Whenever you hear the word “RACI Matrix” you feel dismayed. Far from an acronym that sounds a bit exciting. It often becomes a bit like a beast, and the headache caused by trying to figure out to give each task to whom.
A Responsibility Assignment Matrix is a hugely beneficial tool for a project manager and screen monitoring software for employees tool can benefit managers for assisting in project.. It can turn into a glaring issue that nobody wants to finish, remark or even use at the starting of the project.
Let us look at RACI charts and how to use them. They will make things a lot easier. Also tips on how to avoid the general problems. RACI matrix template to make it useful in the project by simplifying the RACI process.
Contents
What is a RACI chart?
In short, this a tool that chooses roles and responsibilities based on the tasks in the project.
RACI stands for
- Responsible
- Accountable
- Consulted
- Informed
The RACI Matrix plans works and delivers based on the roles in the project. It uses an acronym to give responsibilities to each role.
Let’s see the details of these terms:
Responsible: Managing the work
This individual executes the work or deliverable. They complete the task or make the decision. Sometimes there may be more than one person, but try to decrease the number of involved people.
Is it possible to assign a person more than one task?
If the option is available, then place a single person as accountable for one particular task. Though sometimes the person in charge will need the support of others to complete the task, or they may need someone’s delegation. For this situation, you can add more than one person as Responsible. It will be ideal if you are aware of limiting this restriction as much as possible. Ensure the roles of more than one. Responsible individuals are obvious to people.
Accountable: Own the work
This individual or role is liable for the completion of the work or deliverable. They will not finish the work, yet are liable for ensuring that the work is complete. It should be a responsible person, not a group to ignore confusion about who owns the work.
Consulted: Helping
This individual, role, or team will give inputs that will help to achieve the work or deliver the result. There will be communication between the person in charge and consulting person. This person is generally a subject matter specialist.
Informed: Stay conscious
These people or groups will be aware of the task or deliverable on time. When the work or deliverable is complete, this might be in headway. They will not ask to give feedback or comments, but they can be effected through the result of the work or deliverable. These roles or groups should have one-way communication.
Why is the RACI model used for project management?
When you need to complete work, everyone should know who handles the task. Then you should use the RACI model to plan roles and responsibilities.
The usage of a RACI chart should be in the whole process of the project to check which persons are answerable, liable, consulting, and understand works. Our RACI chart runs through the entire project to help you track roles.
The benefits of RACI charts?
1. Streamlining Communication
It could be valuable to use the RACI model in the whole process of the project. Let the right people participate in decision-making at the right time, instead of involving everyone to participate in every decision.
2. Ignoring People Overload
When you receive everybody’s opinion, and it results in a nightmare? Yes, this is where a RACI is useful.
3. Ignoring work overload and silos:
We all know that project managers often wear many hats. They take on many responsibilities and often take various roles on a project. The RACI chart is an efficient tool to help represent and avoid tiredness of project managers. It also helps appease the causation of a single point of failure. In which all intelligence and liability for work rely on one person.
4. Is it necessary to always use it?
Do we use a RACI chart for all projects? The simple answer is no. For some small and fast-growing projects, we are investing too many complexities. Also, the process can actually slow down.
Thus if your project group is small, roles already explain, or a similar structure used before, then consider giving work to people. You don’t have to define participation for everybody in each deliverable.
Do agile projects match with RACI?
The Scrum Alliance disclosed an article that added content to the RACI chart to illustrate the RACI + F differences in Scrum. Sadly, you can’t find this article online so you can see some part of the article with Mini Big Hype
F represents Facilitate. This article believes that adding this role explains how Scrum works, and how delegation of roles occurs.
So this only adds another layer of extra information to the charts. You should keep the RACI as basic as anyone can expect.
Usual RACI pitfalls and How can you ignore them:
There are a few drawbacks of the RACI chart:
- Insufficient knowledge about the distinction among the terms may increase confusion.
- Creation can be time-consuming.
- Usually avoided after approval.
- It will gather inessential complication in a project.
- It does not consider the approval process for works or deliverables.
Few suggestions to make your RACI chart successful:
- Ensure that RACI will be helpful to the project and consider how to use RACI and why.
- Choose your model and make sure you understand the terms. Please make sure that you have the details of these terms during work or when sharing the chart.
- Make sure that when assigning only one role is as Accountable, rather than the entire team. Check that only one person is the leader, not more than one person. It causes confusion and slow decision making.
- It’s not necessary to inform every person in the project. It’s for the person whose task or the deliverable will be effective.
- Let main project stakeholders and group members give input, even if you create a draft of RACI.
Wrapping Up:
Most of the time, people find problems with the RACI matrix, saying that they are not detailed enough. The person assigned to the job should execute. The job of the RACI Matrix is just assigning. Execution and project design are not part of its forte.
As long as you work together, RACI is an important document. If it is in use since the starting of the project, then it is suitable for the project. Check the requirements of the project from the beginning to make RACI reach your goals.
