Help Manual

Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 15

RACI Chart

Overview

RACI Chart is used to make the roles and responsibilities clear to all the stakeholders involved in a project. If the roles and responsibilities are not clear, then there is confusion within the organization on who is responsible for which activity, and hence as a result the activities do not get done or do not get done on time. Without a clear RACI chart that all stakeholders are aware of, there is no accountability. Hence, the RACI chart helps the project function smoothly and should be one of the initial tasks that should be performed for any project that involves multiple stakeholders.

Inputs

This tool can be added to your active workbook by clicking on Change and then selecting RACI Chart. Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
RACI Inputs
1
Num Tasks: Specify the number of tasks for this analysis. The number of tasks dictates the number of rows of data that can be entered on the worksheet. Note that when formatting the worksheet, any data that is stored below this table will be cleared.
2
Num Resources: Specify the number of resources for which you want to develop the RACI analysis. This variable is used to determine the number of columns to display on the worksheet. Make sure that you select all the stakeholders that are involved on your project.
3
View Example: Click on this button to add an example worksheet. You can use the example to understand how others have filled out the tool or use the example as a starting point and modify it to better meet your needs.
4
Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file for this topic.
5
Cancel Button: Click on this button to cancel all changes to the settings and exit this dialog box.
6
OK Button: Click on this button to save all changes and compute the outputs for this analysis.
Enter the description of the activities in the worksheet:
  • Enter the task number.
  • Enter a brief description of the tasks involved with this project. Make sure that all tasks are listed. It may help to review the detailed process map to list the tasks involved.
  • List all the stakeholders involved in this project at the top. Make sure you have a comprehensive list of stakeholders.
  • For each task, identify the key roles and responsibilities:
    • Responsible (R): Identity which stakeholders are responsible for this activity. Note that at least one stakeholder should be responsible for each task. The person responsible is the one who is expected to primarily work on this activity.
    • Accountable (A): Identify one and only one stakeholder who is accountable for this activity. The person accountable for this activity is not the person who may perform the activity but who is ultimately accountable for the completion of the activity. If an activity is not completed, this person would eventually have to answer for it.
    • Consulted (C): Identify all the stakeholders who should be consulted before working on this activity. One or more stakeholders could be consulted for each activity. The persons consulted could be the subject matter experts.
    • Informed (I): Identify all the stakeholders who should be informed on the progress of this activity. These could be key management team members who are interested in the activity outcome.

Checklist

If you click on the Checklist button, you will see the following dialog box. Checklist The checklist contains a few pointers on things you need to pay particular attention to while performing this analysis. The checklist has been derived from experience working on past projects. Not all the checklist items need to apply to you. However, you should carefully review the checklist and apply any recommendations that make sense for your project. Make sure to read each checklist item and mark it as completed after you have read and taken actions as appropriate for your project.

Verify

If you click on the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you have entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The objective of this analysis as well as any checks that are performed is listed in this dialog box. For example, the software may check if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, then they are shown as a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, then they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange color exclamation mark and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the output calculations. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below.
RACI Outputs When you click on Compute Outputs the worksheet will be checked to ensure that RACI analysis was performed correctly. The following checks are performed:
  • There is at least and at most one person accountable for each activity.
  • There is at least one person responsible for each activity.
  • All the stakeholders listed have at least one role.
If all the above conditions are met, the analysis will report "OK". If not, the offending check is listed at the top so that you can make the appropriate corrections on the worksheet.

Notes

Here are a few pointers regarding this analysis:
  • The current version of the software can only assign one role to each stakeholder. However, you can use some standard assumptions: The person who is consulted is also informed. The accountable person is also consulted and informed. The person who is responsible is automatically consulted and informed.

Examples

Following examples can be found in the Examples folder.
  1. Select a project that you are currently working on and develop a RACI chart for the same. (RACI 1.xlsm)