Agile Project Charter Template and the Five Things You Should Exploit

by Hajime Estanislao
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Agile Project Charter Template and the Five Things You Should Exploit

By: Hajime Estanislao, PMP, CSM; Editor: Geram Lompon; Reviewed by: Alvin Villanueva, PMP

Are your Agile projects losing clarity as they evolve or falling short of stakeholder expectations? Many Agile teams face challenges maintaining focus and collaboration.

Imagine having a simple and powerful tool that keeps your team on the same page, adapts to change, and serves as a strategic guide throughout your project lifecycle. That is where the Agile project charter comes in - a live document designed to drive clarity, alignment, and success for your projects.

What if every sprint, task, and decision were rooted in a shared vision? With an Agile project charter, you can build a foundation that empowers your team and brings consistent progress. It is the key to transforming scattered efforts into streamlined, focused execution.

Ready to take your Agile projects to the next level? This article focuses on the 'how to' of an Agile project charter in your project management practice. With practical steps, examples, and insights, you will have tips and tricks that are future-looking and flexible.

Four people are in a modern office. One woman points at charts and graphs on a whiteboard, presenting data from an Agile Project Charter Template to colleagues. Two men listen attentively, one with a laptop as sunlight streams through large windows.

What is an Agile Project Charter Template?

An Agile project charter serves as a foundational document providing clarity, alignment, and direction on project details for teams and stakeholders. This article explores how to use an Agile project charter, which you can download as a base template, and highlights its application across phases of Agile project management.

The template is a live documentation designed to establish the foundational details of a project. It defines the project’s vision, mission statement, objectives, success criteria, and roles, ensuring team members and stakeholders are aligned. Unlike traditional, detail-heavy project charters, Agile charters are concise, flexible, and adaptable throughout the project to accommodate change.

Four people stand around a round table in a modern office with large windows, collaborating on documents, a laptop, and an Agile Project Charter Template. A cityscape and water are visible outside. Charts and notes are on the wall.

How is it Different from Traditional Project Charter Templates?

Flexibility

Agile charters evolve, whereas traditional charters are static documents created during the initiation phase and seldom updated.

Collaboration

Agile charters emphasize team and stakeholder collaboration in their creation and refinement, whereas traditional charters are often authored by a single individual or a small group.

Focus on Iteration

Agile charters align with iterative planning and execution, supporting ongoing adjustments based on feedback, unlike traditional charters, which aim for comprehensive upfront planning.

Conciseness

Agile charters prioritize simplicity and actionable insights over exhaustive detail, making them more practical for fast-paced projects.

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How to Use the Agile Project Charter Template

The Agile project charter is a flexible yet structured tool. Follow these steps to use it effectively:

Start with the Project Initiation Phase

  • Collaborate with the team and stakeholders to draft the charter.
  • Define the project vision, mission, and success criteria.
  • Align team members on roles, responsibilities, and expectations.

Refine During Iteration Planning

Leverage During Iteration Execution

  • Refer to the charter to guide decision-making and monitor progress.
  • Ensure team efforts remain aligned with strategic goals by continuously revisiting the charter.

Communicate Regularly

  • Share updates with stakeholders using the charter as a reference.
  • Incorporate team feedback to refine and improve processes.

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Project Initiation

  • Draft Agile Charter with Team Input: Collaborate with team members and stakeholders to develop a shared vision and outline key objectives.
  • Team Collaboration and Alignment: Ensure that roles, responsibilities, and expectations are clearly defined and agreed upon.

Iteration Planning

Iteration Execution

  • Use Charter to Guide Team Decisions: Refer to the charter to ensure team decisions align with the project’s mission and objectives.
  • Strategic Goal Monitoring: Regularly track progress and adjust plans to achieve project success.

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Agile Project Charter for an Invoice Tracking Database

Here’s an example of an Agile project charter, showcasing how it can guide a real-world project:

Section Details
Project Name Invoice Tracking Database
Vision Assist the billing department in reducing monthly past-due accounts by providing a real-time tracking platform.
Mission Develop a database to enable real-time account status viewing, proactive vendor engagement, and generation of account reports.
Success Criteria - Implement the database by March 1, 20XX. - Achieve 75% reduction in past-due accounts in 3 months. - Gain 80% employee favorability through surveys after 3 months.
Project Team - Product Owner: A. Black - Scrum Master: B. White - Programmer: C. Green - Database Administrator: D. Teal - Network Administrator: E. Gray - Billing Coordinator: F. Brown
Rules of Behavior - Treat all team members with respect. - Provide constructive feedback. - Encourage open communication. - Turn off personal phones during meetings. - Accept responsibility and accountability. - Use a consensus approach for decision-making.
Communications - Daily meetings at 9 AM in the team room. - Update tasks on the kanban board before 9 AM. - Distribute meeting minutes within 24 hours. - Rotate meeting scribe responsibility. - Notify changes in meeting schedule promptly.

Reasons You Need an Agile Project Charter

An Agile project charter is indispensable for any Agile project, providing a framework that supports alignment, collaboration, and adaptability.

Here’s an idea why you need it:

  • Establish a clear and shared vision for the project.
  • Aligns team members and stakeholders on goals, roles, and expectations.
  • Enhances collaboration by creating a shared understanding of responsibilities.
  • Provides a flexible framework to adapt to changes during the project lifecycle.
  • Support iterative planning and continuous improvement.
  • Serve as a reference point for decision-making and tracking progress.
  • Encourage transparency and accountability within the team.
  • Reduces risks by identifying and addressing potential issues early.

