COEPD – Center of Excellence for Professional Development Happy Learning
The acronym RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed.
RACI matrix is a responsibility chart for any project. It is mapped between the tasks to be performed in the project development and the stakeholders of the project. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed.
RACI matrix is a good tool to manage and distribute the tasks between the stakeholders. It helps team improve efficiencies and effectiveness. RACI matrix removes ambiguities with regard to activities and decision points. It assists in defining roles and responsibilities of each member involved in the project.
Using RACI matrix can help in reducing the duplication of efforts or overlapping of works among different team. It assists in completion of tasks before moving to the next process activity. It gives stakeholders clear picture of boundaries of responsibilities of tasks. It helps in identifying problems with the existing process.
Defining responsibility, accountability, consulting and informed helps in improving communication and coordination in team. RACI matrix also helps in clarifying individual/departmental roles and responsibilities.
Responsible: Assigned to do work. Person who completes the task. This person is the doer, who will be performing activity to complete the task. This person is responsible to get the job done.
Accountable: The person who is help accountable by the top management for the implementation of the particular task. This person does not perform the task himself however is accountable if anything goes wrong or deadlines does not meet. Monitors the tasks and makes final decision.
Consulted: The person whose advice is taken before a final decision is made or implementation takes place. This is done before any action is performed. And this person is consulted before making any decision regarding the project. This is two was communication. People who are not directly involved with carrying out the task, but who are consulted. Consulted people may be stakeholders or subject matter expert.
Informed: The person or the group of members who are notified once the final decision has been made or after the implementation takes place. This is the position that needs to know of the decision or action. This is only one way communication. Those who receives output from the process or task, or who have a need stay informed.
RACI model is powerful toll utilized to define roles and responsibilities. We need RACI matrix to be clear about the accountability among individuals or departments, to accelerate delayed or incomplete work. RACI matrix gives a vision about decision making processes. We need RACI matrix so the assigned person has clarity of the responsibilities of the task.
Things to keep in mind while preparing the RACI matrix:
- Identify all the tasks involved in delivering the project and list them on the left-hand side of the chart in completion order.
- Identify all the project roles and list them along the top of the chart.
- Complete the cells of the chart identifying who has responsibility, accountability and who will be consulted and informed for each task.
- Ensure every task has a role Responsible and a role Accountable for the task.
- No tasks should have more than one role Accountable. Resolve any conflicts where there is more than one for a particular task.
- Share, discuss and agree the RACI matrix with your stakeholders before the project starts.
