# 03-Project Charter and Kickoff Workflow

## I. Workflow Overview

```
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                     Project Charter & Kickoff Workflow                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                             |
|  +----------+   +----------+   +----------+   +----------+                  |
|  |1. Charter |-->|2. Scope  |-->|3. Team   |-->|4. Govern-|                 |
|  |  Draft &  |   |  & WBS   |   |  Build & |   |  ance &  |                 |
|  |  Confirm  |   |  Decomp. |   |  Roles   |   |  Decide  |                 |
|  +----------+   +----------+   +----------+   +----------+                  |
|       |              |              |              |                        |
|       v              v              v              v                        |
|  +----------+   +----------+   +----------+   +----------+                  |
|  |5. Method |-->|6. Resource|-->|7. Comms  |-->|8. Kickoff|                |
|  |  & Tools |   |  & Budget |   |  Plan &  |   |  & Base- |                |
|  |  Select  |   |  Allocate |   |  Stake-  |   |  line    |                |
|  |          |   |          |   |  holders |   |  Lock    |                |
|  +----------+   +----------+   +----------+   +----------+                  |
|                                                                             |
|  Core Deliverables: Charter | WBS | Team RACI | Governance | Kickoff baseline|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
```

## II. Applicable Scenarios

This workflow guides the transition from tech scouting to formal project kickoff and establishes the project-governance foundation. It applies to:

- Formal project initiation once the technical solution is confirmed
- Large cross-agency / cross-organization transport-digitalization launches
- Multi-vendor integration-project kickoffs
- Transition from proof-of-concept (PoC) to a formal project

## III. Prerequisites

| Input | Source | Description |
|-------|------|------|
| Business Requirements Specification (BRS) | Phase-01 Step 5 | Requirements baseline |
| Technology feasibility report | Phase-01 tech scouting | Recommended solution |
| Decision-gate Go | Phase-01 decision gate | Formal initiation approval |
| Budget confirmation | Investment / finance dept. | Invested amount confirmed |

---

## IV. Detailed Steps

---

### Step 1: Charter Drafting and Confirmation (Week 1)

**Goal**: Draft the project charter, clarifying vision, goals, scope, and authorization.

**Project charter template:**

```
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
|                   Project Charter                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| Project name: [Name]                                            |
| Project ID: [ID]                                                |
| Version: V1.0                                                   |
| Date: [Date]                                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| 1. Vision                                                       |
|    [One sentence: the ultimate goal the project will achieve]   |
|                                                                 |
| 2. Business objectives (SMART)                                  |
|    OBJ-1: [Objective + metric + deadline]                      |
|    OBJ-2: [...]                                                 |
|    OBJ-3: [...]                                                 |
|                                                                 |
| 3. Scope (In / Out)                                            |
|    ✅ In scope:                                                 |
|       - [Clearly included item 1]                               |
|       - [Clearly included item 2]                               |
|    ❌ Out of scope:                                             |
|       - [Clearly excluded item 1]                               |
|       - [Clearly excluded item 2]                               |
|                                                                 |
| 4. Key milestones                                              |
|    M1: [Milestone] — [Date] — [Completion criterion]           |
|    M2: [...]                                                    |
|    M3: [...]                                                    |
|                                                                 |
| 5. Core team                                                   |
|    Sponsor: [Name / role]                                       |
|    Project manager: [Name]                                      |
|    Tech lead: [Name]                                            |
|    Business lead: [Name]                                        |
|                                                                 |
| 6. Investment estimate                                          |
|    Total: [$ Amount] (incl. [buffer %] buffer)                  |
|    By year: [Y1 / Y2 / Y3 ...]                                  |
|                                                                 |
| 7. Top risks & constraints                                     |
|    [Top 3–5 risks + constraints]                               |
|                                                                 |
| 8. Approval                                                    |
|    Sponsor: ________  Date: ________                            |
|    Tech lead: ________  Date: ________                          |
|    Investment owner: ________  Date: ________                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
```

**Charter review checklist:**
- [ ] Business objectives SMART-R and aligned with org strategy?
- [ ] Scope boundaries clear (no ambiguity)?
- [ ] Milestones account for dependencies and resource constraints?
- [ ] Investment estimate covers full lifecycle (build + O&M)?
- [ ] Top risks have mitigation strategies?

