Project Charter - Term Paper Example

Project Charter for the development of a software program for Maverick Property Management Introduction A project Charter is a statement that outlines the objectives, scope and participants in a project. It draws the authority within which the project managers are to carry out their work and also serves as a reference throughout the project process. It outlines what the project is to accomplish and within what period of time. It is powerful tool for the judgement of effectiveness of the project, a necessary point for settling disputes as the project runs and keeps the project manager focused as it sets time limits on which to deliver every phase of the work until completion (Barkley, 2006).

Objective The objective of the project is to come up with a software system that will improve the general operation of Maverick Property Management. The software should be cost effective in terms of development, implementation and operation. The physical infrastructures should be economical in terms of space, cost and durability. It should be user friendly for the benefit of members of staff at all levels and all the departments within the organization. It must be comparatively cost effective with the old system being replaced, otherwise it would make no economic sense to have it has an alternative.

It should be able to answer to all managerial needs of the organization and if possible coordination of all departments in trying to realise its goals. Schedules This is the program’s terminal elements with the planned beginning and ending dates. This is the blue print for this software development; it’s kind of a master plan that consists of dates and specific tasks to be completed within those dates. It is a collection of documents that will be used for the execution of the entire development of the software.

The development of the program software and the setting up of the physical infrastructure can run concurrently. The development of the software; otherwise known as life-cycle of software development, will involve planning, design, implementation, testing and verification and deployment and finally documentation. This will take about five to seven days depending on the speed of execution. Infrastructural set up will require slightly longer time than the software development; this can take between ten to fifteen days.

Budget This is simply a summarised outline of expenditure for a specified period of time backed up with proposals. The hardware and software cost components will include training expenses and travel expenses if need be. There will also be direct cost such as salaries for the engineers involved in the program development, social and insurance cost. There are also overhead cost like networking and communication. In view of all these, proper estimation has to be done so that the project does not run out of funds before completion.

Success criteria This will be standards which will be used to judge the success of the project. This can be done in two fronts; things that are related to the work of running the project and deliverables or the results of the project, for example the speed of acquiring data from the system. The main interest also is to have the project delivered in time in this case in two weeks. Maverick Property Company will also gain accreditation as one of the top companies in service delivery in the real estate business.

There will also be positive customer response in delivery of services, accessing and delivery of information to customers will also be in real time. Responsibility Matrix This defines roles of each person in the development and execution of the project. Since the project will involve more than one person, it is necessary to have a responsibility matrix, with well defined responsibilities. Project sponsors that are Mavericks Property Company will approve project definitions, communication plan, business requirements and status reports.

The project manager will create project definitions, communication plans, review business plans and create status reports. The project team are responsible for general reviews. Reference Barkley, B. (2006). Integrated project management. New York: McGraw-Hill.