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The following guide to using the RACI model was prepared by John Elsworth, a project manager with many years experience delivering in Finance and Banking, Biomedical and transport industries.   It took RNC 5 years to convince him to join us and we are very glad that he has worked with us now for 5 years….  

Managing stakeholders is vital to the success of a project and one of the most challenging aspects of project management.  Have you ever been looking for a single project tool that would help with stakeholder management; the communications plan; developing peoples’ roles and responsibilities; and, creating project delegation authorities?

The RACI model can be a valuable input to these elements of planning particularly in the early stage of the project when you are writing your initial version of the PMP.  This stage of a project can be very confusing when you are juggling so many stakeholders & project members. In our line of work as contract PMs we are typically just getting to know everyone too.

Of course, like all elements of planning, the RACI should be an interactive process and updated as appropriate to the project needs.

People who participate in creating/updating the RACI model enjoy it as they get a lot out of it and it can be fun & thought-provoking.

The RACI is an effective communications tool because stakeholders and team members find it intuitive and easy to digest.

So, how does a RACI work? The output is a matrix of responsibilities of all the stakeholders and members of the project team. Their job titles are assigned a letter depending on their role in the project. RACI is an acronym and the letters represent the level of participation in the project –

•  R is for Responsible (the do-er of the activity)
•  A is for Accountable (the buck stops here)
•  C is for Consulted (typically an important stakeholder or a subject matter expert)
•  I is for Informed (someone who needs to know … or wants to know but they are not an active participation in this particular activity)

The matrix should have the project participants’ role title on the horizontal axis and the project duties/activities on the vertical axis. The letter of the RACI which best represents their roles & responsibilities are allocated and placed in the appropriate cell co-ordinates.

The RACI matrix can become a great friend to a Project Manager. Project planning can be time-consuming and complex. The RACI matrix helps dissect information into simple, bite-size chunks.

Let’s look at a quick example. The hypothetical project is the design and manufacture of a new hybrid car which must have regulatory approval from the government.

It is advisable to highlight the cells where the “A” and the “R” appears as these are the most important. Also, it is helpful to make it visually appealing so it stands out for the reader above the other noise they encounter during their work day. For the PM, the colour coding helps with quality assurance, e.g’s. there should be only one “A” allocated in every row; &, the “R’s” should be well distributed across the stakeholders/team-members.

Please note:
i.    Once drafted, the matrix should be placed on formal review.
ii.   Note that the RACI can include external as well as internal parties. In this example reference to the Regulatory Authority is an external organisation.
iii.  Logically in the hierarchy, the A is the highest followed by (in order) the R, the C, and the I. Will leave it to you to spell that out!

After syndicating/agreeing the RACI with stakeholders, the project manager has so much information they need to work out the “who”, “what”, “how’s” and ”when” for the elements of the project planning mentioned above.

There are a number of variations of the RACI model and these can be applied according to the nature of the project –

•   RASCI model – includes provision for a support function
•   RACI-VS – includes 2 participation types for verification and support
•   CAIRO – uses “O” for omitted
•   DACI – where “D” represents the driver of the project activity

Anecdotal story
I once distributed my draft RACI and got feedback from a stakeholder that he wanted to have a “C” (consulted) against all the project activities. Indeed he was an electrical engineer and wanted to be consulted on all the other engineering disciplines as well! Nevertheless the RACI was a great basis for a constructive conversation with this person and I learnt a lot about him at the same time, which was useful as the project matured.

Further Reading
Project Management Institute: PMBOK Guide, Edition 4 -
http://www.pmi.org/PMBOK-Guide-and-Standards.aspx

Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_assignment_matrix

Project Management Essentials - http://projectmanagementessentials.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/nn-12-formula-for-number-of-communication-channels/

We’d like to hear from you. If you use the RACI model, post a comment or send us your feedback.

Portfolios Programs Projects – simply making them happen

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There’s a lot of talk and excitement generated when a new project is on the horizon. Enthusiasm is at a high and all parties work together, plotting the most effective paths to take and hoping to achieve the conceived successful outcome. That’s what happens in an ideal world, and yes, the vision becomes reality if everything is aligned just right! But it doesn’t always happen, and it’s definitely not the same picture we’ve observed when we’ve been brought in to rescue a project that’s gone awry.

You could well be familiar with the tell-tale signs, and all project managers should know that you simply can’t just pull a rabbit out of your PM hat. Knowing what to do next will be your secret to success. Here’s a presentation which illustrates how to recognise promptly when a project is veering off track and importantly, the steps to take to bring the focus back onto the right outcome for everyone.

