By Minda Zetlin
As in: RACI Model. A RACI model is a chart that tracks every team member’s relationship to every task in every project you have in the works. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed—the four options for each team member with each task. “Responsible” means the task is a team member’s final responsibility, and ideally you should have only one or two R notations for each task. “Accountable” means a team member is answerable if a task doesn’t get done correctly. “Consulted” means he or she must be given input into how the task is done, or merely “Informed” of its progress.
Creating a RACI chart for a project, either at the outset or in mid-course if hiccups occur, is a great way to get a visual read on where the problems may lie. One person with too many R notations may mean you’re over-depending on some team members and not giving enough responsibility to others. A large number of C notations should make you consider whether some team members really need to be consulted, or simply kept up to date. A team member with few or no empty cells is likely overloaded and won’t be able to track all of his or her tasks.
Two nice benefits to the RACI Model: First, when you get the chart filled in and posted in a team meeting, every team member should either buy in or make comments if he or she believes tasks have been incorrectly assigned. It’s a great chance to stop confusion about who’s responsible for what from derailing a project.
The second benefit is if that there is an issue and things start to go wrong, having everyone look at the RACI chart can help resolve issues. If lines of responsibility are unclear, people can talk about those issues without hostility or blame.
Minda Zetlin is co-author of The Geek Gap: Why Business and Technology Professionals Don't Understand Each Other and Why They Need Each Other to Survive. Learn more atwww.mindazetlin.com.
