The standard for project management

  

Section 4

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5

IMPLEMENTING AGILE:   

DELIVERING IN AN AGILE ENVIRONMENT

5.1 CHARTER THE PROJECT AND THE TEAM

Every project needs a project charter so the project team knows why this project matters, where the team is headed 

and what the project objective is. However, the project charter itself may not be enough for the team. Agile teams 

require team norms and an understanding of how to work together. In that case, the team might need a team charter.

The chartering process helps the team learn how to work together and coalesce around the project.

At a minimum, for an agile project, the team needs the project vision or purpose and a clear set of working agreements. 

An agile project charter answers these questions:

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Why are we doing this project? This is the project vision.

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Who benefits and how? This may be part of the project vision and/or project purpose.

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What does done mean for the project? These are the project’s release criteria.

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How are we going to work together? This explains the intended flow of work.

A servant leader may facilitate the chartering process. A team can coalesce by working together, and the project 

charter is a great way to start working. In addition, team members may want to collaborate to understand how they will 

work together.

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Section 5

Teams do not need a formal process for chartering as long as the teams understand how to work together. Some 

teams benefit from a team chartering process. Here are some chartering ideas for team members to use as a basis for 

their social contract:

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Team values, such as sustainable pace and core hours;

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Working agreements, such as what “ready” means so the team can take in work; what “done” means so the 

team can judge completeness consistently; respecting the timebox; or the use of work-in-process limits;

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Ground rules, such as one person talking in a meeting; and

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Group norms, such as how the team treats meeting times.

The servant leader together with the team may decide to address other behaviors.

Remember that the team’s social contract—its team charter—is how the team members interact with each other. 

The goal of the team charter is to create an agile environment in which team members can work to the best of their 

ability as a team.