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Nothing!… if they are any good. The distinction came about because of frustration by business that project managers delivering projects with IT components were not willing, or able, to understand that the project was supposed to deliver a business benefit and deliver the project to achieve the business need.   But how do you tell?

Ask the PM what they are delivering.  If they say, for example, “getting commercial product to market sooner”, they can deliver a business project (even if the whole project is IT,  such as documentation management system).  If you ask the same question about the same project and the answer is ” implementing a document management system”, you can be pretty certain they aren’t focused on the business and would call themselves an IT PM.

There is ongoing debate about whether there is any such thing as an IT project and I am in the camp of thinking not.  I was told emphatically last week that the NBN is an IT project…… but in my view it’s providing better access to the community.  One person says it is rolling out the biggest infrastructure in Australia’s history and another says they are opening up the world for Australians – I know which one I’d want leading the project.

And that brings me to another point.  From my perspective, the PM is the person responsible for driving and delivering the outcome, rather than just keeping all the forms, reports and plans up to date. That responsibility, in my opinion, is a project admin role.

A couple of years ago I visited NASA and was amazed and delighted that no matter who I spoke to (and there were hundreds of PMs in attendance at an internal conference), every single response, in answer to the question, “what project are you working on?”,  referred to which overall outcome they were on. Truly, not a single person said, for example, that they were increasing the capacity of the ventilation system….. 
Clearly, they were heading for Mars!

Hope it helps,
Diane

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A few years ago, a meticulous research study of 860 Project Managers (whittled down from 5,258 PMs) and 4,398 of their stakeholders was undertaken.  Called ‘The Alpha Study’, and led by Georgia-based Project Manager and author Andy Crowe, one of the aims of this landmark study was to try to define the qualities that made an ‘Alpha’ Project Manager more effective than any other. Crowe published the findings in his book, ‘Alpha Project Managers (what the top 2% know that everyone else doesn’t)’, which challenged many of the assumptions in the profession of project management today.

Essentially, the assumptions of the PMs were tested against those of their stakeholders, and perhaps not surprisingly, it turned out that most of us are making incorrect assumptions about what our stakeholders want and how we should relate to them.  Interesting too was that only 18 (2%) of the study group were identified as Alphas – 6 female and 12 male, a close approximation of the gender split across the whole study group. 

Crowe discovered that Alpha PMs were the ones who consistently delivered projects that met the project goals, managed stakeholder expectation, and kept the customer, the team and the organisation in harmony.  And whilst it might appear obvious that naturally, an elite PM would be achieving results like these, the reality is that most PMs find it simply impossible.

‘Alpha Project Managers’ is interesting, and has attracted discussion from all sides.  But importantly, it encourages you to think about how you manage your own projects. I’ve extracted some quotes for you to read, but if you’d like to read more, it’s available from Amazon in either hard copy or ebook format.

EXTRACTS FROM ‘ALPHA PROJECT MANAGERS – (What The Top 2% Know That Everyone Else Doesn’t)’  by Andy Crowe

“Today, the project management world is awash in solutions ranging from software to maturity models. to methodologies, to training courses. This would be fine if we all agreed upon and understood the problem.”

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Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an excellent presentation at the Sydney Chapter of the Project Management Institute.  Michael Knapp, an IT professional and PM specialist, presented an inspiring paper discussing the difference between management and governance of projects.*

This crystallised my thinking about how we might excel at delivering projects for our customers.  To me, it’s all about focus rather than activity.  Knapp went into much empirical data, research backed and supported information that demonstrated how doing the “right project” will always deliver greater results than doing “projects right”.

As I listened, my mind began to process the impact of Knapp’s research and how we, as project professionals, could do better.  Resource agencies will usually provide project managers to broadly fill a manpower need;  project managers who can complete time sheets and “tick boxes” on project gantt charts.

For many organisations, this is a desired outcome that delivers a pay cheque, some accolades and possibly some expected results, but key benefits of a successful or important strategic imperative are often missed.

You’ve won the battle, but unfortunately lost the war.

Governance rather than management poses key questions that should be considered and answered when scoping project or program resources including:

• What does project success look like?
• Is the project outcome strategically aligned with the company’s vision? and
• Will the business case metrics that originally funded the project actually be met?

Knapp also explored an often ignored aspect of “company maturity”, an interesting take on an organisation’s capability to deal with an experienced, long range perspective on projects and programs.  He ventured that the more mature an organisation is, the better able they are to realise long term goals, aspirations and also display the flexibility and intelligence to deal with project adversity and unforeseen circumstances.

