This is a fact: complex projects make it easier for teams to lose track of tasks.
You may have an airtight project plan and a star team to back it up. But if you are not completely clear about tasks – or even involvement – at the task level, confusion, nervousness and even lack of motivation will sneak into your project team.
Luckily for you, avoiding these issues is as simple as creating a RACI chart.
RACI Definitions and Uses
Let’s start with the basics and detail what a RACI chart is, what the acronym for RACI means and how to use the RACI matrix in project management.
What is a RACI chart?
The RACI chart – also known as the responsibility assignment matrix – is a simple role and responsibility diagram used in project management. A RACI chart defines whether the people involved in a project activity will be in charge of, in charge of, consulted, Or updated For the task, milestone or appropriate decision.
Using the RACI chart for role mapping and responsibilities for a project helps you avoid confusion and answer the age-old project question, Who does what?
See how TeamGantt’s built-in RACI feature works.
What does RACI represent?
RACI is an acronym that represents in charge of, in charge of, consulted, updated. Each letter in the RACI represents a level of responsibility for a task in the project.
Let’s take a moment to define what each role in the acronym RACI means.
RACI roles
- in charge of: This team member does the work to complete the task. Each task needs at least one in charge of Party, but it’s okay to allocate more.
- in charge of: This person delegates work and is the last to check the task or product before it is considered completed. In some tasks, e in charge of The party may also be used as in charge of one. Just be sure you only have one in charge of A person assigned to each task or product. (Note: it may not be your prime minister!)
- consulted: Each product is maintained by reviewing and consulting more than one team member. consulted The parties are usually the people who provide information based on how it will affect their future project work or their area of expertise on the product itself.
- updated: These team members just need to be updated on the progress of the project, instead of getting bogged down in the details of each product.
understanding in charge of Vs in charge of In the RACI model
While the same person can be both in charge of and in charge of For a RACI matrix task, they are not the same. So what’s the difference?
In the RACI model, in charge of Is a task-oriented designation applicable to the person (or people) who complete the actual work. An entire team can be responsible for performing one task.
in charge of Is a result-oriented designation that refers to a single person reporting the work, whether in status updates or at the time of delivery. to be in charge of This means that you must meet the product and / or sign it and deal with the consequences if it falls short of the goals.
What is the RACI model used for?
At its core, the RACI matrix helps you set clear expectations regarding project roles and responsibilities. This way you do not have multiple people working on the same task or against each other because the tasks are not clearly defined at the front end.
The RACI matrix also encourages team members to take responsibility for their work – or defer to someone else when needed. Essentially, you will remove personal judgment and politics from your process and focus on your team’s ability to act responsibly in the framework you have created. Sounds pretty sweet, huh?
When to use a RACI chart for your project
The RACI chart serves almost any project well. But it is especially helpful when tasks require multiple resources, run in parallel, or depend on other tasks.
Here are some scenarios where the RACI role and responsibility matrix is useful:
- The decision-making process or approval may delay the project.
- There is conflict over task ownership or decision making.
- The workload in the project feels like it is not evenly distributed.
- You are experiencing a turnover in the team and need to get someone quickly into a new role.
Of course, not all teams and projects are created equal. You can work with a team that happens to communicate really well and stays in control of its work. (Lucky!) Or maybe your project is small enough for it to be silly to take the time to go through this exercise.
In such cases, do not worry about taking the extra step of creating a RACI matrix. Just make sure you have a clear plan that will guide your team and project.
See the difference a well-thought-out plan can make.
How to create a RACI chart in Excel: Example and template
Many people use Excel to create a RACI chart for their projects. To build a RACI matrix in Excel, simply follow these 3 steps, using the RACI chart example below as your guide:
- Enter all project roles or team members’ names in the top row.
- Write down all the tasks, milestones and decisions in the left column.
- For each task, assign a RACI value to each role or person on the team.
Example of a RACI chart
This RACI matrix for example gives you a quick glimpse into how all the parts and parts come together.