---

### Step 2: Scope Definition and WBS Decomposition (Weeks 1–2)

**Goal**: Break project scope into manageable work packages (WBS) and produce a scope statement.

**WBS decomposition principles:**
1. **100% rule**: WBS must cover 100% of project scope
2. **Deliverable-oriented**: Each WBS element maps to a verifiable deliverable
3. **Appropriate granularity**: Work packages of 2–8 weeks for easy estimation/tracking
4. **Independence**: Work packages decoupled to minimize dependencies

**Transport-digitalization project WBS framework (example):**

```
1. Project management
  1.1 Initiation & planning
  1.2 Monitoring & control
  1.3 Close-out & handover

2. Requirements & design
  2.1 Detailed requirements analysis
  2.2 System architecture design
  2.3 Detailed design (DB / interfaces / UI-UX)
  2.4 Design review

3. Infrastructure
  3.1 Network / cloud infra deployment
  3.2 Roadside / site-equipment procurement & installation
  3.3 Test-environment build
  3.4 Production-environment deployment

4. Platform / application development
  4.1 Data platform / data governance
  4.2 Business-platform dev (signal / surveillance / dispatch / ...)
  4.3 AI / algorithm module dev
  4.4 Dashboard / visualization / reporting

5. System integration
  5.1 Internal system integration
  5.2 External-system interfaces (regulator / safety / emergency / ...)
  5.3 Data migration & cleansing
  5.4 Integration testing (SIT)

6. Testing & quality
  6.1 Functional testing
  6.2 Performance testing
  6.3 Security / penetration testing
  6.4 User acceptance testing (UAT)

7. Training & documentation
  7.1 System-admin training
  7.2 Business-user training
  7.3 Technical documentation
  7.4 User manuals

8. Go-live & operations
  8.1 Deployment
  8.2 Trial run & support
  8.3 Cutover
  8.4 O&M handover
```

---

### Step 3: Team Build and Role Assignment (Week 2)

**Goal**: Clarify the project organization and assign roles and responsibilities.

**Project organization:**

| Role | Responsibility | Skill requirement | Allocation |
|------|------|------|:---:|
| Sponsor | Resourcing / escalation / final decisions | Org influence / strategic vision | 10% |
| Project manager | Plan / execute / monitor / close / communicate | PMP / agile cert / transport experience | 100% |
| Solution architect | Tech decisions / architecture / review | Transport + cloud + big-data + AI | 80% |
| Business analyst | Requirements / process design / UAT | Transport domain know-how | 100% |
| Dev lead | Dev-team mgmt / code quality / implementation | Full-stack + team mgmt | 100% |
| Test lead | Test strategy / QA / automation | Test methodology + tooling | 80% |
| Security engineer | Security arch / pen-test / compliance audit | Security cert (ISO 27001 / NIST / NIS2) | 30–50% |
| O&M engineer | Environments / CI-CD / monitoring / ops | DevOps / SRE / cloud-native | 50–80% |
| Data engineer | Modeling / ETL / data quality / governance | Big data / data governance | 80–100% |
| Vendor manager | Vendor coordination / contracts / SLA tracking | Procurement / contract mgmt | 50% |

**RACI matrix (core activities):**

| Activity | Sponsor | PM | Architect | BA | Dev | Test | Ops |
|------|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| Charter approval | A | R | C | C | I | I | I |
| Architecture design | I | A | R | C | C | I | C |
| Requirements confirmation | I | A | C | R | I | I | I |
| Tech selection | I | A | R | I | C | I | C |
| Development | I | A | C | C | R | C | I |
| Test & acceptance | I | A | C | R | C | R | I |
| Deployment | A | R | C | I | C | C | R |
| Change approval | A | R | C | I | I | I | I |

> **R=Responsible A=Accountable C=Consulted I=Informed**

---

### Step 4: Governance Structure and Decision Mechanism (Week 2)

**Goal**: Establish project governance, clarifying decision authority and escalation paths.

**Three-tier governance:**

```
+-------------------------------------------------+
|  Steering Committee  (Strategic decisions:      |
|   sponsor + business VP + tech VP)               |
|   Quarterly review / major-change approval       |
+-------------------------------------------------+
|  PM Council  (Tactical: PM + architect +        |
|   business lead)                                |
|   Monthly review / milestone acceptance          |
+-------------------------------------------------+
|  Delivery Team  (Execution: PM + dev + test +   |
|   ops)                                          |
|   Weekly review / daily decisions / Sprint mgmt  |
+-------------------------------------------------+
```

**Decision-authority matrix:**

| Decision type | Delivery | PM Council | Steering |
|------|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| Technical implementation detail | ✅ Decide | Informed | — |
| Requirement priority tweak | ✅ Decide | Informed | — |
| Sprint scope adjustment | ✅ Decide | Informed | — |
| Architecture change (≤1 module) | Propose | ✅ Decide | Informed |
| In-budget resource reallocation | Propose | ✅ Decide | Informed |
| Milestone shift (≤2 wks) | — | ✅ Decide | Informed |
| Major architecture change | Propose | Propose | ✅ Decide |
| Budget add-on / scope change | Propose | Propose | ✅ Decide |
| Schedule slip (>2 wks) | — | Propose | ✅ Decide |