So, are we doing the right projects as well as doing projects right??  Let’s talk some more.

 Author:  Ray Trevisan, Client Services, RNC Global Projects

*  Acknowledgement to Michael Knapp, Presentation “Optimising Project Success: The Missing Piece” – 17 August 2011, PMI Sydney www.pmisydney.org

 Portfolios Programs Projects – simply making them happen

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Which one would YOU buy?

 OR …

When considering a PM, clients look to see what we’ve done to improve ourselves over the years and what we’ve done to keep up.  Are we up to date with the latest thinking (even if we think it’s rubbish)?  Have we delivered the same project over and over, or are we fresh in our approach and broadening our thinking and value?  Are we doing what worked years ago and trying to make today fit into yesterday ? Basically, can we deliver in the reality of today’s corporate environment?

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Peter Reefman loves his job – and he loves a challenge. He’s been a Project Manager for over ten years, and says that it’s precisely the satisfaction gained from overcoming challenges that makes being a PM such a great career.

Challenges such as resistance to change… Or being expected to manage a project with no control of finances nor any management of the vendor… Technology issues that could not be adequately addressed by a vendor but being told to use it anyway… Or even trying to deliver an effective solution when the solution had been picked before the requirements had been defined… Do these sound familiar to you?

Meeting such challenges and resolving conflicts have gained Peter many accolades from happy, indeed grateful customers. Part of the key to success is in achieving the right equilibrium between senior management and their vision, and the team members and their efficiencies, and Peter’s experiences in the world of PM have enabled him to shed new light on the often debated ‘Top Down v Bottom Up’ approaches.

Recently, Peter’s article, “Project Management – Top Down or Bottom Up” appeared in AIPM’s Project Manager magazine. In it, Peter presented some thoughts on these approaches to planning from a Project Manager’s perspective, and provided ideas and strategies that have helped create a better balance for all those involved.

Read a plain text PDF version of Peter’s article.

Click here to read the PDF version of the original article as it appeared in ‘Project Manager’  (The article was first published in the December/January 2011 issue of Project Manager, magazine of the AIPM (www.aipm.com.au).

In the meantime, Peter continues to love his job.

And his advice to others?

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Hi,
Sometimes it’s necessary to think about where you, and those around you, sit in relation to being “with” the project. It helps to understand the complex landscape of people and personalities, but it’s not always that easy, so here’s a simple guide which breaks down those complexities into four basic quadrants of “Project People”:

 Who’s Who In and Around Your Project Peoplescape

 Talk soon, D

Change. Yes, it’s time to discuss this frequently used term that can cause grown PMs to run for cover.   I prepared a presentation for a client to use with their management team (and yes, I slipped a couple of slides in there about RNC) to help explain and support the need to do things differently.  Their challenge is that they continue with group training, team building exercises, culture surveys, etc, and yet projects and business, as usual, struggle…  and change is stymied.  

The presentation clarified why the old approach doesn’t work and that you can’t cause change unless the individual feels okay about it.  It was a resounding success and we are now all focussing on the key building block of the organisation – the individual.

  View my CHANGE presentation here.

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Hi, I recently rediscovered this article which I wrote nearly a decade ago, in 2002.  It seems like yesterday, but of course, life and times were very different.  We were on the cusp of a number of major political, financial, technological and environmental shifts.  What were the challenges facing PMs in 2002? And today?  Has the PM environment moved with the times?  Let me know your thoughts too….

92% Of All Corporate Projects Are Successful!

Now that’s what I call good news.  I’ve been thinking about it for some time and have concluded that all the statistics and reports are wrong.  Just look at them.

Last week I learned that PA Consulting’s research indicates that across all industry sectors 35% of revenue is being delivered through projects (we all know that some industries have a much higher percentage than that!).  Now add that to the folklore and renowned statistics of 92% failure rate for corporate projects (for those who care to check I am quoting Gartner and Standish) and it means that only 8% of the 35% is actually being delivered successfully. Or a very small percentage of the total revenue.

This is why it must be a lie.  Can you imagine a circumstance where company directors would allow such a dismal reality to continue?  If 35% of revenue were truly at risk to the tune of 92% there would be significant change. 

Gone would be project hopeagement (where everyone really knows it won’t work but hopes it will).

However, project hopeagement is alive and well, projects continue to cost more than planned, take longer than planned and deliver less than planned (or something else entirely).

Therefore, it is my considered opinion that over budget, over time and reduced outcome are the hallmarks of success rather than failure.

Otherwise it would be different.  Wouldn’t it?

Diane