![Example of a RACI matrix](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a690960b80baa0001e05b0f/618bca1562fc53346a899347_Example-RACI-Matrix%402x.jpg)
Download RACI Excel Template
Want to build your own Excel RACI chart? Download this blank RACI chart template for free!
![Free screenshot of Excel RACI matrix template](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a690960b80baa0001e05b0f/618bc95e951060b1365039d9_RACI%20Excel%20Template%20Example.jpg)
How to build a RACI chart in TeamGantt
TeamGantt makes role mapping and responsibilities a simple task by building a RACI chart directly into your project plan. Not only does this save you time and paperwork, but it also ensures everyone always has easy access to your RACI matrix.
Here’s how to do Use TeamGantt’s RACI feature For your next project.
Assigning RACI roles and responsibilities to TeamGantt tasks
- Open your project and go to RACI tab. It will display all your project tasks in list format (rows). On the right side of the chart, you will see a column for each person currently invited to the project with cells for each task in the project.
- Click the cell below each person to be assigned a task, and select one of the RACI options from the drop-down menu.
![How to assign RACI chart roles to tasks in TeamGantt](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a690960b80baa0001e05b0f/6148ffb24ded5052d8411004_Assign-RACI-roles-in-TeamGantt-Example.jpeg)
View RACI chart tasks for your project
There are 2 simple ways to display RACI tasks in TeamGantt:
- M e Gantt Subscription card: If someone is assigned to a task and has a RACI role in that task, the RACI value will appear in parentheses next to that person’s name in the Gantt chart. Just note that you will not see RACI tasks for people not assigned to a specific task in Gantt View.
![How to display RACI tasks in your Gantt chart in TeamGantt](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a690960b80baa0001e05b0f/6148fac1b283d36c24ec8029_View-RACI-roles-in-gantt-chart-example.jpeg)
- M e RACI tabA: To access the full RACI table of your project, simply go to RACI Tab for the same project. You will find RACI tasks for each person in charge – whether or not he or she is in charge of the job.
![RACI linguistic example of a project in TeamGantt](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5a690960b80baa0001e05b0f/614900794b4d14a8d479c98c_RACI-tab-example-in-TeamGantt.png)
Best practices for using the RACI matrix in project management
At best, sit down with your team to go over the role assignments in each task. But let’s be real: it’s not always possible.
Just make sure everyone represented on your RACI chart has acknowledged and agreed to the roles and responsibilities you have assigned. More importantly, you want to check that your matrix eliminates any further confusion in the project.
These best practices can help you get the most out of your RACI chart:
- Focus on project tasks, milestones and decisions in the RACI matrix. Avoid general or managerial tasks like team meetings or status reports.
- Align the tasks in your RACI chart with your project plan so that there is no confusion about details and deadlines. TeamGantt does this job for you by tying your RACI matrix directly to your Gantt chart!
- Keep RACI settings nearby because they are sometimes hard to remember!
- Be sure that Assigned in charge of TeamGantt Task Team Members.
RACI matrix rules
Using the RACI chart is much easier when you follow a few simple rules. Once your RACI chart is complete, review it to make sure it meets the following criteria:
- Each task has at least one in charge of A person.
- There is one (and only one!) in charge of A party assigned to each task to enable clear decision-making.
- No team members are too busy in charge of Tasks.
- Each team member has a role in each task. (It’s not uncommon for some people to updated In most missions.)
- If you have a lot consulted and updated Roles in your matrix, make sure you have an easy and simple way to update them. It can be as simple as making sure everyone has access to your project plan so they can track progress along the way. Share a link to view only your project on TeamGantt Is a great option for entering the circles of people outside of your organization.
Keep your team in sync with TeamGantt
The RACI chart is a simple tool that facilitates project management by creating less confusion and more responsibility. But you have more roles and responsibilities to keep straight.
TeamGantt makes it easy to build a project plan that your entire team can contribute to and collaborate on. And because everything happens online, you can stay up to date and updated on project progress in real time.