A team charter is a document that defines a teams overall objectives, resources, and constraints. It is a tool that project managers and team leaders can use to create a clear blueprint of their goals, expectations, and workflows to help a diverse team stay on the same page. The goal of a team charter is to define and document a teams purpose, context, roles, procedures, workflows, and norms, and how the team members will accomplish their objectives. A team charter should provide a succinct vision and mission that everyone on the team supports, and it should be a yardstick that can be held up against any activity considered or pursued by the team.

A team charter should include the following elements:

• Purpose: Why the team exists and what it aims to achieve.
• Context: The environment in which the team operates, including internal and external factors that may affect its work.
• Roles and responsibilities: The specific roles and responsibilities of each team member.
• Procedures and workflows: The processes and procedures that the team will follow to achieve its objectives.
• Norms and values: The shared values and norms that guide the teams behavior and decision-making.
• Goals and objectives: The specific goals and objectives that the team aims to achieve.
• Constraints and resources: The constraints and resources that the team has to work with.

Team charters are usually created in a group setting, with the team members involved in the creation process. During the session, team leaders facilitate discussions and pose key questions that help define several critical elements about the team. This initial “chartering” discussion or brainstorm should be recorded, and then a designated team member or subgroup can work to adapt and combine the teams agreements on the above questions into a single, formal document. Once completed, the team charter should be shared with team members and displayed in appropriate areas for future reference, such as in a shared physical workspace, as well as posted electronically for easy access.

In summary, a team charter is a document that defines a teams overall objectives, resources, and constraints, and it is a tool that project managers and team leaders can use to create a clear blueprint of their goals, expectations, and workflows to help a diverse team stay on the same page. A team charter should include elements such as purpose, context, roles and responsibilities, procedures and workflows, norms and values, goal...