Creating a Team Charter

The precise format of a team charters varies from situation to situation and from team to team. While the actual charter can take on many forms, much of the value of the charter comes from thinking through, discussing, and agreeing to the various elements. It is, at its core, documentation of why your team is working together and how the team will function throughout the duration of the project.  Collectively, your team should use the information below to prepare a team charter. Consider it contractual in nature.

For more information and background, see this Teach Charters resource from MindTools.

Context

This is the introduction to the charter. It sets out why the team was formed, the problem it’s trying to solve, how this problem fits in with the broader objectives of the organization, and the consequences of the problem continuing unchecked.  As you draft this section, consider:

• What problem is being addressed?
• What result or delivery is expected?
• Why is this important?

Mission and Objectives

This section is the heart of the Charter. By defining a mission, the team knows what it has to achieve. Without a clear mission, individuals can too easily pursue their own agendas independently of, and sometimes irrespective of, the overarching goal.

Team Roles

Once your mission and objective is drafted, it’s time to think about how each person will support the team in achieving its mission/carrying out the project. This means considering your collective backgrounds, strengths, working styles, and determining which teams will serve in which roles (some may play multiple roles). It may be helpful to provide a list of skillsets that a member may bring to the team. At the beginning stages of team formation, this helps to:

• Match team members to roles
• Spot gaps in skills and abilities that are necessary for the team to reach its goals

Each team member should draft an introduction that outlines who you are and what you bring to the project.  Include past experiences (academic, life, and professional) and what you have to offer to the team and project as a result of those experiences.

Then, in the charter, list each  team member and define the roles and responsibilities of each. Suggested roles include (but may not be limited to):

• Project leader
• Client liaison
• Technical lead
• Documentation coordinator^[1]
• Purchasing manager

Authority, Empowerment, Commitment

This section of the charter should document the team’s agreed upon responses to the following:

• How much time will each team member commit to the team mission and what priority will be given to team activities relative to other ongoing activities?
• How will team members resolve conflicts with commitments to other classes, job interviews, internships, jobs, etc.?
• How will the team function (governance—what the team can do, what can it not do, and what it need prior approval to do)?.
• What are the team’s expectations for meeting commitments (including attending meetings and classes) and the consequences of not meeting those commitments?

Weekly Meeting Operations

This section of the charter should Identify a time and place of weekly status review team meetings (put down a time and place for the autumn semester and update this time and place in the spring semester).  Further include how the team will document the results of these meetings (rotating schedule for creating/distributing agendas and taking minutes).

Conflict Resolution

Conflicts of time, ideas, and methodology between team members will arise. This section defines how the team will resolve conflicts, both large and small.

Project Schedule 

Each team will create a project Gantt chart and maintain it throughout the course.  For the project charter, create a Gantt Chart showing the major milestones below and attach as additional page (ensure the attachment is readable):

1. Problem Identification
2. Systems Design
3. Detail Design
4. Purchase or Procure parts or material
5. Create prototype
6. Validate prototype
7. Refine Design
8. Final Design
9. Capstone Design Showcase