**Escalation mechanism:**
```
Issue arises → Delivery Team (resolve in 3 days)
  → unresolved → PM Council (resolve in 1 week)
    → unresolved → Steering Committee (emergency meeting)
```

---

### Step 5: Methodology and Tool Selection (Weeks 2–3)

**Goal**: Set the PM methodology, development process, and toolchain.

**Methodology selection guide:**

| Project trait | Recommended method | Reason |
|------|------|------|
| Clear reqs / fixed scope / waterfall deliverable | Traditional waterfall | High certainty / high change cost |
| Fuzzy reqs / need fast validation | Scrum agile | Iterative validation / fast feedback |
| Many parallel teams / complex deps | SAFe / LeSS | Large-scale agile coordination |
| Hardware + software hybrid delivery | Hybrid | Hardware by milestone / software agile |
| AI / algorithm projects | CRISP-DM + agile | Data-driven iteration |

**Recommended toolchain:**

| Tool class | Recommended tools | Purpose |
|------|------|------|
| PM / issue tracking | Jira / Linear / Azure DevOps | Task tracking / Sprint mgmt |
| Docs & collaboration | Notion / Confluence / SharePoint | KB / minutes / docs |
| Code management | GitLab / GitHub | Repo / CI-CD / code review |
| Architecture design | Draw.io / Lucidchart / C4-PlantUML | Arch / flow / deploy diagrams |
| API management | Swagger / Postman / Stoplight | API design / test / docs |
| Comms & collaboration | Slack / MS Teams | IM / video conferencing |
| File management | Cloud storage / NAS / SharePoint | Design files / large-file sharing |

**Development lifecycle definition:**

| Stage | Activity | Tool | Exit criterion |
|------|------|------|------|
| Sprint planning | Req clarify / task split / pointing | Jira + Confluence | Sprint backlog confirmed |
| Development | Coding / unit test / code review | IDE + Git + SonarQube | CR passed + unit coverage >80% |
| Testing | Functional / integration / perf / security | Selenium + JMeter + sec scan | No P0/P1 defects |
| Review | Sprint review + retro | Confluence + Jira | Demo + improvement items logged |
| Release | Deploy to prod / canary / monitor | Jenkins / K8s / Prometheus | Deploy success + monitoring normal |

---

### Step 6: Resource and Budget Allocation (Week 3)

**Goal**: Break the investment estimate into an executable budget allocation and clarify resource needs.

**Budget decomposition matrix:**

| Cost category | Detail | Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | Share |
|------|------|------|------|------|:---:|
| HW / infrastructure | Servers / storage / network / roadside equip. | | | | % |
| Software licenses | OS / DB / middleware / commercial SW | | | | % |
| Dev & implementation | Internal staff / outsourcing / integrator | | | | % |
| Test & QA | Test env / tools / security testing | | | | % |
| Training | Admin / user / certification | | | | % |
| O&M | Ops staff / cloud / maintenance | | | | % |
| PM | PM / meetings / travel | | | | % |
| Contingency | Risk / change buffer | | | | 15–20% |
| **Total** | | | | | **100%** |

**Resource needs list:**

| Resource type | Need | Source | Ready-by |
|------|------|------|:---:|
| Project space / office | [Area / spec] | [Site] | Wk 1 |
| Dev environment | [Config / qty] | [IT / cloud] | Wk 2 |
| Test environment | [Config / qty] | [IT / cloud] | Wk 6 |
| Key personnel | [Role / count] | [Internal / hire / outsource] | Per plan |
| External advisor | [Domain / count / days] | [Consultancy / individual] | As needed |

---

### Step 7: Communications Plan and Stakeholder Management (Week 3)

**Goal**: Establish project communications and stakeholder-management strategy.

**Stakeholder analysis matrix:**

| Stakeholder | Role | Influence | Concern | Comms strategy |
|------|:---:|:---:|------|------|
| [Sponsor] | Decision | High | ROI / risk / strategic value | Monthly brief + quarterly face-to-face |
| [Business lead] | User | High | Function / usability / go-live | Biweekly progress + UAT |
| [IT lead] | Support | Med–High | Architecture / security / O&M | Weekly tech sync |
| [Ops team] | Receiver | Med | O&M complexity / SLA | Early involvement + training + docs |
| [End users] | Receiver | Low–Med | Usability / efficiency | Training + feedback channel + UAT |
| [Regulator] | Oversight | Med | Compliance / safety / data | Regular compliance reporting |

