SDLC STANDARDS

Planning Phase

Version 1.4            January 31, 2007

Project Charter

This page contains the published standards for the production of the Project Charter for the Planning Phase of the System Development Life Cycle used within the Ministry and by its contracted consultants.  The Project Charter is most often developed by internal Ministry Staff and differs from the Project Statement (Definition Phase) in that is is the vehicle for obtaining approval for a project.  The Project Statement, on the other hand, is developed once approval is obtained.

Table of Contents

VERSION CONTROL

1.     INTRODUCTION

1.1     Audience
1.2     Purpose
1.3     Assumptions
1.4     Other Standards
1.5     Outstanding Issues

1.6     Template

2.     PROJECT CHARTER DOCUMENT

2.1     Project Name
2.2     Project Sponsor
2.3     Business Champion
2.4     Project Manager
2.5     Priority
2.6     Updated
2.7     Rationale/Benefits
2.8     Project Objectives
2.9     Deliverables
2.10   Linkages
2.11   Dependencies
2.12   Schedule
2.13   Scope/Exclusions
2.14   Assumptions/Risks & Strategies
2.15   Communication Strategy
2.16   Training Strategy
2.17   Key Stakeholders
2.18   Priority
2.19   Project Resources/Costs/Funding
2.20   Project Status
2.21   Estimated Annual Operating Costs

3.     CONCLUSION

VERSION CONTROL

This section of the document records the various versions or releases of this document.

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1.     Introduction

This Project Charter Standard outlines the process for preparing a Project Charter. This section outlines the Audience and Purpose of this standards document.

1.1      Audience

This document is directed at those people who are responsible for producing Project Charters for application systems for the British Columbia Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management.

Project Charters are the responsibility of the Business Champion. The Business Champion is the person who either identifies the business need for the project or who is appointed as the person most knowledgeable in the business area being addressed.

1.2      Purpose

The purpose of this document is to define the contents of the deliverable associated with the Planning Phase of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

This standard should be read and used in conjunction with the "Template for Deliverable Production".  Use of this template and compliance with the standards specified herein is mandatory for anyone involved in the production of a Project Charter deliverable for the Ministry.

All recommendations or suggestions for the improvement of this standard should be sent for review to: wwwisbstds@ssbpost.env.gov.bc.ca

1.3      Assumptions

There are no assumptions associated with this document

1.4      Other Standards

Other related standards can be found on the IMB Standards page.

1.5      Outstanding Issues

There are no identified outstanding issues at this time.

1.6      Template

There is an MS-Word template project charter document here .

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2.       Project Charter Document

A Project Charter is usually produced as a precursor to the commencement of formal activity relating to a project. It is prepared in order to describe, to senior and/or executive management, the requirements and outline for the proposed project. It [the Project Charter] is the primary document to be used by senior and/or executive management to approve and allocate the necessary resources (Ministry staff time and budget) for the project.

The Project Charter, if not approved, can be kept for amendment and re-submission at a subsequent time when resources are available.

If approved, the Project Charter will form the basis for any RFP production, contractor selection and/or project manager appointment. Once these activities have been completed, the next Phase of the SDLC, Definition Phase can be commenced.

A mandatory requirement of this deliverable document is that it must be completely "self contained". The document should not expect the reader to have any prior knowledge of the system or the scope of the system. Where appropriate, reference should be made to supporting material for clarification or to set context or scope.

The Project Charter document should contain and address each of the paragraphs listed below. Each paragraph must be included in each Project Charter document. However, there could be some Systems/Applications where some sections may not apply. In these cases, the document must contain each section with an appropriate statement indicating that this section does not apply. In this way, the document will demonstrate that each section has been addressed during its preparation.

The paragraphs to be included in the Project Charter Document are:

2.1      Project Name

Provide a brief descriptive name to identify the project.

2.2      Project Sponsor

Identify the person who will sponsor (be the overall champion and supporter for) the project by securing funds and resources and by providing communication to the appropriate Ministry executive and program management. This person is the driving force without which there is no project. This person is ultimately accountable for the success of the project.

