You will hear a lot about the Development RACI, so firstly, let’s explain what RACI means:
- Responsible: Stakeholders who “do the work”. They must complete the task or objective or make the decision. Several people can be jointly Responsible.
- In many cases this will be the developer, but can also be another asset. A typical example of having an additional responsible asset would be graphic design work, a marketing idea, or crowdfunding decisions.
- Accountable: Stakeholder who is the “owner” of the work. They must sign off or approve when the task, objective or decision is complete. This person must ensure that the prerequisites of the task are met and delegate to those who are responsible. Success requires that there is only one person Accountable, which means that “the buck stops there.”
- In general this will also be developer, but in certain areas it will be a staff member for AEG. These are where the developer needs to engage with the wider company on issues of finance, contracts, or communication.
- Consulted: Stakeholders whose input must be sought before the work can be done and signed-off on. These people must make themselves available to provide their subject matter expertise.
- Normally, this will be the internal AEG development team. The team has two aspects to its role working with external developers - support and advice, but also quality control and assurance. Within the RACI Matrix sheet, some names are emboldened in this column. Whilst the whole team is available for consultation, those individuals whose names are highlighted will be the primary consultant for those tasks.
- Informed: Stakeholders who need to be kept “in the picture.” They need updates on progress or decisions, but they do not need to be formally consulted, nor do they contribute directly to the task or decision.
- The primary process of wider communication will be presentations to the company meetings on the general progress of the product, and through updates on the relevant Slack channel.
The Development RACI table outlines how these are typically assigned at AEG.
