Terri MooreProject Manager, PMP, MBA, SCPM| RetiredWendell, Nc, United States
Has anyone used a RACI Matrix to define the Rs&Rs for communicating to stakeholders and end users? In an organization where so much communication is coming out of a complex program of projects, is this a good tool to organize who owns what communications? Your thoughts? Saving Changes...
Yvonne ParleEast Victoria Park, Western Australia, Australia
Hi Terri
I've used the RACI Matrix as a way of doing an initial filter on the stakeholder register but haven't introduced it in the Communication Plan except to define it and explain its' use in Stakeholder management, mainly because the RACI designators change over time, so whereas a person or role may be Accountable in one Phase of the Project, they may later on be Consulted or vice versa. In a complex programme of projects I like to see a fairly skinny Communication Plan as the umbrella document with the principles, approach and definitions/terms set out for the Programme and then task each PM with owning the Communication Plan for their project with an agreed template of course, which includes what will be reported at Project Level and what will be rolled up to Programme Level.
Hope this helps,
Yvonne Saving Changes...
Terri MooreProject Manager, PMP, MBA, SCPM| RetiredWendell, Nc, United States
Thanks for responding, Yvonne. This program is somewhat different in that the projects within are actually the separate pieces of a huge project. Within each work stream (project) there is a defined Comm plan and at the program level we have a Comm plan. We also have a Comm team whose responsibilities are to communication to end users, stakeholders and the like, various things throughout the life of the program and for the other work streams that must communicate outside their projects. So what I'm trying to do is connect this one Comm work stream to the other work streams. Saving Changes...
Yvonne ParleEast Victoria Park, Western Australia, Australia
Hi Terri,
So if I've understood correctly you have a dedicated Communications Team at Programme Level and your question is how to define what are the roles and responsibilities of this team versus the Project or Workstream Level as it relates to Communications?
Is there a Programme organisational structure in place that would already suggest roles and responsibilities or are you in Start Up and designing the structure currently?
Regards
Yvonne Saving Changes...
Senior Advisor to the CEO| PMISterling, Va, United States
For anyone who doesn't know what a RACI Matrix is, a detailed explanation can be found here. Saving Changes...
Terri MooreProject Manager, PMP, MBA, SCPM| RetiredWendell, Nc, United States
Hi Dave - yes, I'm familiar with the RACI. Thanks. Yvonne, thanks for responding again. We have roles and we've been in place for a while - we work the program on a year to year basis with different releases. Anyway, our problem is that when we need to talk to end users or stakeholders, each project thinks they should do it so they communicate and at the same time the Comm team is communicating. Plus everyone wants to have a say in what is communicated. So I'm trying to streamline all these comms by identifying each in each workstream, who is responsible for creating it, who is responsible for sending it out, and who needs to be able to review it but not be a decision maker as to what is contained, so I chose the RACI matrix as a tool to do this and just wondered if others had done something similar when it comes to doing many communications. :-) Saving Changes...
Yvonne ParleEast Victoria Park, Western Australia, Australia
Hi Terri
I haven't seen the RACI Matrix used to solve a programme communications problem in this way (though I have seen it often used at project level) but I can easily see why you're pursuing it.
Sounds like perhaps it is time to circle the wagons with the Programme Comms Team and the PMs who are managing the various work streams and do a risk assessment or Communications Impact Analysis to examine the consequences of uncontrolled communications/unaligned and then introduce the RACI as a "neutral" tool that could be used to mitigate some of the risks.
I hope you will let us know if the RACI matrix suited your purpose.
I use a RACI Matrix in the project charter. It is done by roles so staff changes don't affect the matrix. Establishing the RACI has been a great communications vehicle for the leadership during the project start-up. The team really likes knowing who has responsibility and approval authority for the various "tasks". Saving Changes...
Linda HillProgram Manager| MicrosoftRenton, Wa, United States
I use a RACI Matrix in the project charter as well as others who have posted. A RACI can also be used in a communications plan.
Saving Changes...
Mitch KraytonPresident| Krayton SeminarsDenver, Co, United States
RACI is one model to identify structure, but the limitation of one person per R may be a drawback with communication. Should an R be absent, the communication stops as no other person is responsible. Communication is more time critical than organizational IMO. Saving Changes...
Jeanette RamakataneProject Manager| Santam Short Term InsuranceJohannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
I use RACI in assigning tasks to the different project resources. Responsibility can be assigned to more than one resource, but one person has to be Accountable for the final delivery of the assigned task or tasks. others in the project team can be consulted or informed, to manage dependencies and for alignment. Saving Changes...
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