RASCI MATRIX

Every project must have well defined roles and responsibilities for the team. With that in view the projects develop RASCI matrix in the initial stages of the project. It is therefore necessary to develop a detailed responsibility matrix to define the responsibility and approval process of each team member. This is where a RASCI chart comes into the picture.

What is RASCI?

RASCI is used to define the responsibilities and account-abilities of the project team. As discussed under the EPC section, the project team on a complex project consists of the Owner, the EPC Contractor and some third parties engaged on specific jobs. On account of the complex responsibility, decision making and approval process, the formation of the project team under such agreements needs a great deal of effort.

The RASCI model is built around a simple 2-dimensional matrix which shows the 'involvement' of Functional Roles of the project team members formed under different groups.  RASCI acronym is derived from five key words R A S C I. It has a number of explanations depending on the use. In case of the EPC projects, following explanation is widely used and accepted.

R stands for Responsibility. In the RASCI chart, it represents the team member responsible for completing a specified work or task or deliverable. It is more meaningful to say that is the Responsible for “Doing”, or “Getting it done”; or “has technical responsibility to design engineer and produce the deliverable”. This role may be assigned to a design engineer or a disciple lead. There can possibly be more than one R’s for a single activity depending on the activity.

 

A stands for Approval. In the RASCI chart, it represents the team member who is authorized to approve, or is accountable, or takes the final decision and signs the work or document or deliverable.

This person is ultimately accountable for the correctness and thorough completion of the specified work. This is also the person to whom “R” (Responsible) is accountable. There must be only one person for a particular work and it represents the last leg in the execution. “A” also takes the ownership of the quality and the end result of the process and, so to say, the buck stops here. A can't be assigned to multiple persons and only one person is accountable for an activity.

S stands for Supervision. In the RASCI chart, it represents the team member who supervises the work. The supervision may include co-ordination with other disciplines & organizations, and recommendations. “S” also provides or arranges to provide the additional resources to conduct the work, or plays a supportive role in the implementation of the work.

C stands for Consultation. In the RASCI chart, it represents the team member who must be consulted before the work is done and who must endorse the work or document or deliverable. The involvement of “C” is based on the input of knowledge and information. This responsibility is for senior members of the team including advisers and experts. This level may also have a veto power.

I stands for Information. In the RASCI chart, it represents the team member who needs to be informed of the work and receives copies of correspondence, documents or decisions in connection with the work. "I" is expected to be kept in the loop and has to be made aware of the status of the work, and outcome of any actions.

RASCI Process

The process of establishing a meaningful RASCI Matrix consists of a systematic development of roles and responsibilities of key members of the project team for each of the identified project tasks or deliverables. It is a good practice to organize a session of the key personnel of the project team and review the roles and responsibilities.