Whenever I start on a new project, one of my favorite things to do is to write a quick project charter. It helps me to begin to hone in on the key drivers of the project, and to reveal gaps in the implementation. It also helps to possibly come up with some easy ideas for improvement from the get-go to help the project.

Using templates like this is helpful, as it provides a comprehensive checklist of all the items you should be thinking about. For example, the project charter template I use forces me to think through each of the key elements of the project:

• Vision and objectives
• Scope (what’s included and what’s not)
• High-level description of deliverables
• Customers that the output of the project serves
• Project stakeholders
• Roles, responsibilities and organizational structure for the project
• Approach to planning the project
• High-level plan
• Specific plans for resources, funding and quality assurance
• Generalized schedule with key milestones

And finally, there are those critical catchall things such as risks, issues, assumptions and constraints.

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