Question 3: Who is accountable?

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Question 3 in the 12 Days of Questions for project sponsors is: Who is accountable?

And what part of the project are they accountable for?

Who is accountable for delivery, for the business results, for design decisions?

I think we all know the benefits of single point accountability and it is the gold standard. It speeds up decision making and dramatically increases the chance of success.

It also protects the project from being pulled in different directions by possibly misguided but well-intentioned stakeholders.

Accountability normally sit with the person paying the bills or the one who holds the benefits that will be delivered.

But we also know that projects are cross functional and have to appease many masters.

Design accountability is the classic dilemma. There is almost always a trade-off between what the owner wants and what the architects will allow. Who’s job is it to make the call that design is ‘good enough to move on’.

Tools like RACI charts can help think through accountabilities, but you also have to beware that they don’t become box ticking exercises.

Sometimes, the practicalities of the situation mean that you can’t resolve to single point accountability. These are the areas to pay attention to. This is where you need to build the ability to think well collectively and have a culture of active discussion and debate and learning.

So, when thinking about the project design, the integration across the business and the overall delivery, the third question to contemplate is: Who is accountable?