Just as a project has a charter to define its scope, so too must your team have a charter to put their work in context. Teams need to know the who, what, why, when and how of the project, and a team charter is the perfect way to feed them that information.
Once you get buy-in from the team and they know where they stand and how to maneuver through the project, you’re on the road to success. Let’s explore how to put a team charter together.
What Is a Team Charter?
A team charter is a project document that outlines why the team has been brought into the project, what the team is being tasked to accomplish and the resources and constraints in which the team will be working.
The team charter is often created in a group setting, which gives the team direction and boundaries in a transparent environment. This collective development gets buy-in from the team and ensures everyone understands their part in the project.
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Team Charter Template
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What Is the Purpose of a Project Team Charter?
A team charter is a document that defines the overall objectives of the project team. It’s important as it guides the team throughout the life cycle of a project. When assembling a new team, the project team charter is helpful to quickly bring them up to speed.
Whether the team is new or already established, the project team charter is useful in that it clearly outlines the goals, assets and obstacles of the project. A new team gets the basics while a team that’s been working on the project for a long time gets a refresher.
What Should Be Included in a Team Charter Document?
A team charter document helps outline the purpose, roles, goals and processes of a project team. We’ve included some of the key components below.
Project Background
The project background is an opportunity to provide context for the project team as it includes details about how the project came to life, its importance and any history before initiation. This is where to include either the organizational or business need that the project helps to address. You can also include any insights into past related projects, challenges or opportunities that the project offers.
Team Purpose or Mission
Use the team purpose section of the project charter to include a mission statement. In other words, what is the reason that the team exists and what problem is the team addressing? This section can help the project team gain better clarity on why their work is important. This section can also include an overview of the project or problem, providing information on the challenges or opportunities that the team is working through.
Goals and Objectives
The goals and objectives section of the team charter should outline what the team members want to accomplish to help provide a roadmap for project success. When setting goals, they should be broad and overarching. Objectives, on the other hand, are more specific and should be SMART; specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
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Project Scope
The project scope section should define the team’s work and establish boundaries to prevent scope creep. In this section, it’s important to identify project milestones and key deliverables for the project team. This allows them to better understand what’s expected of them and sets them up to only work on what is part of the project scope. Highlight what decisions the team members are empowered to make independently and where approval from key stakeholders is needed.
Resource Requirements & Budget
In this section, specify the tools, materials and other resource requirements that the team needs to reach its goals. This can include software, training, financial resources and more. If there is specific support that the team will need from cross-functional teams or departments, it’s important to note that in this section. For example, the team might need budgetary approval to obtain additional resources.
Roles and Responsibilities
This section of the team charter should further define the roles of individual contributors on the team. It should state the name of the role, such as the project manager, technical lead, analyst, etc. and outline details of their responsibilities. For example, the project manager is likely responsible for overseeing the project timeline while meeting the project timeline. The clearer each role is defined, the less work will be duplicated and the more accountability there will be.
Stakeholders
The stakeholders section of the team charter document identifies the key stakeholders involved in the project, both internal and external. This could include senior leadership, external partners, project sponsors, customers or other teams within the organization. It’s essential to establish a project communication plan as it helps the team manage stakeholder communication and engagement activities.
Team Operations
Here, outline how the team will operate on a daily basis. This can include standard operational procedures, how the work will be tracked or how decisions will be made. This section should also include how the team will be collaborating; for example, will there be weekly standup meetings or daily standups? Clear operational procedures within the team can help result in project success.
Performance Assessment & Success Metrics
Finally, define how success will be measured. This evaluation criteria should be well-rounded and both qualitative and quantitative data. For example, quantitative metrics could include budget adherence, specific performance targets or project completion dates. Qualitative metrics could include stakeholder feedback or how well the team collaborates. The team then uses these metrics to assess progress and make needed adjustments.
When Should You Use a Team Charter Document?
The team charter document should be created early in the project as it sets the foundation for how the team is going to operate. It’s typically created in the project initiation phase as it helps align team members with the project’s scope, purpose and key objectives. Even though it’s technically created during project initiation, it doesn’t mean it can’t evolve alongside the project.
The team charter should be updated whenever the project plan has changed in a way that’ll impact the original guidelines. For example, if the project’s scope changes because of a change request, that information needs to be related.
Another reason to update your team charter is if a new team member is brought on board. At this point, the details of the team charter might remain very similar, but the process of developing it with the new team member would require revisiting it with them. This is also true when a team member is exiting the team. The team charter needs to be reviewed and revised to note the team member’s contributions. Even if they’re leaving the organization, the team charter can be changed to make this transition smoother.
Who Writes the Team Charter Document?
A project team charter is created by the project manager based on insights from everyone on the project team such as the project sponsor, team members and stakeholders. It’s a collaborative effort to make certain all are clearly aware of its content. This helps get buy-in for the project, whereas if the team charter was made by management and presented to the team, it’d be less impactful.
The participation of everyone on the team is so important that when the team charter is completed, everyone signs off on it. While this might seem unnecessary, it symbolizes the shared commitment to the project and its objectives and makes the team better understand their roles and responsibilities.
Why Is a Team Charter Important?
There are two main reasons for the team charter. First, it clearly outlines the project objectives and how the team is responsible for tasks that lead to the final deliverable. Second, it informs outside project members of what the team is and isn’t responsible for.
Another benefit of using a team charter is that it creates transparency in the team, which leads to more accountability and better team management. It gives the team the structure to build agreement on how they wish to operate within the project and how they make decisions. This is done by defining the frequency of meetings and other logistics.
The team charter removes roadblocks and sets a course for the team to work together more effectively while staying aligned with the project’s overall goals. One way it does this is by clearly defining each team member’s role and responsibilities in the project and their level of authority in any particular project aspect. It also sets what resources they can request.
