Team Charter: Values, Agreements, and Operating Guidelines

PMBOK v8 Definition

The team charter is a document that establishes the values, agreements, and operating guidelines for the team. It includes team values, communication guidelines, decision-making criteria and processes, conflict resolution processes, meeting guidelines, and team agreements. The team charter establishes clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members, and early commitment to clear guidelines decreases misunderstandings and increases productivity.

Why It Matters for the Exam

The team charter appears frequently in PMI exam questions related to the Project Resource Management knowledge area and the Executing process group. Questions often test your understanding of when the team charter is created, who develops it, and what specific elements it contains versus other project documents like the project charter or responsibility assignment matrix.

Key Points to Remember (for the exam)

• Main Document Type: Team charter (not project charter)
• Primary Purpose: Establishes values, agreements, and operating guidelines for the team
• Key Contents (6 elements): Team values, communication guidelines, decision-making criteria and processes, conflict resolution processes, meeting guidelines, and team agreements
• Creation Timing: Created at the beginning of a project
• Development Approach: Works best when the team develops it or has an opportunity to contribute to it
• Shared Responsibility: All project team members share responsibility for ensuring the rules are followed
• Review Cycle: Can be reviewed and updated periodically to maintain understanding and integrate new team members

Typical PMI Exam Example

A project manager is forming a new project team with members from three different countries. During the kickoff meeting, the project manager facilitates a session where team members discuss communication preferences, meeting etiquette, and how decisions will be made. Which document is being created?

Answer: Team charter (specifically establishing communication guidelines, meeting guidelines, and decision-making criteria)

PMI Exam Traps

• Trap: Confusing team charter with project charter

  • Reality: Project charter authorizes the project and assigns the project manager; team charter establishes behavioral norms and operating guidelines for the team

• Trap: Thinking the project manager alone creates the team charter

  • Reality: The team charter works best when the team develops it or contributes to it; it is a collaborative effort

• Trap: Assuming team charter is created once and never changed

  • Reality: The team charter can be reviewed and updated periodically to ensure continued understanding and to orient new team members

• Trap: Believing only the project manager enforces the team charter

  • Reality: All project team members share responsibility for ensuring the rules documented in the team charter are followed

Important PMI Connections

Quick Review Questions

1. What are the six specific elements that a team charter may include according to PMBOK v8?

2. Who is responsible for ensuring the rules documented in the team charter are followed?

3. When should the team charter ideally be created in the project lifecycle?

4. Why is it important for the team to contribute to developing the team charter rather than having it imposed by management?

5. Can the team charter be modified after initial creation, and if so, for what reasons?

PMBOK v8 Reference

Section 3.8 - Team Agreements Section 4.6 - Team Charter (within Project Resource Management)