When Should You Use a RACI Chart? How Can It Help You?ДЄlthough RACI is useful for all types of project management, it can be especially helpful if project members are made up of a matrix of different seniority levels and departments where there can be some gray area on who reports to who and who has the final say. They wonвЂ™t be asked for feedback or to give a review, but they can be affected by the success of the project so will expect a high-level understanding of the health of the project. This ensures transparency in each task and its status. For example, a subject matter expert might be consulted to help provide technical specifications of a deliverable, or a veteran team member may be consulted to provide best practices to complete a task.ДЄ role that has been deemed вЂњInformedвЂќ is supposed to be kept up to date on the status of the project as it unfolds. For example, a copy editor might not be responsible for writing the documentation, but they are held accountable for ensuring the documentation is completed, on time and accurate.ДЄ team member that has been deemed вЂњConsultedвЂќ means that individual is an adviser to that task. The designation вЂњaccountableвЂќ means the individual has the final authority when it comes to the completion of a task. For example, if one of the team roles is вЂњwriter,вЂќ then that writer might be responsible for writing documentation for the project. The designation вЂњresponsibleвЂќ means a team member is in charge of completing a certain task or deliverable. (DonвЂ™t get scared if this feels like a lot to remember! The form in Minitab Workspace has built-in instructions too).

WeвЂ™ll also take a look at how you can use Minitab Workspace to set up your own RACI chart in just minutes.

HereвЂ™s a quick guide to help you understand the roles before you set out to define who in your teams fits in as responsible, informed (and everywhere in between). When you articulate those four levels of input and decision-making ability and assign them to different team members at the start of a project, it can help everyone execute projects more smoothly. A staple in project management, RACI charts help team members understand their roles for project deliverables вЂ“ breaking down in each step who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed.

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