We will need to change some of our existing processes and ways of working with other departments when we implement new technology next month. I’m expecting complete chaos. How can I avoid confusion and bad feelings? “
What is it?
RACI is a method to agree and document roles and responsibilities. RACI stands for:
| R = Responsible | Persons involved in doing the work, or making the decision |
| A = Accountable | The buck stops here. The person who is ultimately accountable. Only one ‘A’ is allowed |
| C = Consulted | Persons who are consulted before a decision is made or action is taken |
| I = Informed | Persons informed after the decision is made or action is taken |
Where most other methods document only the person who is accountable for a decision or activity, RACI also documents who will be involved in doing the work, who will be consulted before a decision is taken, and who will be informed after the decision is taken or action accomplished.
When do you use it?
- When working across departments, groups or organizations where roles and responsibilities are not clear, and therefore duplication occurs or ‘the ball gets dropped’.
- When changing a process or way of working.
- When you want to communicate the difference between how something was done in the past and how it will be done in the future.
- When introducing a new way of working.
- When decision making authority is unclear.
- When Tasks are performed or decisions made at the wrong level of the organization.
- When managing the interfaces is difficult.
- Where finger pointing occurs when things go wrong
- Where ambiguities exist.
How do you use it?
Define the scope of exercise, i.e. the start and end points of a process. Document the key activities in the process. Document those people or positions involved Use a workshop (working meeting) to agree roles Communicate the results to all stakeholder groups Enforce the new roles through the use of new job descriptions, measures, targets, etc. as required.
