WFED595A:

Lesson 3 Overview

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An OD project initiative is a set of tasks and objectives, which have agreed-upon beginning and end dates. A project charter defines the goals and objectives of the project, scope of work to be completed, approach to the project, deliverables, milestones, and project structure.

A project proposal is a document which sets out a potential line of activities or tasks in which the author usually asks for approval to proceed. Alternatively, a project charter is a document which is drawn up once a proposal has been approved and outlines the governance of the project and what it is trying to achieve.

WFED 595A students are expected to develop a project charter in order to conduct a field-based project successfully.

Lesson Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to

• define a project charter,
• develop a project charter with the necessary structure and elements, and
• create a progress report for your field-based project to help you focus on completing the project in a timely manner.

Lesson Readings & Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 3 Course Schedule.

Reference

What Is a Project Charter?

A project charter "lays the foundation of the project. It includes a statement of your bushiness needs…the chareter forms a contract with all stakeholders involved in the project (Project Planning for PMs, 2018, para 1). The OD practitioner will refer to the project charter throughout the life of the project.

The project charter, along with approved change requests, is the guiding document for the steering committee and project team. It defines the goals and objectives of the project, scope of work to be completed, approach to the project, deliverables, milestones, and project structure.

“The project charter is a single, consolidated source of information about the project in terms of initiation and planning. Basically, the project charter defines the boundaries of the project, no matter what type of project management methodology you are using. It is much more than an effective planning tool. It serves both as an anchor, holding you to your objectives, and as a navigator, guiding you through the milestones that will mark your progress” (Project Planning for PMs, 2008, para 1).

Thus, the project charter needs to be developed along with the sponsor. The project charter should be much more detailed than a proposal, although the proposal may be a good starting point. It is important to remember the process of involving the sponsor in defining the scope is critical.

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Reference

The Purpose and Elements of A Project Charter

The purpose of the Project Charter is to document

• reasons for undertaking the project;
• objectives and constraints of the project;
• assumptions that influence the project environment;
• directions concerning the solution—scope;
• identities of the main stakeholders; and
• empowers the OD practitioner with the authority to carry out the project

A Project Charter typically includes all or some of the following detailed areas:

Goal and objectives

Typically, there is one overarching goal associated with a project and there are two to three objectives associated with each goal. The objectives answer the question, “How will we know when we have achieved the goal?” The objectives provide focus to the project and all efforts should be directed towards the achievement of the objectives. This is how we measure the success of the project from the sponsor’s perspective.

Project Scope

Defining the scope of the project is critical at the beginning. This is a written statement of the boundary and limits of the project. Clearly understanding the scope will make the resourcing and budgeting exercises easier.

Organizational Scope

If it isn’t obvious, describe the parts of the organization that are included in the scope for this project. Think about all the geographic locations, subsidiaries, boards, union, and management groups.

Functional Scope

Depending on the project it may be necessary to define the functional scope of the project. Specifically, describe the functional areas of the organization that are included in a review, involved in data collection/analysis, or affected by implementation. For example a review of HR policies may or may not include Health & Safety; a redesign of benefits may or may not include executive benefits.

Out of Scope

Often it is a good idea to specify what is beyond or not in the scope for a project. This clarifies for the OD practitioner and the sponsor what areas will not be included and removes any ambiguity at the beginning of the project.

Principles

Some projects and project teams may benefit from developing guiding principles or ground rules. For large complex projects this should be routine. Principles provide an opportunity to develop the "culture" associated with a project.

Project Deliverables and Milestones

Depending on the size of the project there may be one or many deliverables and milestones. A deliverable is a piece of work that requires sign off by the OD practitioner and the sponsor. The milestone is the date the deliverable is due.

Workplan

The primary uses of the project workplan are to document the planning assumptions and decisions into work tasks, facilitate communications, and get commitment from the project team and document the timeline for achieving the project objectives.

Communication Approach

Provide a high level description of the approach to communication. At this point it is not likely the team will have been assembled for there to be a detailed plan in place. The purpose of this section is to describe the approach.

Stakeholder Management Approach

For any project, it is helpful to work with the sponsor to identify those individuals or groups who have a stake in the outcome of the project. As with the communications plan, it is likely the stakeholder analysis is not completed. Use this section to describe the approach to consult or involve stakeholders. Consider including the key groupings of stakeholders (such as: union, management, board, employees, potential employees, etc.)

You can see and download the sample project charter with the link.

Remember

A project charter along with approved change requests is the guiding document for the steering committee and project team. It defines the goals and objectives of the project, scope of work to be completed, approach to the project, deliverables, milestones, and project structure.

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Enhance Your Learning

Progress Reports

Visit the following websites:

• How to write a weekly progress report: "Weekly reports are common in many business and retail environments, as well as for research projects and internships. Write a solid weekly report so that your superiors have a clear idea of what kind of progress you’ve made" (Muleller, 2019, para. 1)
• How to write a weekly report: All you should know about effective weekly report writing (2008).

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Lesson Activity

Project Charter and Progress Report 1

Overview

In this assignment, please submit the following reports:

1. Project Charter: A project charter defines the goals and objectives of the project, scope of work to be completed, approach to the project, deliverables, milestones, and project structure.
2. The progress report: The progress report describes your field-based project activities, is one of the most important documents an OD practitioner has to write. This report informs your instructor(s) about your efforts and helps you complete your project in a timely manner. In addition, writing this document will help you learn how to write real-world progress reports.

Instructions

• Create the project charter for your field-based project. You can use the attached sample project charter template OR your own template.
• Create the first Progress Report for your field-based project, and attach it to the project charter. You can use the attached Weekly Progress Report template OR your own template.