RASCI and You

During projects and in day-to-day activities, work sometimes doesn't get completed as expected because no one thought it was their job to do it. Or, worse, it was done twice or even three times. And the worst, the task was done but it failed because it wasn't sustained or was just the wrong thing to do. Generally the last two happen because the proper communication didn't occur. In fact, all three of these happen because people don't know what their role is and what other people's roles are in getting a task accomplished.

One of the tools available in clarifying tasks is RASCI. This stands for Responsible, Accountable, Subject matter expert, Communicate/Consult and Inform. Though it is used most frequently on projects, the concept is a great one to consider when running any meeting that generates action items.

Consider a project. A meeting is held and the team decides that Task A needs to be performed. No one on the team has the skills to complete the task. Someone on the team needs to make sure the task is done though. He or she is the person who finds the available resources, ensures the task is completed on time and in budget and as required, and lets the necessary people know if it can't be done. She or he is A - Accountable for the task.

The person that gets assigned the task of doing the work (aka a doer) is R - Responsible for the task. Sometimes this can overlap with the person who is also Accountable.

There are times when the Accountable or Responsible person does not know enough about how to accomplish the task or needs more specific information on the peculiarities of the task. Then they would call upon a Subject matter expert - S. Again, these roles can overlap with the Responsible and Accountable person.

What is the difference between Communicate (C) and Inform (I)? Essentially two things. Communicate (C) would occur with someone or someones that you need to have a 2-way interaction with (i.e. Quality needs to let production know they will be taking extra samples and could Production help out), whereas Inform (I) is someone who needs high level details and needs to know the impact. Also the C person would generally be informed before, during and after the task. The I person may know before and will know after but rarely during. I.e. CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) is informed a test is occurring and when it was complete and the product from the trial was quarantined and the results came back negative for spoilage.

One piece of advice; Never assign accountability to someone not present in the meeting or at the decision-making time. Accountability may be transferred later on, but someone present at the decision needs to take accountability to see that the communication occurred and that the accountability was transferred correctly.