Project Charter
Project Name: XYZ Computer System
Company: XYZ Manufacturing Company Ltd.
Division: Computer Systems
Department: Information Technology
Process or Product: Servers and Displays manufacturing
Prepared By:
Document Owners Project or Organization Role
Ken Owttrim Project Manager
John Smith Director, IT – Project Owner
Joe Blow VP, Manufacturing – Project Sponsor
Version Control
Ver # Date Author Change Description
0 02/01/09 Ken Owttrim Document created
John Smith
Joe Blow
1
2
, Project Charter
Project Charter Purpose
The Project Charter defines the scope, objectives, deliverables and overall approach for the work
to be completed. It is a critical element for initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and
monitoring the project. It is the absolute master document for the project and as such it should be
the single point of reference on the project for goals and objectives, scope, organization,
estimates, deliverables, and budget.
There are items within the Charter that are supported by additional project control documents. In
these instances the Charter will name the documents involved and describe their purpose and
use throughout the project life cycle. This serves to keep changes to the master document to a
required minimum while providing a mechanism to monitor and control the key areas of the
project on an ongoing basis.
The Project Charter also serves as a contract between the Project Team and the Project
Sponsors, stating at a minimum:
• Why are we doing this and what is the overall goal.
• What are the assumptions and constraints going in.
• When do we need to be finished.
• What deliverables must be made to get there.
• What things are not to be done.
• When do the deliverables need to be completed and in what order.
• Who is going to actually do the tasks and where.
• What resources and money (budget) is needed.
• What risks are there likely to be along the way.
• How to keep things on target and monitor progress.
Executive Overview
In the last budget process it was recognized that the legacy Manufacturing Information System
needed to be upgraded as vendor support for the old system was to be discontinued within two
years. In house staff cannot maintain the old system due to source code not being available. A
modern manufacturing software application would provide added functionality and opportunities
to reduce inventory levels and product delivery times.
Subsequently, an RFP was issued, a vendor selected and contracts completed to provide the
new software. It is assumed the new application will operate satisfactorily on the XYZ hardware.
This is a potentially high risk to the project and must be verified in the early project stage.
The new system will be initially implemented in the Display manufacturing facility. It is anticipated
that will happen within the first 12 months. Once the system has proven itself and stabilized, then
the main Server plant will be brought online within the following 6 months. This timeline must be
met to ensure our operating systems are fully supported.
The cost is not to exceed $750,000. This includes the initial software application, custom code
development, and consulting costs.
The Director of IT will be responsible for the implementation, and will hire an experienced contract
Project Manager to guide the project. The VP Manufacturing is the Project Sponsor and must sign
off on all major deliverables. The various company departments will contribute experienced staff
resources to the project team for the duration of the project.
Project Name: XYZ Computer System
Page 2 of 9
Project Name: XYZ Computer System
Company: XYZ Manufacturing Company Ltd.
Division: Computer Systems
Department: Information Technology
Process or Product: Servers and Displays manufacturing
Prepared By:
Document Owners Project or Organization Role
Ken Owttrim Project Manager
John Smith Director, IT – Project Owner
Joe Blow VP, Manufacturing – Project Sponsor
Version Control
Ver # Date Author Change Description
0 02/01/09 Ken Owttrim Document created
John Smith
Joe Blow
1
2
, Project Charter
Project Charter Purpose
The Project Charter defines the scope, objectives, deliverables and overall approach for the work
to be completed. It is a critical element for initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and
monitoring the project. It is the absolute master document for the project and as such it should be
the single point of reference on the project for goals and objectives, scope, organization,
estimates, deliverables, and budget.
There are items within the Charter that are supported by additional project control documents. In
these instances the Charter will name the documents involved and describe their purpose and
use throughout the project life cycle. This serves to keep changes to the master document to a
required minimum while providing a mechanism to monitor and control the key areas of the
project on an ongoing basis.
The Project Charter also serves as a contract between the Project Team and the Project
Sponsors, stating at a minimum:
• Why are we doing this and what is the overall goal.
• What are the assumptions and constraints going in.
• When do we need to be finished.
• What deliverables must be made to get there.
• What things are not to be done.
• When do the deliverables need to be completed and in what order.
• Who is going to actually do the tasks and where.
• What resources and money (budget) is needed.
• What risks are there likely to be along the way.
• How to keep things on target and monitor progress.
Executive Overview
In the last budget process it was recognized that the legacy Manufacturing Information System
needed to be upgraded as vendor support for the old system was to be discontinued within two
years. In house staff cannot maintain the old system due to source code not being available. A
modern manufacturing software application would provide added functionality and opportunities
to reduce inventory levels and product delivery times.
Subsequently, an RFP was issued, a vendor selected and contracts completed to provide the
new software. It is assumed the new application will operate satisfactorily on the XYZ hardware.
This is a potentially high risk to the project and must be verified in the early project stage.
The new system will be initially implemented in the Display manufacturing facility. It is anticipated
that will happen within the first 12 months. Once the system has proven itself and stabilized, then
the main Server plant will be brought online within the following 6 months. This timeline must be
met to ensure our operating systems are fully supported.
The cost is not to exceed $750,000. This includes the initial software application, custom code
development, and consulting costs.
The Director of IT will be responsible for the implementation, and will hire an experienced contract
Project Manager to guide the project. The VP Manufacturing is the Project Sponsor and must sign
off on all major deliverables. The various company departments will contribute experienced staff
resources to the project team for the duration of the project.
Project Name: XYZ Computer System
Page 2 of 9
