Assigning Responsibility

There are several best practices that have been devised beyond basic delegation of responsibilities, tasks, roles and projects for assigning responsibilities. These best practices are especially useful when multiple people in the organization are involved in the work or project.

RACI

RACI is an acronym that is derived from the four key responsibilities most typically used: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed.

• Responsible: person who performs an activity or does the work. • Accountable: person who is ultimately accountable and has Yes/No/Veto. • Consulted: person that needs to feedback and contribute to the activity. • Informed: person that needs to know of the decision or action.

A RACI matrix describes 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.

MOCHA

MOCHA is a variation derived from RACI according to its creator, The Management Center, which specializes in assisting nonprofits.

Manager - Assigns responsibility and holds owner accountable. Makes suggestions, asks hard questions, reviews progress, serves as a resource, and intervenes if the work is off-track.

OWNER - Has overall responsibility for the success or failure of the project. Ensures that all the work gets done (directly or with helpers) and that others are involved appropriately. There should only be one owner.

CONSULTED - Should be asked for input or needs to be bought in to the project.

HELPER - Available to help do part of the work.

APPROVER - Signs off on decisions before they’re final. May be the manager, though might also be the executive director, external partner, or board chair.

Resources

Wikipedia – for more on RACI and similar systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_assignment_matrix

The Management Center - for more on MOCHA

http://managementcenter.org/newsletter-january-7-2011

Projectsmart – discussion on RACI and other project management resources http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-do-raci-charting-and-analysis.html