Every successful project starts with clarity, knowing why it matters, who’s involved, and what success looks like. But often, teams dive into execution without a clear direction. That’s when deadlines slip, roles overlap, and goals lose focus. A project charter changes that by defining the project’s purpose, scope, objectives, and stakeholders right from the start.
To help you begin the right way, we’ve created 6 free project charter templates you can use instantly, in Excel, Word, or PDF. From a simple project charter template to a one-page project charter and even a Six Sigma project charter template, these ready-to-use formats make it easier to plan, align, and start your project on solid ground.
What Are the 6 Types of Project Charter Templates?
Not all projects have a similar route, there are simple ones, and some require more organisation and elaboration. This is why project charter templates can be used in different types, based on the needs. Each of them assists you in capturing important information such as objectives, scope, team roles, and budget according to the size and complexity of your project. Here are the most common types you can use to set your project on the right track.
1. Project Charter Template
The basis of any new project is a project charter template. It describes all the things that you should have in place to get started, including defining the purpose of the project as well as the key stakeholders and success criteria. This is a straightforward version that encompasses all the aspects and helps the teams to remain on track with what to do prior to the commencement of the project. It’s the kind of template that ensures everyone understands the “why” and “how” before any task starts.
Key Features:
- Clear Project Overview: Summarises project name, objectives, timeline, and scope in a clean layout.
- Stakeholder Details: Captures who’s responsible, accountable, and involved at every stage.
- Milestone Section: Lists key deliverables and deadlines to track progress efficiently.
- Approval & Sign-off Fields: Includes spaces for sponsor and manager approvals, confirming project authorisation.
- Editable Format: Available in Excel, Word, and PDF, so you can customise it based on your workflow.
Best For:
Team leads and project managers who require a simple project charter template, which establishes a solid base in project planning, project communication and overall project alignment, regardless of industry or project size.
2. Six Sigma Project Charter Template
The six sigma project charter template is built for teams focused on process improvement and quality control. It assists you in setting specific goals, recording quantifiable outcomes, and making your staff work according to the principles of six sigma from the very beginning. This template provides an order to complex projects, including the problem statement, improvement goals, scope, and anticipated results. It also has sections concerning the identification of belt-level positions, such as Green Belts or Black Belts, making them accountable and clear at each level.
Key Features:
- Structured Problem Definition: Clearly defines the issue, baseline metrics, and improvement targets following the DMAIC framework.
- Role Assignments: Includes fields for six sigma belt-level designations, ensuring responsibilities are distributed effectively.
- Data & Metrics Section: Tracks process efficiency, defects, and quality performance indicators.
- Risk & Constraint Tracking: Lists potential risks, assumptions, and limitations to help teams plan proactively.
- Customisable Format: Available as an Excel or Word project charter template, easy to edit and adapt for any six sigma project.
Best For:
Teams working with six sigma or lean strategies, quality managers and process improvement specialists who require a straightforward and objective framework to reduce waste, lower costs, and enhance the efficiency of the whole process.
3. Agile Project Charter Template
An agile project charter template aids you in planning and managing projects that are dynamic in terms of short and focused iterations. It’s designed to match the flexibility of agile workflows, outlining your project vision, key stakeholders, sprint goals, and deliverables. This template provides you with a clear understanding of the roles, such as the project sponsor, product owner, and scrum master, hence everybody remains on track despite changes in priorities. With its simple structure and collaborative focus, it keeps your entire team moving together toward shared objectives.
Key Features:
- Agile Framework Alignment: Designed around agile principles, supporting iterative planning and continuous improvement.
- Role Definition: Lists roles such as product owner, scrum master, and development team to clarify accountability.
- Sprint Overview: Includes space to define sprint goals, timelines, and expected outcomes.
- Sprint Overview: Identifies sponsors and key contributors involved in decision-making and feedback loops.
- Progress Tracking: Allows you to outline metrics and success indicators for each sprint, making it easy to monitor progress and adjust plans as needed.
Best For:
Scrum masters, agile project managers, and software teams who want a flexible and transparent way to define project goals, align stakeholders, and track deliverables across multiple sprints.
4. Construction Project Charter Template
The construction project charter template helps you organise every critical detail before the first brick is laid. It helps convey the project vision, goals and scope in a simple manner so that everyone, contractors and clients alike, can have a clear understanding of the same thing. You can outline the project’s purpose, business case, and expected outcomes, along with timelines, milestones, and estimated costs. This makes it easier to manage resources and obtain control of the project’s advancement while maintaining a clear flow of correspondence with all teams that will be involved with the project.
Key Features:
- Project Overview: Defines project goals, objectives, and success criteria to guide every phase of construction.
- Scope & Deliverables: Helps you document what’s included in the project and what’s not, avoiding scope creep.
- Timeline & Milestones: Includes space to map out the construction schedule and key delivery points.
- Cost Breakdown: Provides structured fields to list material costs, labour rates, and total estimated budgets.
- Risk Management: Identifies possible challenges and constraints, helping you plan preventive measures early.
