Skip to main content

Why Use a RACI Matrix?

Not too long ago, I was involved in a post implementation meeting for a change that was not very successful. During the meeting there was a very heated discussion, some of the comments I heard were: 
  • ‘I thought you were going to do that’
  • ‘That is not my responsibility”
  • ‘Why wasn’t I informed that this was occurring’
  • 'I have the responsibility, but not the authority to get the job done'
  • ‘I knew how to fix the issue, but no one ever asked me’  
It occurred to me that having a RACI chart would address these comments. The RACI model is a straight forward tool used for identifying activities and relating them to roles and responsibilities, thus avoiding confusion over who does what and how people are involved. The acronym RACI stands for: 
  • Responsible: This role is responsible for the correct execution of process and activities. This person or persons do the work to achieve the task.
  • Accountable: This role has ownership of the quality and the end result of the process. This must be one person and is often the project executive or project sponsor. 
  • Consulted: This role has involvement through input of knowledge and information. They provide information for the project and with whom there is two-way communication. This is usually several people, often subject matter experts.
  • Informed: This role receives information about process execution and quality. These are the people who are kept informed about progress and with whom there is one-way communication. They are usually affected by the outcome of the tasks so need to be kept up-to-date. 
Putting together an authority matrix can be a time-consuming, but worthwhile, task. This chart will clarify to all involved which activities they are expected to fulfill, as well as identify any gaps in service delivery and responsibilities. Without clearly defined roles and responsibilities it is easy for projects to run into trouble. When people know exactly what is expected of them, it is easier for them to complete their work on time, within budget and to the right level of quality. A RACI matrix is used to discuss, agree and communicate roles and responsibilities.

Comments

Agree that using the RACI language on a project is invaluable, even if you don't want to take the time at the beginning to straighten out everyone's role by constructing a full matrix.

What do you think the barriers are to using RACI? I am finding that many companies "know" it but are not using it fully ...

Cassie Solomon, RACI-Training
Vladimir said…
As a greatest barrier I see making this too complex and too big when communicating to people.
This is why I rather use words 'who does what' instead of RACI matrix.
I admire ITSM professor writes concise and easy to understand articles about quite complex things.
S.Covey has a lot of things about importance of 'who does what' in his book 'Predictable Results in Unpredictable Times'.
Thanks for your comments, and the book recommendation. I've not read it, so I've added to my list.

Popular posts from this blog

The Four Ps of Service Design - It’s not all about Technology

People ask me why I think that many designs and projects often fail. The most common answer is from a lack of preparation and management. Many IT organizations just think about the technology (product) implementation and fail to understand the risks of not planning for the effective and efficient use of the four Ps: People, Process, Products (services, technology and tools) and Partners (suppliers, manufacturers and vendors). A holistic approach should be adopted for all Service Design aspects and areas to ensure consistency and integration within all activities and processes across the entire IT environment, providing end to end business-related functionality and quality. (SD 2.4.2) People:   Have to have proper skills and possess the necessary competencies in order to get involved in the provision of IT services. The right skills, the right knowledge, the right level of experience must be kept current and aligned to the business needs. Products:   These are the technology managem

What Is A Service Offering?

The ITIL4 Best Practice Guidance defines a “Service Offering” as a description of one or more services designed to address the needs of a target customer or group .   As a service provider, we can’t stop there!   We must know what the contracts of our service offering are and be able to put them into context as required by the customer.     Let’s explore the three elements that comprise a Service Offering. A “Service Offering” may include:     Goods, Access to Resources, and Service Actions Goods – When we think of “Goods” within a service offering these are the items where ownership is transferred to the consumer and the consumer takes responsibility for the future use of these goods.   Example of goods that are being provided in the offering – If this is a hotel service than toiletries or chocolates are yours to take with you.   You the consumer own these and they are yours to take with you.               Note: Goods may not always be provided for every Service

What is the difference between Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner?

I was recently asked to clarify the roles of the Process Owner, Process Manager and Process Practitioner and wanted to share this with you. Roles and Responsibilities: Process Owner – this individual is “Accountable” for the process. They are the goto person and represent this process across the entire organization. They will ensure that the process is clearly defined, designed and documented. They will ensure that the process has a set of Policies for governance. Example: The process owner for Incident management will ensure that all of the activities to Identify, Record, Categorize, Investigate, … all the way to closing the incident are defined and documented with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, handoffs, and deliverables.  An example of a policy in could be… “All Incidents must be logged”. Policies are rules that govern the process. Process Owner ensures that all Process activities, (what to do), Procedures (details on how to perform the activity) and th