive for some, you can start building trust systematically with a more formal roadmap.
The following six steps can help you understand stakeholder priorities and how you can address these needs.
1. Identify stakeholders.
Stary by identifying all the individuals and groups who can impact your project, both positively and negatively. This includes internal stakeholders (such as team members) and external stakeholders (such as customers or suppliers).
To identify your stakeholders, ask yourself the following questions.

Who will be impacted by your project?
Who has an interest in your project?
Who has the power to influence your project?
Who wants your project to fail?
Who wants your project to be successful?

2. Prioritize stakeholders.
After you’ve identified all your stakeholders, the next step is prioritization. This will help you focus your attention on the stakeholders most important to your project’s success.
You should identify where their expectations lie, their level of influence, what information they will want from you, and how often they want reporting from your team. You can use stakeholder mapping to help you prioritize key leaders.
Run a Stakeholder Mapping Exercise

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The above stakeholder mapping exercise asks you to plot leaders on a two-by-two grid. One axis is labeled power and the other interest.
On the power axis, you rate each stakeholder on their ability to influence the project. On the interest axis, you rate each stakeholder on their level of interest in the project. This will give you a clear picture of which stakeholders are the most important to engage with and how best to do so.
There are several different ways to map stakeholders, including:

RACI matrix. This is a popular stakeholder mapping method that uses the letters R (responsible), A (accountable), C (consulted), and I (informed) to rate stakeholders on their level of involvement in the project.
Power/interest grid. This is a simple way to map stakeholders that can be used to prioritize engagement. It is also known as the Salience model.
Influence/impact matrix. This is a more detailed stakeholder mapping method that can be used to assess the potential impact of each stakeholder on the project.

3. Assess stakeholder needs and interests.
The key to a successful stakeholder management plan is understanding your stakeholders. This will help you assess what they want from the project and how best to engage with them.
At this stage, ask yourself the following questions.

Do you understand their needs, priorities, and issues?
Do they have the power to influence the project?
What financial or emotional interest do they have in the outcome of the project?
What motivates them?

By understanding the answers to these questions, you can better develop a stakeholder management plan that fits each leader.
4. Define stakeholder motives.
Once you’ve identified and assessed your stakeholders, you can begin to define their motives. This will help you understand what they want from the project and how best to engage with them.
There are several ways you can define stakeholder motives, including:

Interviews. You can interview stakeholders to get their views on the project. This can be done in person, over the phone, or via email.
Surveys. You can send out surveys to stakeholders to get their feedback on the project. This is a quick way to gather data from a large number of stakeholders.
Focus groups. You can hold focus groups with stakeholders to get their input on the project. This can be used to generate ideas and identify issues.

By understanding stakeholder motives, you can develop an effective stakeholder management plan that meets their needs and interests.
5. Develop a plan for engagement.
The goal of stakeholder engagement is to manage expectations and build relationships. This can be done through several different methods, including:

Frequent communication. This is the most important aspect of stakeholder engagement. You must regularly communicate with stakeholders to update them on the project and get feedback. This can be done through face-to-face meetings, phone calls, emails, or online tools like a project management software. Each stakeholder may need their own communication strategy.
Consultation. This involves consulting stakeholders in decision-making. This can be done through meetings, surveys, or focus groups.
Collaboration. This involves working with stakeholders to complete tasks or achieve objectives. This can be done through co-creation, joint planning, or shared decision-making.

The best way to engage with various leaders will depend on the stakeholder and the project. You should tailor your engagement plan to each individual.

Stakeholder Management Plan Templates

After you’ve identified stakeholders, it’s time to develop management plans for each group.
The below templates can help you create engagement plans and organize your stakeholder communication.
Asana

If you’re new to stakeholder management, this template from Asana offers a simple way to stay organized. In this plan, you write down each stakeholder, their level of interest in your project, and how influential they are to your work.
Then, you can check a box to identify their communication preferences. That includes how often they want to hear from your team and how they want you to get in touch.
What we love: With this template, you know which of your leaders prefer a quick Slack versus a formal email at a glance.
Project Management Docs

If you’re looking for a more detailed engagement plan, consider this option from Project Management Docs. With this document, you can fully lay out the vision of your project and which departments your initiative will affect.
What we love: This template includes charts and tables that you can use to determine each stakeholder’s level of importance to your project. You can use this document to brainstorm and outline your final draft.
KnowledgeHut

If you’re looking for a complete guide to writing an engagement plan, KnowledgeHut is here to help. This template includes sections that help you identify stakeholders and create a timeline for each person’s involvement. You can also keep track of costs and human resources involvement.
What we love: This template features charts that you can fill out with stakeholder data. If you get stuck, each section comes with helpful questions for self-reflection to guide you along the way.
PM-Training

If you’ve been searching for a simple spreadsheet to manage your stakeholders, look no further. This template from PMTraining offers a straightforward approach to managing stakeholders.
What we love: This template lays out who is involved, what they need to do for your project, and how you plan to keep them engaged. If you’re looking for a quick way to develop a one-page stakeholder management guide, this is it. Plus, everything can be edited in Google Docs.

Tips for Stakeholder Management
Formalizing stakeholder management can feel like an overwhelming process. Whether you’re just getting started or have years of experience, the following tips can help you ensure successful stakeholder management.

1. Define the purpose of the project.
According to PMI, 44% of projects fail because of a lack of alignment between business and project objectives.
Before you begin engaging with stakeholders, it is crucial to define the purpose of the project. This will help you identify who you need to engage with and their objectives.
2. Define roles and responsibilities.
At the start of a project, clearly define each stakeholder’s roles and responsibilities. This will help ensure that everyone is clear on their involvement in the project.
3. Communicate regularly.
Regular communication is essential for successful stakeholder management. You should update stakeholders on the project regularly and solicit their feedback.
Your strategic objectives should always be clear in stakeholder communication. This allows your team to manage stakeholder expectations and create positive relationships.
4. Be transparent.
It is important to be transparent with stakeholders about the project. This will help build trust and ensure everyone is on the same page.
5. Seek feedback.
Feedback is essential for successful stakeholder management. You should seek feedback from stakeholders at every stage of the project.
Keep track of their suggestions and implement their insights. You can then report back on how you implemented their solutions to further gain their support.
6. Choose the right software.
Today, only one in four teams uses a project management software. Implementing one of these tools can help you keep organized.
That ranges from project management software, like Basecamp or Asana, to collaboration software, like Google Drive or Trello. Choose a tech stack that best fits the needs of your project.
7. Be flexible.
Stakeholder management is not a one-size-fits-all process. You should be flexible and tailor your approach to each individual you work with.
Create an Effective Stakeholder Management Plan
Stakeholders hold the power to influence your project, so engaging leaders while keeping their needs at the forefront will help keep things running smoothly.
Keep these tips in mind as you develop your stakeholder management strategy to stay on track.

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