Best Simple Project Charter Templates: Free Samples and Tips

The planning process is the first step in project management, and it’s the most critical. If the plan is flawed, the project is doomed to failure. Therefore, your first step in the project planning process should be your project charter.

Essentially, a project charter is a brief document that defines the scope, goals, and objectives of a project. Expanding on that – your project charter should accomplish three key functions:

Project Design: it outlines the purpose, objectives, and stakeholders of a project.
Shared Understanding: it serves as a reference point for all project stakeholders and helps to ensure that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals.
Collaboration: it helps to establish clear lines of communication and accountability within the project team and provides a framework for decision-making.

The project charter is typically created at the beginning of a project and serves as a reference point throughout the project’s lifespan (source). In a sophisticated project environment, the charter should be developed by the project sponsor and gain approval by relevant stakeholders before the project begins. In practice – the charter is often prepared by the project manager and authorized by the sponsor as part of the project governance process.

Download the project charter template

As with all things – I like to keep the project planning process clear and simple. Most managers and supervisors will find themselves managing a range of small to medium-scale projects; for this reason, you don’t need a complex project charter with 25 subheadings (unless you’re building a skyscraper or a dam for example). Rather, you need something simple to provide direction to your team and context to your stakeholders.

For this reason – I’m sharing with you my simple project charter templates for free. Below, you’ll find two versions, each with slightly different emphases to suit your needs. I’ve used these templates to manage projects with up to 25 key stakeholders at a time, with budgets of up $200,000.

Please feel free to download the Word Document, make edits, and circulate it as you please. And if you like this template, check out the template catalog, and make suggestions for future templates via the contact page. And finally, go check out my article on how to set effective goals using the S.M.A.R.T. framework!

Good luck with your next project!

Project Charter Template #1: