RACI
Responsible…accountable…consulted and informed. Listen here
Within the workplace, we will all have accountability in many ways…our role profile for example and additionally, to other people and to ourselves…Doing the best that we can.
RACI is now a commonly used matrix for Project Managers…but it does not just have to remain there. A Project Manager has many elements to the role and delegation in the sense of identifying roles and responsibilities is key. Whilst elements of the project will change as landmarks are hit, it’s important to agree parameters and expectations from the start.
A project will involve many people and often from different parts of the business with different Line Managers. It’s therefore vital to avoid ambiguity and duplication…Almost to make the project “lean” in all of its elements…a need to define ownership and responsibility, particularly with decision making…Project management and the allocation of tasks is more than empowerment.
RACI…
- Responsible: The person who ultimately is responsible for getting the specific task done. This may also include making decisions for a specific brief
- Accountable: The person who is accountable for ensuring that a specific area/brief happens, on time and to the specification. Where the buck stops. This prevents the shifting of blame!
- Consulted: Full involvement and two-way communication. This may involve a number of people at different times and may involve several people, not all who are necessarily involved in the project…Specific experts
- Informed: The people kept informed of progress and with whom there is two-way communication. These are people that are affected by the outcome of the tasks, so need to be kept up to date.
No different to all aspects of our job, there needs to be clearly defined parameters…” Roles & Responsibilities”. This prevents duplication of resource and means that at every stage, there is no doubt of the expectation and from whom!
Before you start your next project, make sure that you identify all of the tasks, and then bring RACI into the situation for each area…Finally discuss with all concerned but particularly with sponsors and key stakeholders. You cannot be expected to know all of the detail at micro level, but RACI will help at macro level!
“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning”
Winston Churchill