2.3      Business Champion

Identify the person who is responsible for preparing this document and who will be the main business area driver and will provide overall business area direction to the project.

2.4      Project Manager

Identify the person who is/will be responsible for coordinating and managing the project through to completion. This person will be accountable for the success of the project, from a project management perspective. It is possible that at the time of completing the Project Charter, the Project Manager will not be known, appointed or selected. In this case state this.

2.5      Priority

Indicate if this project is essential to the effectiveness and productivity of the program (High Priority), or if it will improve the delivery of the program but is not essential (Medium Priority), or it is a "nice to have" item (Low Priority).

2.6      Updated

Record the date the charter document was last updated.

2.7       Rationale/Benefits

State the business opportunity to be addressed by the project, the reason it is being proposed and what benefits are expected to be derived.

2.8      Project Objectives

State the major objectives to be accomplished by this project.

2.9      Deliverables

List the final products and services to be delivered to the Ministry (e.g. feasibility study, system requirements and design document, an application system, user/system documentation, system training, etc.).

2.10    Linkage to Corporate Plans

Briefly describe how this project aligns with Ministry's Corporate IM goals.

2.11    Project Dependencies

Indicate in what manner this project is dependent on other projects or if other projects are dependent on this project.

2.12    Schedule

Provide an estimated schedule for completing each phase or milestone of the project in the Ministry compatible standard tool (currently MS-Project).  This high-level Gantt chart should show all major deliverables and milestones with goal dates for completion.

2.13    Scope/Exclusions

State the scope of the project by specifying tasks, work areas, procedures, products, services, et cetera that will be covered by this project.

Indicate specific tasks, work areas, procedures, products, services, et cetera that will NOT be covered by this project. These exclusions should help to clarify the scope of the project.

2.14     Assumptions/Risks & Strategies

List any risks, constraints, or issues that may have an impact on the success of the project. List any planning assumptions made that may also have an impact if they prove to be inaccurate. Identify the strategies that will be used to overcome or minimize these impacts.

2.15     Communication Strategy

Indicate who will be communicated with whom, using what method and how frequently.

2.16     Training Strategy

Describe who will be trained at HQ and in the field offices; the number of days of training required; and the training method (classroom, one on one, etc.).

2.17    Key Stakeholders

This section should contain a list of individuals or groups who have a vested interest in this project and whose interests need to be considered throughout the project. Identify their roles and commitment to the project. These stakeholders could be internal or external to the sponsor's organization e.g. end users, clients or customers, development partners, operating partners, etc..

2.18    Priority

This section should reflect the project's importance in relation to the customer's strategic plan and/or the driving forces which make this project more/less critical.

2.19    Project Resources/Costs/Funding

Estimate the type, quantity and costs of resources required to complete the project. (e.g. labour, equipment, supplies, facilities, contracting, etc.). Specify any special skills or key personnel that should be assigned to the project.

Identify ministry resources available to work on the project during the various phases (e.g. working committee members, test team members, trainers, etc.)

Indicate how costs will be funded.

2.20    Project Status

If the project is already underway or a portion of the project has previously been completed, comment on what has been accomplished to date. Indicate if a business case study, feasibility study, problem definition, project plan, or any other project initiation steps have been taken. For application development projects, indicate if the system requirements, general design, technical design, or any systems development has been completed.

As well indicate the "history" of the previous activities showing completion dates as appropriate.

2.21     Estimated Annual Operating Costs

Estimate the type, quantity and costs of resources required for on-going annual operating costs (e.g. machine processing, data communications, software maintenance and enhancements, FTE support, etc.). Specify any special skills or key personnel that must be assigned, trained or hired for annual operations.

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3.      Conclusion

This document provides the guidelines and a template that will facilitate production of a standard Project Charter deliverable with a consistent appearance.

It is intended to facilitate the estimating of effort and costs as well as clearly communicating the Ministry’s deliverable expectations for the Planning Phase of the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC).

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