The RACI Matrix
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Teamwork is often seen as an effective way to accomplish work
goals.
And there is no doubt that when teams work well together
the results can be impressive.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true
and all too common: Teams that fail to work well can also fail to
deliver the desired results.
When several people work on a project it is easy to assume that
someone else is taking care of a particular detail or assignment.
It is also easy to point fingers and assign blame when one of
those jobs is done poorly or not done at all.
Many factors can contribute to the underperformance of a team, but
unless responsibilities and accountabilities are clear, there can
be a significant risk that problems will arise.
With complex, time-sensitive or mission-critical projects, or in
situations where people are ducking responsibility, it's often
worth taking the time to think through the roles that you and your
team members must play in every task that your team undertakes.
Without this clarity, you will most-likely find gaps, duplication
and confusion. Teamwork will be frustrating, inefficient and you
are less likely to deliver good results. In these situations, the
delegation of tasks and other responsibilities can be too
important to leave to chance.
The RACI Matrix is a system that brings structure and clarity to
assigning the roles people play within a team. It is a simple grid
system that you can use to clarify people's responsibilities and
ensure that everything the team needs to do is taken care of.
RACI explained
The acronym RACI stands for:
R = Responsible.
A = Accountable.
C = Consulted.
I = Informed.
Using the RACI system, you list every task, milestone and
decision, then clarify who is responsible, who is accountable, and
where appropriate, who needs to be consulted or informed.
Responsible – these people are the "doers" of the work. They must
complete the task or objective or make the decision. Several
people can be jointly responsible.
Accountable – this person is the "owner" of the work. He or she
must sign off or approve when the task, objective or decision is
complete. This person must make sure that responsibilities are
assigned in the matrix for all related activities. There is only
one person accountable, which means that "the buck stops there."
Consulted – these are the people who need to give input before the
work can be done and signed-off on. These people are "in the loop"
and active participants.
Informed – these people need to be kept "in the picture." They
need updates on progress or decision, but they do not need to be
formally consulted, nor do they contribute directly to the task or
decision.
Other Variants
ARCI
Some people prefer to use the acronym ARCI, reflecting the importance of the "Accountability" role.
RASCI or RASIC
A fifth element, "Supportive," is sometimes interjected to make the acronym RASCI. Supportive refers to people who provide resources and assistance to the people responsible for the work.
RACI-V
In some situations, another role is included: "Verifies." This role provides the checks needed to make sure the work is done according to predetermined criteria.
CAIRO
This includes a fifth category: "Omitted" or "Out of the loop". this would be used to designate people whom you consciously decide not to involve in project communications.
Using the Tool
To complete a RACI Matrix:
List all the tasks, activities and decisions that your team works
on. It's often good to involve the whole team in doing this,
helping you drill down to the core tasks that must be completed if
the project to be a success.
List all the functions of people in the team. Sometimes this means
you need to list each individual team member. But if a function is
performed by several people, you should list the function rather
than each individual.
Then create a matrix (see figure 1) from the two lists you have
made. List tasks, activities and decisions as row headers in the
left hand column, and place the functions/roles as column headers.
Figure 1: Example RACI Matrix
Tasks, milestones and decisions
Function A
(e.g. Line
Supervisor)
Function B
(e.g. Manager)
Function C
Function D
Task 1
R
A
Task 2
R
I
A
R
Task 3
C
A
R
Task 4
A
C
C
I
Now plot the RACI for each task etc listed. Indicate who is
responsible, who is accountable, who needs to be consulted and who
needs to be informed.
And now check the RACI for each task: Check this carefully, as
this is the step that ensures everything gets done!
For every task (row):
There must be one (and only one) person accountable
There must be at least one responsible
'Consulted' and 'informed' are optional on each row.
Also, make sure that everyone involved really needs to be. There
is a saying that "too many cooks spoil the broth". Too many people
involved, even if they are only 'consulted' and 'informed' can
make work inefficient and more difficult than is necessary.
Having already checked that everything gets done, the next step of
analyzing the RACI matrix helps ensure things get done right!
You do this by analyzing the roles that each function will
perform. This means looking vertically at the Rs, As, Cs and Is
assigned and asking the following questions:
Does one person or function have too many responsibilities? If so,
there is a risk that he or she may perform poorly or not be able
to complete the work.
Does anyone have too many or all the As? If so its well worth
looking again at the design of people's jobs. Can this person
really monitor and oversee all these tasks fully and well? Or is
it better to delegate some of the accountability (and hence the
checking and balancing) to other people in the team?
Is any one person or function involved in every task? This is
probably not necessary and you should look again at how tasks are
delegated and prioritized.
Once you have checked completed steps 5 and 6, you have checked
the completeness and integrity of the roles and functions in your
team. The final step is to communicate the RACI matrix to all team
members and keep it updated as things change.
Key Points
One of the biggest challenges of team working (particularly in areas where there's little margin for error) is to make sure
everything is done completely and well. By taking a structured approach to role assignment using the RACI Matrix, you can plot
and check who is responsible and accountable for each team task, and also check the integrity of each person's roles. In so doing,
you can minimize the risk of gaps, overlaps and confusions and so have a greater chance of running a highly effective and efficient team.
Once you understand people's roles, responsibilities and accountabilities, the next step is often to think through the
scheduling of people's time so that projects can be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Tags:
Project Management, Skills
goals.
