Matrix of Quitting or Continuing a Project

Roles and responsibilities in a project can be clearly defined and documented using a RACI matrix. Knowing who's responsible, accountable, consultable, and informed at every phase improves project success. If you are new to project management, you might wonder what is RACI and what is RACI matrix? How does it work and when should you use it?

Well, you are in luck because in this article we are going to share everything you need to know about the RACI matrix in project management! Let's start, shall we?

What is the RACI matrix? #

The abbreviation RACI refers to "Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed". In project management, the RACI matrix, which is also called a responsibility assignment matrix or RACI chart, is indeed a simple chart used in a project management to show who is in charge of which tasks.

In RACI, there are four functions that stakeholders may play in any given project:

Responsible #

These are individuals or parties who perform the work. They must do the work or reach the goal, or make a decision. Multiple people can share the same responsibility.

Accountable #

This is the individual or stakeholder who "owns" the task. When the assignment, objective, or conclusion is completed, he or she must check and give approval. This individual is responsible for assigning duties in the matrix for all relevant actions. Usually, there is only one person or individual that is accountable for the checking and approval phase.

Consulted #

These are the individuals or parties whose involvement is required before the task can be completed and approved. These individuals are informed and engaged participants. Usually, they don't work on the task, but will be kept in the loop for the entire project life cycle.

Consulted parties may also include team members who are not working on a particular assignment but whose work may be impacted by the conclusion. For example, they could be colleagues outside of the project team, sometimes from different departments, however, their activity will be affected by the project's outcomes.

Informed #

These individuals or parties must always be kept in the loop as they require updates on progress or choices, but neither formal consultation nor direct input into the work or decision is necessary. Typically, informed individuals are from outside the project team and frequently from separate departments. They may include the heads or directors of affected teams and the company's top leadership.

The Purpose of RACI Matrix #

"What is the purpose of the RACI matrix or RACI chart?"

By identifying who is doing what on a more granular level than with simple task assignments, using a RACI matrix for a project can help you reduce confusion and make things run more smoothly.

Using a RACI matrix is a great way to ensure that everyone on a project understands their roles and responsibilities. Most of the time, some tasks were not explicitly established up front, this method avoids having multiple people working on the same project at the same time or competing with one another.

A RACI matrix also encourages members of a team to accept responsibility for their assigned tasks or, if necessary, to defer to another member of the team. This means you'll be able to focus on your team's capacity to perform properly inside a framework that you've established.

RACI Model Used In Project Management #

When Should You Use a RACI Chart? #

The RACI chart framework can be applied to every project, however, certain teams may find it more beneficial than others. A RACI chart is particularly useful when processes require several resources, operate concurrently, or are dependent on other tasks.

A RACI roles and responsibilities matrix is beneficial in the following situations:

The project could be delayed by the decision-making or approval procedure.
There are disagreements around task ownership and decision-making.
The project's workload appears to be unevenly allocated.
You need to swiftly acclimate someone to a new role in a team that has had high turnover.

Clearly, not all teams and endeavors are made equal. You may work with a team that naturally communicates effectively and remains on top of their tasks. Lucky you! Or perhaps your project is so little that it would be pointless to go through this effort.

Concern yourself not with establishing a RACI matrix in these situations. Just make sure that your team and project are guided by a detailed plan.

How To Create a RACI Matrix? #

Are you struggling to create a RACI matrix for your project? Follow these steps to develop a RACI model for your project!

List all the tasks on your project. Identify all tasks associated with delivering the project and list them in completion order on the left side of the chart.
Identify and compile a comprehensive list of the project stakeholder.
Identify the RACI matrix. Complete the model by identifying who is responsible and accountable for each task, as well as who will be consulted and informed.
Ensure that at least one stakeholder is accountable for each task. There should not be more than one stakeholder accountable for any given task.
Find a solution to any disagreements that arise when more than one person is working on a certain task.
You should present the RACI model to your stakeholders, encourage discussion on it, and get their agreement on it at the beginning of the project. This includes settling any disagreements or ambiguities that may have arisen.

Example of RACI Chart #

You can get a brief idea of how the roles and responsibilities for various project tasks come together by looking at the sample RACI matrix that is provided below.

RACI Chart Example

Alternative to RACI #

Some teams discover that the roles specified by the RACI model are just simply not enough for their projects. And you may discover better solutions among these unique alternatives; they all employ a chart with activities and stakeholders, similar to RACI, but they are using various terminologies to identify responsibilities more precisely.

1. RASCI #

This variation to RACI uses the RACI concept with the addition of S for "Supportive". This individual contributes to the completion of a task by assisting the responsible parties.

2. RAPID #

RAPID is an acronym for "Recommend, Agree, Perform, Input, and Decide", or RAPID for short.. This is another paradigm for determining authority versus accountability.

The Recommend position initiates the process by suggesting a course of action, while the Decide role has the final say in how things progress.

3. CLAM #

CLAM stands for "Contribute, Lead, Accept and Monitor".

Contribute: these are individuals who are consulted as well as those who actually do the work.
Lead: Individuals who delegate and manage tasks.
Accept: These are the decision-makers
Monitor: These individuals are kept abreast on the development of a project.

4. CARS #

CARS stands for "Communication, Approve, Responsible and Support".

Communication: These are the parties who were consulted and informed.
Approve: This is the decision maker of a certain task on the project.
Responsible: This individual performs the work.
Support: These parties assist the responsible individual in doing their duties.

5. RAS #

This paradigm reduces CARS to "Responsible, Approve, and Support". It eliminates outside communication that would otherwise be accounted for in project management.

Easily Plan Your Project and Assign The Task with FoxPlan #

Projects can be complicated, hectic, and disorganized. Therefore, we count on team members with the requisite project management skills to tame the different components of a project and maintain their organization as the project proceeds.

Remember, when you are running a big project, you need the help of all-in-one project management software like FoxPlan. FoxPlan's feature helps you easily plan your task and assign the task based on your RACI matrix agreed upon by your project stakeholder. Everyone will have high transparency on how the project runs throughout the project life cycle.

So, what are you waiting for? Sign up FoxPlan for FREE today or contact our sales representative to check out FoxPlan in action!

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Source: https://fox-plan.com/docs/raci-matrix/