Example data. Fieldnote is a fictional company used to fill all 61 boards, so the examples tell one consistent story.
Post-PMF Fieldnote, kick-off of the "first 10 interventions" activation project. Karim, Ana, Tom, Julien and Élise as sponsor.
What the team took away
The team agreed to measure success on companies, not on technician seats, and Élise accepted that offline mode stays out until the activation number moves.
How to run it
Preparation
Invite the sponsor in person, not a delegate: the charter is only worth something if the person who funds it signs it in the room.
Send a one-line project pitch and the known constraints (deadline, budget, non-negotiables) two days before, so nobody discovers them live.
Pre-fill the Goal and Milestones blocks with the sponsor's own words, in draft color, so the group edits instead of starting from blank.
Book 2 hours with no meeting right after: the last 20 minutes are the ones that produce the signature.
Agenda
10 min
Why we are here The sponsor says in their own words why this project exists and what happens if it does not. No slides.
25 min
Goal and success Everyone writes on their own for 3 minutes what success looks like in 6 months, then you cluster. Force one measurable sentence in the Success block.
25 min
Scope and out of scope Fill Scope first, then ask 'what will people assume is included that is not?' and write those in Out of scope. This block is the most valuable of the board.
15 min
Risks Silent writing, one risk per sticky, then dot vote the top 3. Each of the 3 gets an owner right away.
25 min
Roles and milestones Name the decider, the person who does the work, and who is consulted. Place 3 to 4 dated milestones, the first one within two weeks.
20 min
Read-back and sign-off The PM reads the whole board aloud. The sponsor says 'yes' or edits. Screenshot the signed version and send it within the hour.
Pitfalls
Do not let the Goal block hold a solution ('build a mobile app'). Rewrite it as an outcome ('cut onboarding time in half') before moving on.
If Out of scope stays empty, you have not finished. Ask for three things explicitly, the group always has them in mind.
Skipping the read-back to save time costs you the sign-off. Fifteen minutes now beats three weeks of 'that is not what I meant'.
Afterwards
The charter goes to the top of the project space and gets quoted in every steering meeting. If the problem is still fuzzy, run the Problem statement canvas next; if the team is new, the Team charter.