And there is no doubt that when teams work well together
the results can be impressive.
Unfortunately, the opposite is true
and all too common: Teams that fail to work well can also fail to
deliver the desired results.
When several people work on a project it is easy to assume that
someone else is taking care of a particular detail or assignment.
It is also easy to point fingers and assign blame when one of
those jobs is done poorly or not done at all.
Many factors can contribute to the underperformance of a team, but
unless responsibilities and accountabilities are clear, there can
be a significant risk that problems will arise.
With complex, time-sensitive or mission-critical projects, or in
situations where people are ducking responsibility, it's often
worth taking the time to think through the roles that you and your
team members must play in every task that your team undertakes.
Without this clarity, you will most-likely find gaps, duplication
and confusion. Teamwork will be frustrating, inefficient and you
are less likely to deliver good results. In these situations, the
delegation of tasks and other responsibilities can be too
important to leave to chance.
The RACI Matrix is a system that brings structure and clarity to
assigning the roles people play within a team. It is a simple grid
system that you can use to clarify people's responsibilities and
ensure that everything the team needs to do is taken care of.
RACI explained
The acronym RACI stands for:
R = Responsible.
A = Accountable.
C = Consulted.
I = Informed.
Using the RACI system, you list every task, milestone and
decision, then clarify who is responsible, who is accountable, and
where appropriate, who needs to be consulted or informed.
Responsible – these people are the "doers" of the work. They must
complete the task or objective or make the decision. Several
people can be jointly responsible.
Accountable – this person is the "owner" of the work. He or she
must sign off or approve when the task, objective or decision is
complete. This person must make sure that responsibilities are
assigned in the matrix for all related activities. There is only
one person accountable, which means that "the buck stops there."
Consulted – these are the people who need to give input before the
work can be done and signed-off on. These people are "in the loop"
and active participants.
Informed – these people need to be kept "in the picture." They
need updates on progress or decision, but they do not need to be
formally consulted, nor do they contribute directly to the task or
decision.
Other Variants
ARCI
Some people prefer to use the acronym ARCI, reflecting the importance of the "Accountability" role.
RASCI or RASIC
A fifth element, "Supportive," is sometimes interjected to make the acronym RASCI. Supportive refers to people who provide resources and assistance to the people responsible for the work.
RACI-V
In some situations, another role is included: "Verifies." This role provides the checks needed to make sure the work is done according to predetermined criteria.
CAIRO
This includes a fifth category: "Omitted" or "Out of the loop". this would be used to designate people whom you consciously decide not to involve in project communications.
Using the Tool
To complete a RACI Matrix:
List all the tasks, activities and decisions that your team works
on. It's often good to involve the whole team in doing this,
helping you drill down to the core tasks that must be completed if
the project to be a success.
List all the functions of people in the team. Sometimes this means
you need to list each individual team member. But if a function is
performed by several people, you should list the function rather
than each individual.
Then create a matrix (see figure 1) from the two lists you have
made. List tasks, activities and decisions as row headers in the
left hand column, and place the functions/roles as column headers.
Figure 1: Example RACI Matrix
Tasks, milestones and decisions
Function A
(e.g. Line
Supervisor)
Function B
(e.g. Manager)
Function C
Function D
Task 1
R
A
Task 2
R
I
A
R
Task 3
C
A
R
Task 4
A
C
C
I
Now plot the RACI for each task etc listed. Indicate who is
responsible, who is accountable, who needs to be consulted and who
needs to be informed.
And now check the RACI for each task: Check this carefully, as
this is the step that ensures everything gets done!
For every task (row):
There must be one (and only one) person accountable
There must be at least one responsible
'Consulted' and 'informed' are optional on each row.
Also, make sure that everyone involved really needs to be. There
is a saying that "too many cooks spoil the broth". Too many people
involved, even if they are only 'consulted' and 'informed' can
make work inefficient and more difficult than is necessary.
Having already checked that everything gets done, the next step of
analyzing the RACI matrix helps ensure things get done right!
You do this by analyzing the roles that each function will
perform. This means looking vertically at the Rs, As, Cs and Is
assigned and asking the following questions:
Does one person or function have too many responsibilities? If so,
there is a risk that he or she may perform poorly or not be able
to complete the work.
Does anyone have too many or all the As? If so its well worth
looking again at the design of people's jobs. Can this person
really monitor and oversee all these tasks fully and well? Or is
it better to delegate some of the accountability (and hence the
checking and balancing) to other people in the team?
Is any one person or function involved in every task? This is
probably not necessary and you should look again at how tasks are
delegated and prioritized.
Once you have checked completed steps 5 and 6, you have checked
the completeness and integrity of the roles and functions in your
team. The final step is to communicate the RACI matrix to all team
members and keep it updated as things change.
Key Points
One of the biggest challenges of team working (particularly in areas where there's little margin for error) is to make sure
everything is done completely and well. By taking a structured approach to role assignment using the RACI Matrix, you can plot
and check who is responsible and accountable for each team task, and also check the integrity of each person's roles. In so doing,
you can minimize the risk of gaps, overlaps and confusions and so have a greater chance of running a highly effective and efficient team.
Once you understand people's roles, responsibilities and accountabilities, the next step is often to think through the
scheduling of people's time so that projects can be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.
