I'm currently working on other things within this Big project for a case study and need assistance with making a good project charter. Here are the details:

Case Study

The Shoppe Mamma Mia has been the primary baker and bakery owner since its opening 15 years ago. The bakery is is a walk-up-and-order configuration with no seating space, one of a dozen shops in a strip mall in Alexandria, Virginia.

The bakery currently employs one other baker and two wait staff who serve customers at the counter. All paperwork, bookkeeping, ordering supplies, hiring and firing, and tracking inventory is done by Mamma. Because the bakery is now a small operation, Mamma does all business using telephone and paper documents. There is one cash register and Mamma uses cash or check to buy all bakery goods.

The Shoppe Future Plans

Because the bakery has grown more successful over the years, Mamma Mia has decided that the time is right to expand the bakery. The store space next door is vacant, and she has signed a contract to connect and remodel the two stores. This space will more than double the size of the current bakery, and Mamma Mia can then offer bakery items, sandwiches, and caf-type seating.

When the expansion construction is complete, Mamma Mia expects to hire six more people full time: Two food-service certified sandwich makers One more baker One more counter server One person to track inventory and order supplies One person to manage the bookkeeping, bill paying, and finance parts of the business To coincide with the expansion, Mamma would like to have an IT system installed for point-of-sale, inventory, and bookkeeping purposes. Mamma would like the system to "connect" to her suppliers, the health department (see vdh.virginia.gov) for food services, and other business relationships. She would also like a website so her customers can make advance orders for pick-up. Related to that, she would like the system to process debit and credit cards.

Mamma Mia wants an IT system that will be:

Modern Easy to use Employee and customer friendly Most of all, Mamma wants the system to make her bakery and sandwich shop more efficient.

Within the case study

Imagine that your team works for a company that specializes in the design, development, and installation of information technology (IT) systems. Because of this experience, Mamma has selected your company to plan, perform and manage this project. Your team's assignment will be to prepare the project plan and proposal for installing Mamma's new IT system. Your team's charge is to build a project plan that demonstrates the ability to plan, manage and control the project of designing and installing the IT system for Mamma. Team members will be assigned as resources for the hands-on technical IT work of the project.

Project Charter Contents Executive Summary Begin the document with an Executive Summary, which contains: A summary of the document's purpose. A problem statement (need for the project). Project objectives and how they align with the business strategy. The project management approach. Technical solution (a high-level description of the IT system, which might include a graphic).

The requirements are pretty general, so you will need to use creative thinking and decision skills to develop the specifics of what the client needs (hardware, software, PCs, servers, networking, cabling, wireless, application systems, Web sites, Cloud storage, what?) and the scope (how much, how many, how, and for whom?) and extent thereof. You will need to refine Mamma's needs by working directly with her.

Within the case study Mamma has little experience working with computers and IT systems. She feels a bit "old fashioned" but she is willing to learn and wants to be sure that her employees learn, too, how to work with the IT system. Mamma is your point of contact and the person you will work with while completing the requirements, design, and implementation of the IT system. This means you will need to define and explain terms as you work with her.

At a high level, show the estimated project schedule. The easiest to understand is a list (perhaps in table format) of projected major milestones/deliverables for the project and their forecasted completion dates. This information is preliminary only, or a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM). Once the project has been approved to move forward, a comprehensive project plan will be developed In addition, show the current estimated project costs, as a ROM. Identify the source of the needed funding, i.e., Software, Hardware, Networking, Internal Resources, Contractor Resources. Include a Total

ROM Budget Estimate.

Primary Stakeholder(s) List the individual(s) who will use the final product, influence decisions about the project, and (most importantly) pay for the project.

Project Team Identify team roles and responsibilities on the project (you can use actual names based on who is in your group).

Project Constraints and Assumptions Constraints are any events or circumstances that may restrict or limit a project (and the team's options). Examples of constraints are things such as due dates, fixed budget, skill levels, or resource availability. Assumptions are the driving force that determines project success and they are typically outside the total control of the project team. Stakeholders must agree on these assumptions to produce a shared understanding of project success.

Preliminary Risk Statement List any risks that can be identified from, for example, the project constraints and assumptions. Included briefly stated (short sentence) risk mitigation strategies.

Preliminary Communication Plan Lay out the proposed methods of gathering and communicating project progress to the sponsor. This could include team standups, task progress updates, project status reports, project reviews, project post-mortem. Also identify the communication frequency, i.e., daily, weekly, at milestones, at end of project.

Change Threshold This identifies the magnitude of changes requested by the customer that would exceed the bounds of the original charter with relation to cost, resources or schedule. Once the threshold is met or exceeded, a new Project Charter would be required with signature from the customer.

Definition of Project Complete This is a high-level statement of the criteria that define when the project has been completed. This is date and funding agnostic. In other words, "End date reached" or "Funding is exhausted" do not define Project Complete. This statement should present the completed deliverables that evidence a completed project.

Signatures This includes signature blocks of the parties that are agreeing to the charter.

Final Notes Mamma Mia is the major stakeholder There is no networking, LAN, or Internet installed You may clarify requirements with Mamma Mia The Bakery Shoppe has no productivity software or other applications Mamma's budget for the IT system is $100,000 Internet connectivity is available in the area, whether via ISP or satellite Mamma has little IT experience and no IT staff The IT team should have 6-8 members, real or fictional Mamma wants the project to complete in no more than 6 months

You are writing in the role of a project manager and your audience is Mamma Mia. Thank You