This content is from the TenStep weekly "tips" email dated 2016.12.10

Use the Responsibility Matrix to Clarify Who Does What

In a large project, there may be many people that have some role in the creation and approval of project deliverables. Sometimes this is pretty straightforward, such as one person writing a document and one person approving it. In other cases, there may be many people who have a hand in the creation and others that need to have varying levels of approval. For complicated scenarios involving many people, it can be helpful to have a Deliverable Responsibility Matrix. One example is a RACI chart that identifies individuals that are (R)esponsible, (A)ccountable, (C)onsulted and (I)informed. This type of chart ensures people know what is expected from them.

On the matrix, the different people (or roles) appear as columns, with the specific deliverables in question listed as rows. Then, use the intersecting points to describe each person's responsibility for each deliverable. A simple matrix is shown, followed by suggested responsibility categories.

	Project Sponsor	Project Director	Project Manager	Project Team	Steering Committee
Project Charter	R/A	C	R	C	C
Communication Management Plan	A	C	R	C	I
Business Requirements	A	C	R	R	I
Status Reports	I	I	R	C	I

• R - Responsible (creates) the deliverable
• A - Authorizes (approves) the deliverable
• C - Consulted as the deliverable is created
• I - Informed

In the table above, the Project Charter is created by the project manager and the project sponsor. The charter is then approved by the project sponsor. The project director, project team and steering committee are all consulted for input.

The matrix is used to clarify and gain agreement on who does what, so you can define the columns with as much detail as makes sense. For instance, in the above example, the 'project team' could have been broken into specific people responsible for creating the Business Requirements.

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