Imagine working on a project as a software developer that has no clear distinction between the tasks of a senior project manager and technical head. Then, you incorrectly addressed your question to a senior project manager. Assuming that these officers are both busy with many project activities, it takes three days to hear back from the said officer saying that you are sending the question incorrectly and that you must redirect it to the technical head. Accomplishing this another recommendation, however, can take another day to get the answer that you need. You basically wasted the first three days that you spent waiting for the senior project manager’s response. Avoid this unnecessary delay by using a Responsibility Assignment Matrix.

What is a Responsibility Assignment Matrix

A Responsibility Assignment Matrix is a document that a program or project manager uses to get a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the organizations and individuals who take part in a certain program or project. The project manager usually includes it as part of a request for a proposal, which intends to request funding from potential sponsors. You can also call this business tool as a RACI matrix or linear responsibility chart(LRC).

What is the RACI Model

In the previous section, we have mentioned that you may also refer Responsibility Assignment Matrix as a RACI model, but what does this model mean? In this section, we will answer that question by defining what the RACI model stands for.

1. Responsible

Also stands for as the recommender, these groups or individuals are the ones who work to complete particular tasks. Take note as well that this role has two different subcategories, which are the recommender and supports. By using the said subcategories, you can have a more clear assignment for the people who are the main responsible for the tasks and its other members that will support to complete the tasks. Other companies also use the RASCI model, which is an expanded version of the RACI model, to identify these two distinct groups more clearly.

2. Accountable

As a project manager, you can’t just allow people to do whatever they want, even though they want the same goal as you, especially if there are risks associated with implementing particular tasks. To ensure that your team can account for these risks, you will need an accountable or approver. Also called final approving authority, this individual will decide whether or not the team has accomplished a particular task following the prerequisites and other factors involved.

3. Consulted

How do the approvers determine if a particular result is adequate? By seeking the guidance of the consultants. These people are mostly subject matter experts.

4. Informed

To ensure that the relevant people, such as the stakeholders and internal teams, are aware of the progress of the project, you have to assign a person or group that will do it on time. For a more effective project communication, you can also read our article that talks about the communication management plan.

10+ Responsibility Assignment Matrix Samples

Whether you are managing an event or construction project or running a restaurant, you may need to responsibility assignment matrix examples and templates to refer to if you are planning to create one. If that is the case, you are in the right place. Go over the following downloadable documents for free!

1. Responsibility Assignment Matrix Sample

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2. Responsibility Assignment Matrix for Construction Project Template

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3. Basic Responsibility Assignment Matrix Sample

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4. Responsibility Assignment Matrix in Smartsheet

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5. Responsibility Assignment Matrix in PDF

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6. Responsibility Assignment Matrix in Management Sample

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7. Responsibility Assignment Matrix in Wedding Template

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8. Standard Responsibility Assignment Matrix Sample

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9.  Printable Responsibility Assignment Matrix Sample

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10. Responsibility Assignment Matrix in DOC

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11. Project Responsibility Assignment Matrix in Excel

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Best Practices in Creating a Responsibility Assignment Matrix

If you are planning to create a responsibility assignment matrix for a construction project or any projects, you are lucky. It is because we included a set of tips that can help to ensure that the Responsibility Assignment Matrix that you are using will work.

1. Obtain Only One Accountable Per Task

Assigning more than one person that serves as accountable in a single task is like letting two people driving a car. In short, it does not work. Thus, it is crucial to allow only one person that will ensure that the completion of a task is following the standard.

2. Watch Out for the Number of People You Assign as Responsible

Having multiple to work the job may expedite the process. However, you also have to account for the possibility of duplicate works. By assigning the right amount of the people who serve as the responsible, you can optimize the usage of the resources and prevent unnecessary delays due to duplicates checking.

3. Lessen Your Consults

Aiming for perfection can be useful, but it may not if you are handling a time-bounded project. It will delay the accomplishment of the project. Balance the quality of your work with the other factors, such as time, by employing lesser consultants. Unsurprisingly, by doing it, you will avoid many conflicts in opinions about a particular action plan that your project is going to take.

4. Keep the Relevant People Updated

Instead of requesting for many consultations, why not keep the stakeholders and other necessary people updated about the progress of particular tasks? By doing it, if they think that the work needs a modification, they will correct the team accordingly. To easily track these progress, you can use a project progress report.

Developing a Responsibility Assignment Matrix is indeed a significant ingredient in attaining the success of a project. However, you should also know that it is just a part of a broad scope of proper project management. A project also needs a well-trained project manager. In fact, according to the project management stats that Medium posted on February 11, 2019, poorly trained project managers is one of the challenges of project management. For more information, you can read our article about project management.

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