The RCI decisions matrix is used for deciding and documenting who has the responsibility to perform which activity, who is consulted and who is informed. It is especially useful when establishing new teams work agreements.
Running the activity:
- Ask everyone to list all the activities (e.g. make payment. sign contract, reply to email inquiries)
- Cluster the activities so you remove duplications and align on vocabulary (list the clusters as row titles)
- List everyone names as column titles (optionally, list roles instead of names)
- For each cell (row x column), decide and document the level of authority:
- Responsible – Responsible for the activity.
- Consulted – Those whose opinions are sought, and with whom there is two-way communication.
- Informed – Those who are informed after the activity status, and with whom there is one-way communication.
The RCI matrix has many variations, such as RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed), PACSI (Perform, Accountable, Accountable, Suggest, Informed), and DACI (Driver, Approver, Contributor, Informed). These are typically called RAM (Responsibility Assignment Matrix). They are all similar and very useful.
Remote-team advice: This activity works well for remote teams. Use a remote board of your choice. One option is to fill the RCI Matrix as a shared Google Excel. For this end, open this link, make a copy, then share with the participant.