Project Charter
Project Name:
Date:
Sponsor:
Improvement
Advisor:
Team Members:
? (project lead),
Strategic Alignment:
Timeframe:
State how this project aligns to the organisation’s strategy
Date Start – Date Finish (Closure)
Project Background
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State the purpose and need for this work.
Provide background and evidence (data) to describe problem/issue.
Where is it happening? Where is the opportunity? Who is impacted by it?
State customer expectations i.e. what is the target condition that is desired?
Aim Statement
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Outcome: Who is the main beneficiary and what will they gain?
Timeframe: What is the time frame (expected dates for key milestones and completion)? Have you been
given this or are you setting your own timescales?
Goal: Can you express your desired outcome in terms of specific numerical goals?
Project Scope
In scope:
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How many and what type of organisational units
(units, departments, divisions, sites, etc.) are
involved?
Any specific patients / conditions?
Out of scope:
 Any areas, patients, processes, systems that are
excluded from this project?
Conditions of Operation
Time allowance:
Resources required for project:
Meetings (hours per week per team member)
Action periods (hours per week per team member)
Key risks / issues (including constraints):
Ethics and safety considerations:
Project Milestones
Add target dates to the end of each phase and list key activities to be completed (this can also be done in a Gantt chart)
Description
Measure
Current performance
Target performance
Outcome
Measure
Reduce weight
73.5kg
68kg
Process
Measure
Increase amount of
time spend exercising
Weight in kg taken on
Monday morning at
7am
Minutes spent
exercising per week
125 minutes
210 minutes
Balance
Measure
Time spent exercising in
mornings may make me
run late for work
Time arrived at work
Mon- Fri
I never arrive late (after
8:30am)
No change - 100%
arrival at work before
8:30am
Sponsor sign off*
Project initiation
Project set up
Diagnosis
Testing
Implementation
Closure (learnings captured)
*Signing indicates approval for the project team to move to next project phase
Charter Review Checklist
Problem statement
 Has a need been clearly articulated? Have the symptoms and impact of these been described?
 Is evidence of the impact of the problem given? Has qualitative or quantitative data been provided?
 Is it clear who the customer/end-user of this process is? Does the background and problem statement
articulate what they expect or why it is important to address this problem for them?
Project objective/aim statement
 Does the aim statement tell us how much (measurable), by when (timeline) and for whom (customer
and scope is clear)
 Does it have the following features:
- The right area
- Outcome focused
- Measurable
- Specific scope
- Clear timelines
- Short and concise
 Is it clear what success will be like? (sensory language is used to describe the desired outcome)
 Does it avoid ‘weasel words’ such as: best practice, effective, evidence-based, excellence, quality,
responsive, value-added, world class?
 Is the aim phrased solely as a solution? For example we aim to implement X. If so, is there evidence
that the author and customer are clear what the implied outcome is?
 If the aim starts with an outcome, does it also include a solution? Look out for aim statements that say
“we will achieve x by doing y” – where y is a proposed solution to the problem. Ideally this should be
avoided, but if a solution is included, has evidence been given in the charter for why this solution is
expected to achieve the aim? Does the author appear aware that solution Y might not be all that is
necessary to achieve the aim?
Measures
 Are there defined outcome, process and balancing measures?
 Does the outcome measure reflect what was described in the aim statement? Is it an appropriate
measure for determining whether the improvement project is achieving the desired goal?
 Are there process measures that will inform how well the process is working? (note, sometimes
additional process measures will be identified when moving into testing ideas)
 Have balancing measures been identified that can be used to detect a potential unintended
consequence of the improvement project?
 General feedback
 Is the charter clear and concise?
 Were you able to understand the project from this charter?
 What questions did it raise for you?
Roles & Responsibilities
Please tailor to your project and team:
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Use the role names that suit your project and team
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The project lead and project manager can be combined if appropriate for
the size of your project
Executive Sponsor
Ultimately responsible for the project, ‘owns’ the Business Case and has nominated authority to represent CM
Health. Responsible for embracing and sharing the Quality Improvement vision and actively support their
employees in applying Quality Improvement to their jobs in order to produce measureable improvements.
Project Owner/Project Sponsor
Owns the process being reviewed, the Quality Improvement initiative, and can effectively implement the
team’s ideas and solutions. The sponsor is responsible for identifying the objective (purpose), scoping, and
developing the charter. They ensure that the initiative is completed and successfully executed.
 Commit to Improvement Initiative
 Must have process authority
 Select and empower Project Lead /team members
 Responsible for Project Charter development and execution (purpose, scoping)
 Commit to actively support and provide resources (money, material, people)
 Break down barriers and road blocks
 Ensure improvements are aligned with organisational goals
 Kick-off the project
 Meet regularly with team to review progress
 Attend brief updates/tollgates (go/ no go decision)
 Execute the team’s Implementation Plan
 Own the improvement project/results/benefits and sustain improvements
Project Lead / Team Leader
 Directly supports and commits to the activities of the improvement team as the lead representative of the
process area.