Best For:
Construction managers, contractors, and project owners who are looking for a comprehensive, professional, and detailed project charter template to help align their teams, control their budgets and keep each phase of construction on track and transparent.
5. One-Page Project Charter Template
The one-page project charter template is perfect when you need to share your project’s key details quickly and clearly. It encompasses all relevant information, including the project goals and objectives, key products, and scope, in a single page. This compact layout makes it ideal for presenting to sponsors, clients, or executives who want a concise overview without digging through lengthy documents. Even though it is simple, it includes everything necessary to start the project well and keep it on track from the first day.
Key Features:
- Compact Overview: Summarises all project essentials, purpose, objectives, and deliverables in one page.
- Scope & Schedule: Clearly outlines what’s included, timelines, and major milestones.
- Resource Summary: Lists team members, roles, and key responsibilities for quick reference.
- Budget & Cost Section: Highlights estimated costs and funding sources in a simplified format.
- Risks & Assumptions: Includes space to capture potential risks, dependencies, and constraints upfront.
Best For:
Project managers, team leads, or executives who prefer a concise and professional project charter format that communicates the project’s vision and scope in minutes.
6. Project Charter Business Case Template
The project charter business case template helps you present a strong justification for your project and secure stakeholder approval with confidence. It allows you to clearly define the project’s purpose, expected outcomes, and measurable benefits, all while outlining the resources, scope, and key responsibilities involved. It links both the strategic goals and the operational needs, so that the decision-makers receive a clear view of the importance of the project and the tangible value that it brings to the organisation.
Key Features:
- Comprehensive Structure: Covers project objectives, deliverables, benefits, and business justification in detail.
- Defined Roles: Allows you to specify process owners, sponsors, and team responsibilities for clarity.
- Resource & Cost Breakdown: Summarises required resources, estimated costs, and budget allocations.
- Scope & Constraints Section: Clearly outlines project boundaries and potential limitations.
- Approval-Ready Format: Designed to align with stakeholder expectations and formal approval processes.
Best For:
Project managers, PMOs, or business analysts who need a well-structured document to justify a project’s value and gain stakeholder buy-in through clear, evidence-based reasoning and transparent resource planning.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Project Charter Templates?
Project charter templates come with both strengths and limitations. Knowing their strengths and limits helps you choose the right format and use it more confidently. Here’s a quick look at the key pros and cons to help you decide how well they fit your project needs.
| Pros of Project Charter Templates | Cons of Project Charter Templates |
|---|---|
| Saves time by providing a ready-to-use framework for project documentation. | May feel too rigid for projects that need a more flexible or evolving structure. |
| Ensures clarity by defining objectives, roles, and scope from the beginning. | Generic templates might not capture unique project requirements without customisation. |
| Improves stakeholder alignment through a standardised communication format. | Over-reliance on templates can lead to missing critical project details if not reviewed carefully. |
| Enhances project consistency across teams and departments. | May require extra effort to adapt for complex or multi-phase projects. |
| Helps new project managers quickly build and present professional charters. | It Can limit creativity in project planning if followed too strictly. |
How Can Time Champ Automate Your Project Charter?
Creating a project charter manually can feel like a tedious task. Finding all the necessary information, aligning all the stakeholders, determining objectives and goals, and tracking approvals can often take longer than anticipated. When there are multiple projects happening simultaneously, this is even more complicated and often leads to missing information, inconsistencies in documentation, and lengthy project kickoffs. This is where automation steps in to help ensure the entire process is done faster, better, and error-free.
Time Champ transforms manual project charter processes into fully automated workflows, allowing you to shift focus from paperwork to strategic planning. It automates every aspect of the process, gathering inputs, designating responsibilities, tracking milestones and approvals so that every project is started quickly and correctly. With automation handling the repetitive tasks, you can maintain accuracy, consistency, and efficiency across all your projects.
Conclusion
A strong project charter lays the foundation for a well-organised and successful project. It brings clarity to goals, roles, and expectations while ensuring everyone is aligned from the very beginning. Using a well-designed project charter template makes this process faster, easier, and more consistent, helping you plan with confidence, communicate effectively, and guide your project toward a smooth and successful execution.
Frequently Asked Questions
A project charter is a formal document that outlines the purpose, goals, scope, and key details of a project. It serves as the foundation for project planning, authorising the work to begin, and ensuring that everyone involved understands the project’s objectives and direction.
A project charter usually contains the project's purpose, goals, scope of work, stakeholders, timeline, budget and criteria for success. It also outlines roles, responsibilities, and key risks to ensure everyone understands the project’s direction from the start.
A project charter defines what the project is and why it matters, while a project plan explains how the work will be done. The charter provides high-level direction, and the plan details the day-to-day execution.
The project manager is usually the one who drafts the project charter, often with input from key stakeholders. Once it’s prepared, the document is reviewed and approved by the project sponsor or senior leadership. This approval formally authorises the project to begin and ensures everyone is aligned on its purpose and scope.
