A few years back in a 2-day workshop on organizational strategy
to structure, I saw the facilitator came up with the RACI chart and fumble on
the RACI explanation confusing “A” in RACI to “Aid.” In a different situation,
the vice president of a client management group was referring to giving
copyrights to his manager for coming up with the RACI model. Recently, when I
saw the RACI matrix for a process map on a sales-to-execution role definition,
I saw processes where same owner was both responsible and accountable and some
areas where there was no person was identified as accountable. The more I am in management, the more I am
feeling that key important stakeholders should become trained on fundamentals
of project management, such as the tools associated with Project Management, so
that they can position the projects for success and even inadvertently don’t
derail the projects.
There are several reasons to why a RACI chart is required.
The most common ones include when the organization is large enough that simple
project communication tools alone would not eliminate role ambiguities
efficiently controlling costs to the organization. The subtle reasons for
requiring a RACI becomes essential when the organization is silo-ed where
several members are working on similar tasks creating waste and not making the organization
lean. From a project, program, product, & portfolio management perspective,
this RACI tool surfaces to the top of managing risks to these strategic
initiatives as middle management wonders if they have the authority to
implement their job or projects experience schedule slippage, scope creep, cost
overrun, and escaped defects.
So, how does this managing strategic initiative from project
to portfolio management? Now that we
realize the importance of the tool, let us ground our thoughts here in relating
this tool to stakeholder and risk management. Here are my thoughts!
Role
|
Description
|
Stakeholder
|
Responsible
|
The individual performing an
activity.
|
This person does the work. It may be a developer, tester, data
analyst, or network administrator in software development or a project
manager in a project.
|
Accountable
|
The individual ultimately
accountable.
|
This person is answerable to the management in managing the client and
the project’s profitability. An account manager, product manager, project
manager, executive sponsor, functional manager are all examples. This person
should also use risk register effectively by mapping the risk owner to the
RACI.
|
Consulted
|
The individual required to
offer input and contribute to the activity.
|
This person offers 2-way communication and is the expert. This person
should hold both “Responsible” and “Accountable” person in check and uses the
risk management strategies. May be able to roll up the sleeves to actually do
what these above roles should do. Can take on the roles of Director,
Proposition Manager, Business Analyst, Project Manager, etc.
|
Informed
|
The individual that needs to be informed of
the decision and its impact.
|
These are the people that PMBOK calls as stakeholders that can be
positively or negatively impacted by the project’s outcome. These stakeholders
must be managed so that unnecessary escalation and project derailment does not
happen. The “Informed” is not limited
to organizational employees and business units but customers, vendors,
partners, and end-users depending upon project’s or product’s goals.
|
Every tool in the Project Management Book of Knowledge is so
critical that it has its place in managing the project’s outcome. Understanding
its purpose and utilizing it appropriately is critical to any organization’s
job. RACI is an important asset to any management to eliminate waste, increase efficiency, and enhance stability.
Now, how do you foresee its use in your organization, business unit, and
product or project management? Share your thoughts!