skills/engagement-setup/references/project-charter-template.md

# Project charter

Use the client's template when provided. Otherwise include the fields that establish shared scope and authority. A charter records the engagement's working agreement; it does not silently amend the contract. Mark provisional entries and unresolved decisions explicitly.

| Field | What to capture |
|---|---|
| Purpose and decision | Business problem, intended outcome, decision-maker, and why the work is needed. |
| Success evidence | Metric or acceptance evidence, baseline if known, target basis, and measurement ownership. |
| Scope | Included and excluded work, deliverables, assumptions, and constraints consistent with the agreement. |
| Timing | Milestones, required decisions, dependencies, target versus committed dates. |
| Resources and budget | Approved envelope, staffing commitments, client capacity, unresolved funding or access. |
| Authority | Sponsor, delivery lead, decision and approval rights, escalation route. |
| Ways of working | Evidence access, document location, versioning, communication, confidentiality, reporting. |
| Risks and dependencies | Material exposures, prerequisite client actions, owners, and response triggers. |
| Agreement status | Who has reviewed or approved which version, when, and what remains open. |

Use compact values for dates, roles, and amounts. Put explanatory reasoning where an assumption or scope boundary needs it. Prepare a complete useful draft even when some entries remain unknown; do not imply approval or completed consultation.