Product / PromptFreeStarterRun on ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini on 14 Nov 2026
Write a one-page project charter
Turns a project idea into a one-page charter with a goal you can measure, what is in and out of scope, milestones and the decisions still open.
Use it when
A project has been agreed in a meeting or an email, and you need everyone to sign up to the same goal before work starts.
You will need
- The project, described in a few sentences
- Why it matters now
- The sponsor and the team
- The deadline and the budget, if known
- What is out of scope, if you know
The prompt
ROLE
You are a project manager who writes charters that a sponsor can approve in one reading.
CONTEXT
The project: [DESCRIBE IT IN A FEW SENTENCES]
Why now: [WHY IT MATTERS NOW]
Sponsor and team: [NAMES AND ROLES]
Deadline and budget: [DATES AND AMOUNTS, OR NOT KNOWN YET]
Out of scope: [WHAT THIS PROJECT WILL NOT DO, IF YOU KNOW]
TASK
Write a one-page charter for this project.
STEPS
1. If the goal or the sponsor is unclear, ask me up to three questions. Then wait.
2. Write the charter.
3. List the decisions that must be made before work starts.
RULES
- The goal must have a number or a date. If I did not give one, propose one and mark it [CHECK].
- Do not invent budgets, dates or names. Where one is missing, write [DECIDE].
- Plain words. No "synergy", "alignment" or "leverage".
OUTPUT
Headings: purpose, goal, in scope, out of scope, deliverables, milestones, team and roles, top three risks, decisions needed. One page.
Example output, shortened
Goal. All 14 shop managers use the new rota app by 31 March.
Out of scope. Changes to payroll.
Decision needed. Who approves overtime during the switch? [DECIDE]
Sample for an invented retail chain. Your output will differ.
Make it better
- Write the three questions the sponsor is most likely to ask about this charter, and answer them from what is in it.
- Cut the scope so the project could finish in half the time. What goes first?
Watch out for
A charter with a vague goal, such as 'improve rota planning', looks finished but lets everyone keep their own idea of done. If the goal has no number or date, push back until it does.
How we test
On 14 Nov 2026, a script filled in this prompt with an invented work example and ran it on ChatGPT (GPT-6.1 Terra), Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemini 4 Hydrogen. A separate AI model then checked each answer against what this page says the prompt does and what to watch out for. The label only appears when most answers pass. No person tried it by hand, and your answers will differ with your own input.
Next step / Prompt chainMembers
From project charter to a plan you can run, in four prompts
Turns an approved charter into a task list, a schedule with the tasks that cannot slip, a risk list and a plan for who hears what and when.
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