PROJECT MANAGEMENT

660-221Z-61

READING ASSIGNMENT RESUME FORM

1. Article Title: Project Management Crash Course: What is a Project Charter?

Source (Binder Sect #, or Text Pg #, or ):________________________
URLhttp://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=1400865

2. Student Name:

3. Brief Resume (main points) of material contained:

In this featured article, the author Rita Mulcahy, gives a clear view about what a
project charter is. She defines its purpose and what it should contain.
As per her, the project charter is a formal document recognizing the existence of the
project. It authorizes the project and the project manager. It is issued by the projects
sponsor in the initiating process but may also be created by the project manager. It
defines the high-levels requirements for the project and links the project to the
ongoing work of the organization. The project charter gives the project manager and
his team the high level scope, schedule, and resource window from which it operates.
As the project evolves, if the project charter changes, the changes have to be
approved by the sponsor. The project charter documents the overall objectives of the
project, helps manage the expectations and dramatically reduces the risk of a project
being cancelled due to lack of support or perceived value to the company.
The project charter should contain the following:

- Project Title and Description: a simple, high-level description of what is the

project.
- Project Manager Assigned and Authority Level: provides the name of the
project manager, and details his authority (whether he can determine, manage and
approve changes to the budget, schedule, staffing etc.)
- Business Case: explains what business problem is being solved with the project
and why the project is being undertaken.
- Resources Preassigned: the sponsor identifies how many and what resources will
be provided for the project.
- Stakeholders: identifies who the stakeholders are.
- Stakeholders Requirements as Known: this section identifies the high-level
requirements related to both project and product scope.
- Product Description/Deliverables: it includes the project sponsor indication of
what specific product deliverables are wanted and what will be the end result of
the project (a clear picture).
- Measurable Project Objectives: it addresses how the project ties into the
organizations strategic goals, and includes the project objectives that support
those goals. The objectives need to be measurable with hard metrics (limit
ambiguity).

ReadingResum.doc
L.Bartlett
 - Project Approval Requirements: it identifies what items need to be approved for
the project, and who will have sign-off.
- High Level Project Risks: lists potential threads and opportunities for the
project.
- Signature and Approval: in order to make the project official and to give
authority to the Project Manager, the charter requires a signature from the
sponsor.

4. How do you rate the article? 5. Relevant to you and/or your environment?

0 (low) - 10 (high): ___10____ 0 (low) - 10 (high): ___10______

6. Brief explanation of how this article does (or could) relate to you and/or your project
environment:

As a banking analyst, I have to initiate different projects aiming to achieve process

improvements for activities executed by employees within our department. For most
projects, I am designated to be the project manager. After building the business case
and getting it approved, its time to prepare the Project Charter. This task is executed
in partnership with my senior manager, who acts as the project sponsor. We make sure
to cover all the sections provided in the featured article, from project title and
description, to the high level project risks. I am assigned a level of authority, and once
all the areas are covered, and all ambiguities are cleared, the manager signs the
project charter giving it the approval. The project then officially starts. At all time,
throughout the projects evolvement, a continuous communication is maintained in
order to ensure that all required changes are approved on the go, in order to have the
project delivered on time as planned.

ReadingResum.doc
L.Bartlett