Creating clear accountability in complex projects
Here’s a list of common situations project managers encounter:
A project manager is assigned to get a project done, but they don’t have the decision-making power to assign resources
A project owner is held accountable for completing a project but can’t change business practices without executive approval
A project team completes a project and then leadership from another team complains they weren’t consulted
These scenarios are super common because folks are not good at communicating or managing authority. (Does this come as a surprise to anyone?) And folks on the junior side of these teams may be reluctant to push senior folks to make decisions or delegate authority. This creates impasses where folks feel stuck and projects go sideways.
So let’s attack this problem with clear communication and frameworks that help junior folks manage up. There are two helpful approaches for creating clear and fair accountability lines in a project:
Assign project roles
Create a RACI matrix
Either approach can help you define who is accountable for what, who has decision-making authority in what scenario, and who can make decisions changing project scope. You may choose to use both approaches in some projects with exceptional complexity, but generally I think one approach is enough.
Approach 1: Assign project roles
In the project roles approach, you have clear owners, leads, and team members defined. Here’s an in-depth overview of this approach. Essentially, you assign folks to one of these roles:
Project owner: The project owner is ultimately responsible for delivering the project. They make day-to-day project decisions and work with functional leads to execute the project.
Stakeholders: These are the leaders who identified the need for the project, authorized its resources and set its requirements. If there is a needed change in scope, timeline, or resources, stakeholders will be consulted and make decisions.
Project manager: The project manager owns developing and driving the project infrastructure, which is to say they will facilitate defining the project requirements, resources, and timeline, ensure the team is working together towards implementing poject work, facilitate communication and decision making when red flags or major issues arise, and step in to handle administrative issues that otherwise don't "belong" anywhere else.
Functional leads: When multiple groups (whether departments, teams, locations, etc.) are represented in a project or initiative, identify a "lead" from each group to act as their representative. This person will monitor all the work happening within their group in addition to whatever work they're driving themselves, and be able to participate in regular status updates and project discussions.
Team members: Folks who are accountable for completing tasks assigned to them.
If folks know what role they fall into, they know what they’ll be held accountable for, and when to consult colleagues for next steps.
Approach 2: RACI matrix
In large project teams and projects with wide visibility across an organization, try creating a RACI matrix (RACI is an acronym for "Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed”). RACI helps define level of engagement for larger groups of people or levels of seniority. You’ll assign folks to these categories:
Responsible: People who are responsible are expected to participate in completing tasks and activities assigned to them and their team.
Accountable: Folks who are accountable are the “go-to” for ensuring the project is proceeding on plan. They have the ability to assign work within their project areas and make decisions about the project direction.
Consulted: Consulted folks have the ability to weigh in on decisions but are not decision makers. They are informed about project progress.
Informed: Folks who are informed are in the loop of the team’s communication but do not participate in the activity in question.
Pro tip: RACI is very helpful also for establishing communication with your manager about the scenarios where they’d like to be consulted, informed, etc. It’s always helpful to have a framework for driving the conversation.
Here’s an example of a RACI matrix you can use in your project briefs.
Choose what’s right for you
As you kick off a project, choose one (or both) of these frameworks to drive conversations around levels of authority. Clearly define folks in each of these roles in your project brief so it’s visible to everyone. And don’t hesitate to revisit and refer to these roles/matrices in project meetings to ensure it’s top of mind for the project team.
