Project Charter, PID, SoW, Project Proposal - different names for the same thing?

Question

This is a basic question that was asked on another site (a precursor to this site) but that seemed to be very helpful to visitors. Let me know if you find it useful.

When initiating a projects there are many different names for the base project document which is complied and the beginning of every project

Like:

* Project Charter
* PID (Project Initiation Document)
* SoW (or Project Statement of Work)
* Project Proposal
* you can name others

Are those the same or similar? (by content or purpose) What makes them different? When should someone use which one?

Answer 1

I don't use/have never used a PID (Project Initiation Document), but as for the others, they are different. In my line of worK:

The Project Proposal is a document written by a hopeful contractor to a customer as part of a bid for work. It typically includes 3 major sections:

• Technical proposal
• Management proposal
• Cost Proposal

Depending on the size of the contract a proposal can be anywhere from 5 or 10 to thousands of pages long.

The proposal may also be required to contain a 'separable SOW' - a completely self-contained statement of work that the contract will perform to after award.

The Statement of Work defines at least the goals, scope, period of performance, milestones, major activities, and reporting requirements. It may also define quality, compliance or performance standards, security requirements, financial reporting requirements, travel etc. Depending on the size, complexity, and type (fixed price, cost plus) of the contract, the details of a SOW can vary wildly.

The statement of Work is typically more than 3 - 5, but less than 20 pages long.

The Charter can be defined in several ways, but if working on a project that already has a formal SOW, it can be as simple as a document that formally associates a specific project manager with a charge number and a statement of work. It formally authorizes the PM to use the defined charge number to plan & execute the project.

A charter is frequently 1 page.

Answer 2

Under the PMBOK framework, these are different. They would be (differences or defining characteristics listed only):

• Charter: a sponsor-signed document indicating work can begin
• PID: same as Charter
• SoW: an initial scope statement. It's a section in the charter.
• Proposal: Might be the "business need" of the project, or the SoW. Goes into the charter too.

PMI's framework is pretty simple: the charter has all the information needed to get it signed by the sponsor so that work can begin. Anything and everything can go into the charter, from scope (SoW), timelines, milestones, etc.

Answer 3

Exact name of an exact document is dictated by a management framework used by the team. Project Charter is from PMBOK. PID is from PRINCE2. SoW and Project Proposal are from somewhere, I never met them in RUP, MSF, Scrum.

What really matters is the content. In this case we're talking about a document that formally authorizes the project and answers at least the following questions:

• Who and how shall approve the budget and schedule?
• Who shall approve the scope statement?
• What is the risk tolerance of the project?
• Who is the sponsor (who will pay the money)?
• Who is a project manager?

Answer 4

Now I am by no means a "specialist" on this matter either but from what I know of project charters they are basically document that assigns certain people to certain jobs and then allows those people to initiate the work. There are a lot of project charter templates available to you if you would like to get a better idea.