Project Charter

Project: [Project Name] Client: [Client Name] Charter Date: [Date] Project Lead: [Name]

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Project Overview

Purpose

[Why this project exists - the problem we're solving]

Objectives

1. [Primary objective]
2. [Secondary objective]
3. [Secondary objective]

Success Criteria

Criterion	Measure	Target
[Criterion 1]	[How measured]	[Target value]
[Criterion 2]	[How measured]	[Target value]

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Scope

In Scope

• [Deliverable/capability 1]
• [Deliverable/capability 2]
• [Deliverable/capability 3]

Out of Scope

• [Explicitly excluded 1]
• [Explicitly excluded 2]

Assumptions

• [Assumption 1]
• [Assumption 2]

Constraints

• [Constraint 1]
• [Constraint 2]

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Stakeholders

Client Side

Name	Role	Responsibility	Contact
[Name]	Executive Sponsor	Decisions, escalations	[Email]
[Name]	Project Lead	Day-to-day	[Email]
[Name]	[Role]	[Responsibility]	[Email]

empress Side

Name	Role	Allocation	Responsibility
[Name]	Engagement Lead	[X%]	Delivery, relationship
[Name]	[Role]	[X%]	[Responsibility]

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Timeline

Phases

Phase	Start	End	Key Deliverable
Discovery	[Date]	[Date]	[Deliverable]
Design	[Date]	[Date]	[Deliverable]
Build	[Date]	[Date]	[Deliverable]
Test	[Date]	[Date]	[Deliverable]
Deploy	[Date]	[Date]	[Deliverable]
Hypercare	[Date]	[Date]	[Deliverable]

Key Milestones

Milestone	Date	Acceptance Criteria
[Milestone 1]	[Date]	[Criteria]
[Milestone 2]	[Date]	[Criteria]

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Budget

Contract Summary

Item	Value
Contract Type	Fixed Price / T&M
Total Value	$[Amount]
Target Margin	[X]%
Cost Budget	$[Amount]

Budget Breakdown

Category	Budget	Notes
Labor	$[X]	[Hours/rates]
Expenses	$[X]	[Travel, tools]
Contingency	$[X]	[X]% buffer

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Communication

Regular Meetings

Meeting	Frequency	Attendees	Purpose
Standup	Daily	Project team	Sync
Status	Weekly	Client + empress leads	Progress
Steering	Bi-weekly	Sponsors	Decisions

Status Reporting

• Frequency: Weekly, every [Day]
• Distribution: [Names/roles]
• Format: Standard status report template

Escalation Path

Level	empress	Client	When
1	Project Lead	Project Lead	Day-to-day issues
2	Partner	Executive Sponsor	Scope/timeline impact
3	Managing Partner	[Executive]	Contract issues

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Risks

Risk	Probability	Impact	Mitigation	Owner
[Risk 1]	H/M/L	H/M/L	[Mitigation]	[Name]
[Risk 2]	H/M/L	H/M/L	[Mitigation]	[Name]

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Quality Gates

Gate	Phase End	Criteria	Decision Maker
Discovery Complete	Discovery	[Criteria]	[Name]
Design Approved	Design	[Criteria]	[Name]
Ready for Deploy	Test	[Criteria]	[Name]

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Tools and Access

Tools We'll Use

Tool	Purpose	Access Needed
[Tool 1]	[Purpose]	[Who needs access]
[Tool 2]	[Purpose]	[Who needs access]

Access Required

System	Type	Requested	Granted
[System]	[Read/Write/Admin]	[Date]	[ ]

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Kickoff Checklist

• SOW signed
• Project created in ops app
• Team assigned and notified
• Client contacts added
• Access requests submitted
• Kickoff meeting scheduled
• Charter reviewed with team
• Status report schedule set
• First milestone defined

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Approval

Project Lead: _________________ Date: _______

Partner: _________________ Date: _______

Client Lead: _________________ Date: _______