Creating a Project Charter for your eLearning project

This is the first in a series of articles about using PMP methodologies to plan and execute eLearning projects. In this article, I’ll cover key points of Integration Management, focusing on creating a Project Charter.

According to the tenets of the PMBOK, all projects need a Project Charter. In PMP-speak, the Charter is a document created by the Project Sponsor, and in that document he/she states that this project exists, gives the Project Manager responsibility to proceed with development, and provides background of the project and key success factors. Once the Charter is complete, the project commences. The Sponsor isn’t done with the project at this point, but hands over day-to-day responsibility to the Project Manager. Then, the Project Manager is the one who must see that the work gets done.

It is well and good to say “you must have a Project Charter”, but I have to admit that I’ve rarely seen a formal Project Charter document for my past eLearning or technical documentation projects. I’ve seen many project plans of varying format and length, but rarely a specific Charter document.

The concept should not intimidate you, however. In a fast-paced environment, it is easy to rely on emails and hallway discussions to hash out details about an eLearning course. The real purpose of the Project Charter is to give you a single-point-of-contact for all project-related information. The fact is that you will need to know all of this information for your eLearning project anyway, so a best practice is to write it up in one location.

So, you can call it an eLearning Charter, call it a Plan, or whatever you like. Ultimately, your eLearning course will only be successful if you have all the information you need at the outset.

How many projects start

From my experience, the project sponsor (i.e., your boss) will introduce a new project in a meeting, or often with a hastily written email:

Believe it or not, that’s a great start. It’s not a Charter by any stretch of the imagination, but we’ll get there. In these two short sentences, The Boss has formally:

• kicked off this eLearning project
• identified me as the Project Manager
• identified one other key stakeholder

If your learning organization is really fast-paced (and of course it is), The Boss has a lot more on his/her plate, so it may be up to you dig around and get the rest of the information you need. The PMBOK explains that the Sponsor is the one who writes the Charter; but realistically, it may be up to the Project Manager to prepare this. And better that you do it than have no one write it. After all, everyone wants this eLearning course to be a success.

What should go in the Charter?

According to the PMBOK, you need all the following in your Charter:

1. Project purpose

2. Measurable objectives and success criteria

3. High-level requirements

4. Assumptions/Constraints

5. High level project description and boundaries

6. High level risks

7. Summary milestone schedule

8. Summary budget

9. Stakeholder list

10. Project approval requirements

11. Assigned project manager, authority level

12. Name and authority of the sponsor

All of these items are required, and for good reason. Consider the risks involved in skipping any of these steps, and you’ll see why they are needed. For example, let’s say you don’t get a summary budget: you may plan to spend money you don’t have (new software? consultants?), or not spend enough to get the course to meet client expectations. If you miss some stakeholders, you’ll end up starting all over again to gather new requirements. I think you see where this is going.

Writing the Charter

If The Boss (Project Sponsor) doesn’t write this up in a formal way, you should do it. There are many templates available online if you want to borrow some ideas (including my own template here). But typically, a simple document will do the trick. Just write things out in plain language, based on your emails and meetings with The Boss.

Then, like you would with any other project document or component, get it approved. The Sponsor is probably the only person who needs to sign off, but your organization may be set up differently. Get this document signed and then start the next phase: scoping the work involved for your eLearning course.

eLearning Project Charter Template

I have posted a simple Project Charter template (specific for eLearning courses) on my website. Check it out and feel free to use it, or make suggestions to improve it.

What’s next?

Next time, I’ll write about Scope Management for your eLearning project. Stay tuned!