Team Charter Example
The team charter is developed with the team as it’s being formed. To make sure you have covered all the bases, it’s not a bad idea to use a team charter template. ProjectManager has dozens of free project management templates, including the team charter, shown below.
As you can see, each section is laid out in a customizable box that gives you the ability to expand. Of course, supporting documentation can always be attached, but the template itself will have the overview, hitting all the main points and ending with a signature page.
Our team charter template has all critical fields you need to include. Every team member should have not only participated in the development and discussion of the team charter but also have a copy for themselves to reference whenever needed.
Team Charter vs. Project Charter
There are other charters made over the course of a project. We’ve discussed the project team charter, but how does it compare to the project charter? Just by the name alone, it’s easy to distinguish one from the other, as one is about the team and the other is about the larger project.
Where the team charter defines the teams, their roles and responsibilities and how they’ll collaborate on one or more projects, the project charter lists the requirements of only one project. It’s also more wide-ranging, describing the whole project in brief and used in the planning process to define the goals and benefits of the project.
Team Charter vs. Organizational Charter
Another charter found in project management documentation is the organizational charter. This, too, serves a different purpose than the project team charter. The organizational charter is broader than the team charter and even broader than the project charter.
The organizational charter deals with the entire organization, defining its overall mission, objectives and even values. It goes into specifics, too, such as the role of its stakeholders, financial obligations and what resources are required for it to do what it wants to do.
How to Create a Team Charter
A team charter is made up of several sections which directly relate to the team’s involvement in the project. While team charters can change depending on the project, they all tend to share the elements outlined below.
1. Describe Your Project Background
The first thing to do is lay the groundwork for the project; summarize what it’s about and why it’s being initiated. This allows the team to see how they fit in the overall project, as well as identify the stakeholders who are invested in the project’s success.
2. Define Project Mission and Objectives
The mission statement defines the background section further by defining what success looks like in the project, so the team knows what they’re aiming for each time they take on a new task. Expanding again to the big picture, the benefits and business driving the project are explained.
3. Estimate What Project Resources Will Be Needed
The project funding is defined in this section, including what resources are earmarked. Team members may be curious if there’s any training offered, so the team leader will say whether training is included. Finally, in terms of finance, the management who supports the team is identified so they can be contacted with any questions related to costs.
4. Define Roles and Responsibilities for the Project Team
Everybody on the team needs to know their role and responsibility to not get in each other’s way. Here, list their skill sets and expertise, as well as who has authority over whom.
5. Describe the Team Operations
For a team to work effectively, its operational structure must be outlined. If a new team member enters the project, their pathway must be defined, as well as an exit strategy for those who might be leaving the team. All operating rules, relationships, etc. are explored and clarified.
6. Outline the Project Scope
The project scope is outlined in this part of the team charter, as well as how the team members will participate in the project scope.
7. Establish Performance Assessment Guidelines
Throughout the project, team members will be assessed on their performance and progress. This needs to be explained upfront, including how these metrics will be measured, who will be assessing them and when.
8. Describe the Project Activities and Milestones
This is where the tasks that make up the project are listed, along with the milestones. With these, the team has a better sense of the work ahead of them.
9. Set a Guide to Communication
Team communication, both between themselves and with their manager or team leader, is outlined in this section. The method of communication will be decided on, as well as how often the teams will meet and the frequency of their status reports.
10. Add Signatures
Finally, once the team charter has been fully discussed and everyone on the team is on board, each will sign and date the document. This shows that they understand their role, responsibility, the scope of the project and how they’re involved.
Team Charter Tips
The best way to make a team charter is with the team. They need to know the ins and outs of the project and should be part of the team charter’s development. Even though they won’t know the details, their input is essential.
While you don’t want to get lost in the weeds, the team charter should be thorough and fully explain the team’s purpose, the measurable goals they’ll be assessed by and the operating guidelines for the team during project execution.
That said, the document should be digestible, with specific and measurable goals that everyone on the team can live with. It should be achievable and result in the success of the project as planned. You might want to include a code of conduct and a plan to resolve any conflicts, which creates a work environment where everyone feels safe and valued. This usually results in greater morale and productivity.
When to Update a Team Charter
The team charter should be updated whenever the project plan has changed in a way that’ll impact the original guidelines. For example, if the project’s scope changes because of a change request, that information needs to be relayed.
Another reason to update your team charter is if a new team member is brought on board. At this point, the details of the team charter might remain basically the same, but the process of developing it with the new team member would require revisiting it with them. This is also true when a team member is exiting the team. The team charter needs to be reviewed and revised to get that team member’s contribution noted. Even if they’re leaving the organization, the team charter can be changed to make this transition smoother.
How ProjectManager Helps With Team Management
ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that organizes teams and fosters collaborative work. Our tool not only empowers teams to work better together, but it also gives managers transparency into that process to support them through better planning, scheduling and allocation of resources.
Not everyone works the same, so we give teams multiple project views so they can work how they want. There are dynamic task lists, a calendar view and kanban boards to visualize workflow and allow teams to manage their backlog and plan sprints together.
Plan With Gantt Charts
Managers have features to monitor their team’s work and schedule tasks and resources. The Gantt chart view allows managers to link task dependencies to avoid bottlenecks that decrease team productivity. They can set milestones and edit the Gantt by dragging and dropping tasks to their new deadline.
Balance Resources With Workload Calendars
Keeping teams working to capacity without burning them out is critical. Resource management features let managers track their team’s hours, availability and related costs. Use the team page to get an overview of their work and the workload page to keep their workload balanced.
ProjectManager is online software with real-time data that lets teams work together wherever they are. Managers get more accurate and timely information that informs their decision-making as they plan, monitor and report on the project. Try it today by taking this free 30-day trial.
