Post-Merger Integration Project Charter
This is a practical guide to building a project charter for a post-merger integration project — the short authorising document that names the sponsor, states the objective and gives the manager authority to run the project, adapted to the realities of integrating two organisations after a deal.
What a Project Charter is
A project charter is the short authorising document that names the sponsor, states the objective and gives the manager authority to run the project. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Charter. On a post-merger integration project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for a Post-Merger Integration project
Post-Merger Integration projects live or die on integrating two organisations after a deal. A well-built project charter gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how post-merger integration projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Purpose and business justification
- Objectives and success criteria
- High-level scope (in and out)
- Budget and timeline summary
- Key stakeholders and sponsor sign-off
Post-Merger Integration-specific considerations
Tailor the project charter to the risks that most often derail post-merger integration projects:
- Systems and process consolidation
- People and culture
- Realising synergies
Example
On a real post-merger integration project, the project charter would be shaped by integrating two organisations after a deal. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — systems and process consolidation, people and culture, realising synergies — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.