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Five Things to Remember When Leveraging the Agile Project Charter

The Agile project charter is more than just a document; it's a living guide that ensures alignment, collaboration, and success in Agile projects. To maximize its effectiveness, teams must actively engage with the charter throughout the project lifecycle, refining and adapting it as necessary.

Below are five steps to make the most of your Agile project charter.

Start Strong with Collaborative Creation

The project charter should be a team effort from the beginning. Engage key stakeholders, including team members, product owners, and decision-makers to draft the charter. It ensures buy-in and alignment from the start.

  • Host a kickoff workshop to discuss the project's vision, mission, and goals.
  • Use brainstorming techniques or collaborative tools to define success criteria and potential risks.
  • Ensure the team's ability to contribute their perspectives to create a shared understanding.

Define a Clear and Inspiring Vision

A well-articulated vision acts as the guiding light for the team throughout the scope of the project. It should be concise, motivating, and easy to understand.

  • Focus on the 'why' of the project—what problem to solve and how the outcome will deliver value.
  • Use simple, actionable language to describe the vision.
  • Make the vision accessible to the team and stakeholders by integrating it into the Agile workspace or team tools.

Keep It Flexible and Adaptable

Unlike traditional charters, the Agile project charter is a living document that evolves with the project. Flexibility accommodates new insights, project risks, and shifting priorities.

Integrate It into Daily Operations

The Agile project charter should not sit idle; it is actively referenced and utilized during team discussions, strategy, and decision-making processes.

  • Highlight key sections of the charter during daily stand-ups or sprint reviews.
  • Use the charter to align decisions with the project’s objectives and vision.
  • Ensure the team remains on the same page by revisiting the charter at key milestones.

Measure Success and Iterate

The success of the Agile project charter lies in its ability to guide the team toward achieving specific project objectives and goals. Regularly measure progress and refine the charter to ensure it remains relevant.

  • Use metrics such as sprint completion rates, team satisfaction, or customer feedback to evaluate project alignment with the charter.
  • Identify areas for improvement during retrospectives and adjust the charter accordingly.
  • Celebrate milestones achieved through alignment with the charter to reinforce its value.

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Considerations For Successfully Utilizing and Advocating the Agile Project Charter

An Agile project charter is only as effective as the commitment of the project team members and stakeholders to use it as a living document. Advocacy for the charter should extend beyond its initial creation to ensure it remains a guiding tool throughout the project lifecycle. It means actively encouraging team members to reference and refine the charter until it becomes a part of their regular workflows.

It is important to balance flexibility with focus when using the Agile project charter. While adaptability is a hallmark of Agile, frequent changes to the charter without strategic consideration can lead to confusion and misalignment. To avoid this, ensure updates are purposeful and communicated effectively across the team.

Advocating for the Agile project charter means demonstrating its value to stakeholders. Highlight how it supports transparency, collaboration, and decision-making by sharing real-world examples of its impact on project outcomes. This advocacy builds trust and makes the charter an integral part of the Agile framework.

Taking it to the Next Level: How to Integrate them with Project Management Technologies

To unlock the potential of an Agile project charter, teams can integrate it with modern project management and development tools. Platforms like Jira, Azure DevOps, or Trello allow teams to embed elements of the charter—such as the project vision, objectives, and success criteria—directly into their workflows. For instance, linking the charter to epics, user stories, or sprint goals ensures that team members stay aligned with the project’s overarching goals during day-to-day activities.

Integration with DevOps pipelines can further enhance the impact of the Agile project charter. By embedding success criteria or project milestones into CI/CD dashboards, teams can visualize real-time progress and correlate deliverables with business objectives. For example, a project charter for a software release might outline quality benchmarks or delivery timelines, which can then be tracked through automated testing and deployment tools.

Advanced analytics and collaboration tools can provide actionable insights based on the charter’s goals. Tools like Confluence or Miro can serve as living repositories for the project charter, where team members can document updates, share feedback, and align on changes. This integration creates a feedback loop that strengthens collaboration and makes the agile team charter evolve alongside the project, enhancing transparency and adaptability.

Five people in business attire sit around a table with laptops and documents, reviewing an Agile Project Charter Template in a bright, modern office with large windows.

Wrapping Up: Charter your Flight to Success

An Agile project charter is a strategic document and compass that aligns your team, stakeholders, resources, and goals. By fostering collaboration, maintaining flexibility, and integrating the charter into daily workflows, teams can navigate challenges and adapt to change without losing sight of the project’s vision.

Leveraging an Agile project charter ensures every sprint, task, and deliverable contributes to a greater purpose, driving meaningful outcomes and enhancing team alignment. Whether managing software development or non-software projects, incorporating this living document into your project management practices will set the stage for tangible outcomes.

References

Project Management Institute. (2021). A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (7th ed.). Project Management Institute.

Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2020). The Scrum guide: The definitive guide to Scrum: The rules of the game. Scrum.org. Retrieved from https://scrumguides.org

Smartsheet. (2024). Agile project charter: Definition and examples. Retrieved from https://www.smartsheet.com/content/agile-project-charter

Project Management Docs. (2024). Agile team charter template. Retrieved from https://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/template/agile-templates/agile-team-charter

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