What this template is for
A project charter is the formal authorisation moment for a project. Skipping it - or doing it in email - is how projects end up with disputed scope, surprise budget overruns, and steering committees who say “I never agreed to that”. This template makes the charter an explicit Jira issue with the sponsor approval recorded in the audit trail.
It is designed for PMs running medium-to-large initiatives that need formal governance.
When to use it
Use this template for any project that needs a sponsor, a budget, or a steering group. Skip it for team-level initiatives that fit inside one squad’s quarter - those use the kickoff-brief template instead.
How to set it up in Jira
Create a project-governance project. Add the custom fields above to the Create Issue screen and use Custom Fields to set Sponsor, In-scope, Out-of-scope, and Success Criteria as required-on-create. Link the charter to the execution Epic via a Jira issue link.
Sub-task breakdown
- Draft the charter is the writing pass.
- Run the chartering workshop is the alignment moment.
- Capture in-scope and out-of-scope is the explicit scope-locking step.
- Identify top risks seeds the risk register.
- Sponsor and steering-group approval records formal sign-off.
- File and announce closes out the chartering phase.
Use STM Issue Templates to auto-create these sub-tasks on every new charter issue.
Fields to add to your Jira create screen
These are the fields a project admin should make sure exist on the Create Issue screen for this issue type (Project settings → Screens). Without these on the screen, reporters can't provide the information triage needs - and STM can't reference them either.
| Field | Example value | Required |
|---|---|---|
Summary | Charter - Payments platform modernisation | Yes |
Project Name (custom) | Payments Platform Modernisation | Yes |
Project Sponsor (custom) | CTO | Yes |
Project Manager (custom) | PM owner | No |
Business Case (custom) | Why this project, why now | No |
In-scope (custom) | Bulleted list of what is included | No |
Out-of-scope (custom) | Bulleted list of explicit exclusions | No |
Success Criteria (custom) | Measurable definition of done | No |
Key Milestones (custom) | Kickoff, design freeze, beta, launch | No |
Budget Estimate (custom) | $320k, 14 FTE-months | No |
Risks Identified (custom) | Top 5 risks at chartering time | No |
Approver / Steering Group (custom) | Names and roles | No |
Component/s | charters, governance | No |
Labels | charter, 2026-h2 | No |
Attachments | Signed charter PDF, business case deck | No |
Note on custom fields. STM currently supports up to 5 custom fields per template. You can add as many custom fields as you like to your Jira Create Issue screen - the 5-field limit only applies if you want STM to set or update those custom fields itself.
Sub-tasks STM creates automatically
Build an STM sub-task template containing the items below, then wire it to an On Create Issue Executor scoped to this issue type. Whenever a new issue of this type is created in the project, STM creates the full sub-task set in one step - with assignee, due date, and components inherited from the parent unless you override them.
- Draft the charter and circulate
- Run the chartering workshop
- Capture in-scope, out-of-scope, and assumptions
- Identify and document the top risks
- Get formal sponsor and steering-group approval
- File the approved charter and announce kickoff
Common questions
What is a Jira project charter template?
It is a Jira issue that formally charters a project before any execution work begins. It captures the sponsor, project manager, business case, in-scope and out-of-scope items, success criteria, key milestones, budget, risks, and approver. The charter issue acts as the single source of truth for what was agreed at the start of the project.
How do you charter a project in Jira?
Create one Jira issue per project charter using this template before any kickoff. Populate in-scope, out-of-scope, success criteria, and risks during the chartering workshop. Use the approval sub-task to capture explicit sponsor sign-off in the issue's audit trail. Link the charter to the parent Epic that will hold the execution work.
Should a project charter live in Jira or in a Confluence page?
Most teams write the charter narrative in Confluence (or another doc tool) and keep the structured metadata, approvals, and audit trail in a Jira issue that links to the doc. That gives you the readability of a long-form document and the searchability/queryability of a Jira ticket. Both should reference the same identifier.
What is the difference between a project charter and a kickoff brief?
A charter is a formal authorising document - sponsor signs off, scope is locked, budget is approved. A kickoff brief is a working document the project team uses to align on goals and roles at week one. The charter precedes the brief. The kickoff-brief template is the lighter-weight artefact for smaller initiatives that do not need formal chartering.
Automate the sub-tasks with STM
STM Issue Templates saves the sub-task list above as a reusable template and creates them on every new issue of this type - via an Executor on issue creation, on status transition, or triggered manually from the issue's "Create bulk sub-tasks" menu. STM does not change the parent issue's create screen (that's a Jira project-settings job) but it removes the manual work of creating the sub-tasks every time.
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