Crafting A Design Team Charter

(Originally published 3 Dec 2020; revised 17 June 2025)

Why draft a charter?

As design teams evolve, they often realize that there’s a set of assumptions about they work they do, assumptions put upon them by people outside design. These assumptions end up constraining the potential of the design team, and they find themselves focused on production and execution when there is so much more they could offer.

To address this, some Design teams seek to take the reins of their own identity, and a first step is the creation of a Team Charter. Over the past 6 or so years, I've helped many teams draft a charter, and I believe these charter projects have proven popular because they provide a platform for a design team to define itself, to set its own course and agenda. These teams build confidence in taking control of the kind of work they do, and how they do it. This empowerment, in turn, makes the teams more effective, as they feel greater connection to their work.

In fact, in "The 12 Qualities of Effective Design Organizations," the very first quality identified is "Shared sense of purpose." Without a shared sense of purpose, you have no team, you just have a group of people. A team is galvanized by their purpose.

Searching the internet, you'll find much guidance on creating Team Charters; they're even available as templates in Miro and Figjam. However, those templates are generic. Having lead many Design teams through the creation of a Charter, I've developed an approach specific to UX and Design organizations. Below, I share my specific agenda. If you use it, and, even better, if you evolve it, please let me know how!