Responsibile and accountable roles

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Responsibile and accountable roles#

Across 2i2c we have two kinds of roles for a given task or initiative:

Accountability implies planning and delegation
Responsibility implies action and completion

  • Accountable individuals. Are responsible for ensuring that we meet our definition of done on time. They’re usually the one responsible for defining the definition of done, as well as the timebox for doing work. They are responsible for defining and coordinating any actions to take and identifying responsible individuals to get them done.

  • Responsible individuals. Are responsible for doing a piece of work themselves. They work with accountable individuals to understand the work that needs to be done, and the timeline for doing it.

Sometimes the accountable individual is also the responsible individual, but especially for more complex tasks (like initiatives) an accountable person can direct the work of many responsible people. There is no restriction on who can be an accountable vs. a responsible party, it is up to the team to define the proper delegation of roles.

Learn more#

See the Wikipedia page on the RACI model.