What is the difference between Vision and Scope Document and a Project Charter?

Question

What is the difference between Vision and Scope Document and a Project Charter? I think it is pretty much the same. Isn't it?

Answer 1

A Project Charter document is different than a Vision and Scope Document in that the Project Charter defines the roles and responsibility of the Project Manager, and outlines the boundaries of his or her authority.

A Vision and Scope document, on the other hand, defines the business case for the project in nontechnical language. It represents a high level overview of requirements, features, and proposed solutions.

Answer 2

Charter baselines the project. Vision baselines the scope.

There is one similarity between them: they baseline something, which is still very vague.

Answer 3

I'll disagree with most of these answers.

The Charter is the high level authorization - here's what the project is, here's why we're doing it, here's what it's supposed to accomplish, how much it should roughly cost, how long it should roughly take, who's doing it, etc.

The Scope is the specifics of the project. What is the final product going to be, what is it supposed to look like and do. What are the features. And more importantly, what's included and what's not included.

Vision, although I've never run into one, would be more along the lines of Charter. The 'why' are we doing this.

Answer 4

According to PMI, they are different; the charter is a signed document by the sponsor authorizing the project manager and the team to start working. Vision and scope documents are just vision and scope; they can exist prior to the project.