 Works on behalf of and interfaces with the executive sponsor/project owner for change and support to
ensure the project is progressing to deliver desired improvement benefits and reports on progress.
 Assists staff impacted by the outcome of the improvement initiative to fully understand the change and
resulting benefits.
 Willing and able to lead on behalf of the sponsor/project owner to define issues, case for action and
improvement implementation.
 Has authority to make changes within their area/improvement process
 Takes ownership for organising regular project team meetings with project team members and Ko Awatea
staff.
 Partners with both Ko Awatea Project Manager and Improvement Advisor to assist with execution of the
improvement initiative.
 Take the leadership role in presenting team's finding to management (brief updates/tollgates)
 Helps ensure collaborative team documentation is up to date in conjunction with the Ko Awatea Project
Manager
 Responsible for securing buy-in from the wider team for changes/improvements and for monitoring and
sustaining improvements.
 Chair meetings and assign scribe and timekeeper at each collaborative team meeting.
Improvement Advisor
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Serves as an impartial facilitator and practitioner in the application and usage of Improvement tools and
methods.
Provides coaching, support and mentoring to improvement teams on process improvement at learning
sessions and during action periods, including regular site visits, email and telephone coaching.
Engages with collaborative teams and builds networks relating to the aims and aspirations of the
campaign, in conjunction with the Project Manager.
Co-leads, schedules and plans improvement initiative with Project Lead/Sponsor and provides brief
updates/toll-gates to sponsor.
Captures results, lessons learned and future opportunities for collaborative teams.
Develops the collaborative measurement system with the assistance of the clinical experts to ensure
timely and accurate delivery of data is analysed and presented.
Supports and attends weekly collaborative team meetings
Assesses progress in the collaborative and identifies necessary changes in key technical content,
measurement, and use of improvement methods.
Ensures timely and accurate delivery of data to the Ko Awatea Programme Manager for the monthly
reports.
Participates in weekly campaign teams meetings.
Develops the Change packages.
Identifies and reports on any risk and/or issues pertaining to the collaborative teams.
Supports implementation, i.e. development of new process maps, and measurements for monitoring
performance.
Project Manager
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Works with the Project Lead to plan, organise and direct the improvement project work
Responsible for conformance of the collaborative team to any regulatory requirements, ethics approval,
organisational policy, etc.
Provides project management support to the collaborative team by facilitating the development and
monitoring the implementation of their project plan, assists with documenting and reporting the
results/accomplishments of the project and supports the project staff to test change ideas.
Supports and attends weekly collaborative team meetings.
Helps the collaborative team with budgeting, controlling costs, planning and scheduling in order to achieve
and maintain an efficient and cost-effective project.
Partners with the Improvement Advisor to assist with execution of the improvement methodology.
Ensures that improvement activities are documented, communicated and reported within the organisation
and externally as appropriate with project update.
Assists and guides the Project Lead with problem solving, leadership, conflict management and team
building skills to ensure a productive work environment is maintained and project goals achieved
Engages with collaborative teams and build networks relating to the aims and aspirations of the campaign,
in conjunction with the Improvement Advisor.
Actively manages the Daptiv by reporting on and identifying and risks, issues, tracking pertaining to their
project/s.
Participates in weekly campaign team meetings
Participates and/or presents at Learning Sessions.
Supports implementation, ie: helping teams to update Job Descriptions, creating Standard Operating
Procedures.
Coordinates development of the Change Package and How-to-Guide.
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Coordinates approval process for the Change Package.
Coordinates business case and business approval for scale and spread as appropriate.
Facilitates ‘spread’ opportunities within the organisation and externally, including publications.
Team Members
Improvement team members offer insights as subject matter experts to drive enhancements and efficiencies
within the areas in which they work. Act as critical thinkers and problem solvers and encouraged to take
advantage of educational opportunities such as the Improvement Science in Practice (ISIP).
 Attend project team meetings
 Abide by ground rules
 Assist with data collection
 Actively participate in change idea testing, implementation and evaluation
 Actively participate in events and contribute to discussion and decision making process
 Agree to the process changes and improvements
 Assist the Project Lead in securing buy-in from the wider team for process changes and improvements
 Actively support the Project Lead with monitoring and sustaining the improvements
Frequency of Meetings
Meetings will be held on a date and time according to a pre-established schedule. Frequency of the meetings
will be as laid out in the project Charter. Suggestions are:
 Sponsor/Project Owner Meeting – Monthly or Quarterly
 Project Team – Weekly or Fortnightly
 Project Lead, Improvement Advisor and Project Manager – As and when required