6 Reasons Why You Should Be Doing a Charter

The purpose for this blog is to cover how and why creating a charter, even if very brief, helps ensure your project is successful before it starts.  The project charter is in the INITIATE part of the MPM model.

The project charter is in the INITIATE part of the MPM model.

A Charter Prepares Your Project for Success 

The project charter provides answers to six questions to ask when starting any new endeavor.  These six fundamental knowledge domain questions also have corresponding project domains with specific project management items in each.

These six domains are in the INITATE part of the project.  For an overview of the INITIATE part of a project check out this post.

A Good, Productive Habit, for you and Others

When you draft a project charter, it can feel like you’re wasting time filling in the sections of the document with information you already know.  Especially when it’s for a small project and you’re the only one, well, almost the only one, who needs to be involved.

You feel like you understand what needs to be done, and documenting it just slows you down or even restricts your creativity.  

However, rarely are you in an organization by yourself.  You’re almost never the only one impacted by your project outcomes or the resource allocations involved. 

Building good habits when the stakes are low will help you out when the stakes are high and you’re under a lot of stress, so practice working your way through the project charter questions, even if it seems like a pain.

Ask questions to ensure the best solution

Do it even if it’s Just YOUR Money at Stake

As example, buying a new vehicle is a lot like a project that takes place on a personal level.  

It is not something you do every day (hopefully) and it involves help from friends or trusted advisors, a time frame to get it accomplished, and money: a down payment, loan, or even cash.

The six knowledge domains of Project Management

When you’re spending significant funds over a short period and asking an automotive expert/advisor friend to dedicate time to you in the process, reviewing a pared-down list of the project charter elements and treating it like a checklist of guidelines can help ensure you’re ready.

6 Reasons for a Charter for a Personal Project

Look at your vehicle purchase detail through the lens of the questions above:

1. Why? = motive

2. Who? = people

3. What? = things

4. How much? = money

5. Where? = map or path

6. When? = timing

1. Motive

• When you approach friends to help you, they’ll immediately ask you questions related to why you’re doing the project - Why now?  
• Is the old vehicle dying or do you just need a change?  Family might take a more aggressive tack, and make you justify your decision.  
• Oh right, you don’t have family like that – that’s good, but it’s still nice to be prepared.  

2. People

• Who is helping you?  Family?  
• Or, a friend of a friend, someone who really knows their vehicles?  Maybe a mechanic?  
• And how much of their time do you expect to be needing?  
• Are you updating them and keeping them informed, consulting them for advice, or asking them to be accountable for the decision?  

3. Things

• Conversations will move quickly to your requirements.  Truck?  Car?  
• 18-wheeler?  Electric?  
• If it is electric, do you have a place to plug it in where you live?  Stop, stop.  
• Too many detailed questions.  OK.  Let’s take it up a level. 
• What are your success criteria?  In other words, what Objectives, if achieved, would deem your purchase successful?  
• There might be only a few now: a price less than $50,000, a purchase date before Oct 31, has to be an automatic. That’s what you’re looking for – don’t over-plan at this early stage.

4. Money

• Next come your financial constraints.  
• How much cash do you have to put down?  Is it all cash?  
• Are you pre-approved for a particular loan amount?  Start with an amount that is your comfort zone and put together a bit of a budget.  
• Purchasing ratings services or previous car history reports, or even cab or rideshare rides to get there if your car is truly dead, can involve some cash outlay.  
• If you have some constraints, put those down, but try to stay high-level. 
• Your objectives might include a dollar amount, and if that’s achieved then you’re golden. 
• Add in any money things that your stakeholders need to be aware of.

5. Map

• How is this going to happen?  
• This most likely is a relative path. First, we decide on the vehicle type and cost.  Second, we decide on dealerships, and maybe whether we’re focusing on brick and mortar or with online.  Third, we need to go on test drives, and so on.  
• The map is our approach to getting this personal project accomplished.  Since it is relative, we establish the timeframes we need between events, and then once we actually start, the dates can be aligned by adding the start date for the first event and filling in the other dates along those timeframes.

6. Timing

• What are the actual, expected starting dates and dates to have the purchase complete?  
• Are there critical milestones, such as a time window for your loan approval before it expires?  
• Are there any other timeline constraints?

A Charter gets you Prepared

In this example of a personal vehicle purchase project, going through the INITIATE part of our project helped you with preparation.  

It also produces positive results with your project stakeholders, because you look organized and communicative, making you a considerate collaborator.

Business projects are no different.  Activities necessary to organize your resources will ensure a successful project outcome and indicate how ready you are to start your project.  

Since projects use scarce resources, time and money, you owe it to yourself to be prepared and courteous to those helping you by being accurate with your timelines and requirements. 

Summary

The project charter provides answers to six questions to ask when starting any new endeavor.  

These six fundamental knowledge domain questions also have corresponding project domains with specific project management items in each.

Creating a charter, even if very brief, to cover these six domains of project management knowledge, helps ensure your project is successful before it starts.

Action Steps / Apply This Knowledge

1. Review each of the project questions and put just one sentence for each and see if it helps clarify your project:
   • Why? = motive
   • Who? = people
   • What? = things
   • How much? = money
   • Where? = map or path
   • When? = timing
2. If your project has already started without a charter and answering the six questions gives you some insights that your stakeholders need to be aware them, then drop them a quick email about it.  Clarification and awareness is better now that ambiguity that creates a surprise later.

Learn More

In an upcoming workshop, for which you can subscribe to be notified when it’s available, we cover project management examples in detail.  

Also, in the workshop, we go into greater depth on many of the project management items in the MPM model.  As well you can ask questions about any of your current projects during the Q&A. 

INITIATE - Why do a charter 

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