In a large project, there may be many people who have some
role in the completion of project deliverables. Sometimes this is pretty
straightforward, such as one person writing a document and one person approving
it. In other cases, there may be many people who have a hand in the creation
and others that need to have varying levels of approval.

For complicated scenarios involving many people, it can be
helpful to have a Responsibility Matrix. This helps set expectations and
ensures people know what is expected from them. For instance, you need to know
whether the members of the Steering Committee need to approve the Business
Requirements document. The matrix can lay it all out.

On the matrix, the different roles appear as columns, with
the deliverables listed as rows. If you know who the people are that are
filling each role, you can place the actual names on the matrix. Then, use the
intersecting points to describe each role’s (or person’s) responsibility for
each deliverable. A simple matrix follows.

Project Sponsor

Project Director

Project Manager

Project Team

Steering Committee

Project Definition

A

A

C

R

A

Communication Plan

A

R

C

R

A

Business
Requirements

A

R

R

C

A

Status Reports

R

R

C

R

R

The letters are interpreted as follows:

  • A means that the person (or role)
    approves the deliverable.
  • R means that the person (or role)
    reviews the deliverable.
  • C means that the person (or role)
    creates the deliverable. (Usually there is only one person who is
    responsible for creating a deliverable, although many people may provide
    input.)
  • (Other
    codes could be I — Provides
    input and N — Is notified when a
    deliverable is complete. You can create other codes for your project.)

In the table above, the Project Definition document is
created by the project manager; reviewed by the project team and approved by
the project sponsor, project director and the steering committee. The Business
Requirements are created by the project team; reviewed by the project manager
and the project director; and approved by the project sponsor and steering
committee.

The purpose of the matrix is to gain clarity and agreement
on who does what, so you can define the columns with as much detail as makes
sense. For instance, in the above example, Project
Team could have been broken into the specific people that make up the
project team, with each person given their own column. You could then specify
the actual individual responsible for the creation of the Business
Requirements.

After the matrix is completed, it should be circulated for
approval so that everyone understands and agrees to their roles and
responsibility. If this is done early enough, it can be included in your
Project Definition (charter). If it is done a little later it can be created as
a standalone project management deliverable.