**Comms cadence:**

| Meeting | Participants | Freq | Duration | Content |
|------|------|:---:|:---:|------|
| Daily standup | Dev + test | Daily | 15 min | Progress / blockers / plan |
| Sprint review | All + business | Biweekly | 1 h | Demo + feedback |
| Project weekly | PM + leads | Weekly | 1 h | Progress / risk / decisions |
| Monthly report | PM Council | Monthly | 2 h | Milestone / budget / risk |
| Quarterly report | Steering Committee | Quarterly | 2 h | Strategic alignment / big decisions |

---

### Step 8: Kickoff Meeting and Baseline Lock (Weeks 3–4)

**Goal**: Hold the formal project kickoff (Kickoff) and lock the project baseline.

**Kickoff agenda (half day):**
```
09:00-09:30  Project background & vision (Sponsor)
09:30-10:00  Business goals & scope (Business lead)
10:00-10:30  Technical-solution overview (Solution architect)
10:30-10:45  Break
10:45-11:15  Project plan & milestones (PM)
11:15-11:45  Team intro & role split (PM)
11:45-12:00  Governance & comms mechanism (PM)
12:00-12:15  Q&A + next steps (All)
```

**Baseline lock checklist:**

| Baseline item | Status | Signer | Date |
|------|:---:|------|:---:|
| Project charter | ✅ Signed | Sponsor | |
| Requirements baseline (BRS) | ✅ Signed | Business lead + architect | |
| Technical-solution baseline | ✅ Signed | Solution architect | |
| WBS & project plan | ✅ Baselines | PM + sponsor | |
| Budget baseline | ✅ Approved | Sponsor + finance | |
| Team in place | ✅ Confirmed | PM + dept. heads | |
| Governance framework | ✅ Effective | Steering Committee | |

**Project-launch self-check (Go / No-Go):**
- [ ] Project charter signed
- [ ] Requirements baseline confirmed
- [ ] Technical solution reviewed & passed
- [ ] WBS & plan baselined
- [ ] Budget approved and first tranche released
- [ ] Core team in place
- [ ] Dev / test environments ready (or confirmed date)
- [ ] Vendor contract signed (if applicable)
- [ ] Governance framework established
- [ ] Kickoff completed

> All ✅ → formally launch, proceed to [Phase 02 (Current-State Diagnosis and Maturity)](../phase-02-current-state-diagnosis-and-maturity/01-t-dmm-maturity-assessment-workflow.md)

---

## V. Key Considerations

### 5.1 Common Kickoff Pitfalls

| Pitfall | Symptom | Prevention |
|------|------|------|
| **Scope creep** | Requirements keep growing without change control | Strict change control; all changes via CCB |
| **Over-optimistic plan** | Underestimate effort and risk | Reference history + buffer + external expert review |
| **Capability gap** | Key skills missing, training late | Pre-launch skill assessment → hire / train / advisor early |
| **Disengaged stakeholders** | Key stakeholders absent long-term | Comms plan sets participation + escalation |
| **Late vendor start** | Vendor idle after contract signing | Contract sets start conditions + penalties; Kickoff starts the clock |

### 5.2 Transport-Project Reminders

- **Seasonality**: Field construction is affected by weather / traffic control — plan for it.
- **Live-system continuity**: Upgrade / replacement projects must keep existing business running.
- **Front-load safety approvals**: Systems touching transport safety need certification / approval lead time in the plan.
- **Front-load data acquisition**: Approval and coordination time to get data from multiple parties is often underestimated.

---

## VI. Deliverables List

| Deliverable | Owner | Due | Recipient |
|------|------|:---:|------|
| Project charter | PM + sponsor | Wk 1 | Steering Committee |
| WBS & scope statement | PM | Wk 2 | PM Council |
| Org structure & RACI matrix | PM | Wk 2 | Whole team |
| Governance framework doc | PM + sponsor | Wk 2 | Steering Committee |
| Methodology & tool charter | PM + tech lead | Wk 3 | Whole team |
| Budget breakdown | PM + finance | Wk 3 | Sponsor + finance |
| Comms & stakeholder plan | PM | Wk 3 | All stakeholders |
| Kickoff minutes | PM | Wk 4 | All stakeholders |
| Project baseline package | PM | Wk 4 | PM Council (archive) |

---

> **Version**: V1.0 | **Date**: 2026-07 | **Applies to**: Formal launch & governance setup of transport-digitalization projects
