Norberto GovinTechnical Architect and Project Manager| Govis BloomCliffside Park, Nj, United States
One of the most important tools Project Managers have to their disposition is a Responsibility Assignment Matrix. This tool is used to describe the participation by various roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a project or business process. It is especially useful in clarifying roles and responsibilities in cross-functional/departmental projects and processes.
My favorite matrix model and one of the first adopted by the Project Management community is PARIS. I have expanded this model to be consistent with the real situation we encounter in the workplace. This how I define the roles:
Participant - The actual resources doing the project work. Lead - Takes responsibility and can work independently Follower - Needs supervision to accomplish tasks Accountable - Resources Supervisor - Informal Authority - Both need to be consulted often and keep in the loop Review Required - These are often resources that are required to confirm a task has been completed successfully Input Required - These are resources not directly related to a project but that hold useful information Sponsors - You need to ask the sponsors how much detail they require - Requires Delivery Status - Requires Milestones Status - Requires to be informed about project risks and consulted Sign-off Required - Who is responsible for signing off the distinct phases of the project, approving costs Needs-to-be-copied - These are manager or sponsors that want to be copied on every single message relating to the project. You will need to specify, if there are actions to be taken by them.
This is just an idea of how to start a responsibility matrix. You need to seat with each participant and ask clearly with foreign accent or without foreign accent, what are their expectations, what are they gaining from the implementation of the project, what kind of detail they need to support the project, and last question: is there is anything you would like me to be aware off before we start planning?
I had situations where a manager clearly asked not to be bother with details, and later becoming infuriated for no being copied in all mail trails. A well-designed responsibility matrix can protect a project from office politics and competing departments.
RAMs & RACIs can certainly add clarity to work assignment.
On projects following agile delivery approaches where the whole team owns work items (vs. individuals), a RAM can be simplified to focus on key activities or artifacts which are worked on outside of the team. Otherwise, the RAC would all just be "the team". :-)
Kiron Saving Changes...
Tamer Zeyad SadiqAssistant Cost Manager| Turner & TownsendRiyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
These are matrix format for roles and responsibility to show the roles clearly!!! Saving Changes...
"I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near."
Community Champion
