Developing Operating Procedures For Projects Involving Multiple Organizations Using a Linear Respons

Developing Operating Procedures
For Projects Involving Multiple Organizations

Using a Linear Responsibility Chart
One of the difficulties of managing projects that involve several (perhaps many) organizations is that the group has no pre-established procedures for
handling actions that cross organizational boundaries. Such actions often include:
ƒ Technical decisions (e.g., specification or design changes)
ƒ Managerial decisions (e.g., schedule changes)
ƒ Administrative processes (e.g., issuing payments for work)
ƒ Project activities that involve more than one organization (e.g., approvals or inspections, placing purchase orders)
If such inter-organizational actions are not anticipated and procedures put in place to guide their performance, confusion and miscommunication will result, which will
lead to unnecessary delays, wasted resources, and potentially even conflict among the organizations.
The development of operating procedures for multi-organizational projects can be facilitated by the use of a tool known as a "liner responsibility chart" (LRC).
Consider the hypothetical and simplified example illustrated on the next page. Cavendish Chemicals is planning the design and construction of their new Plant
Clearwater. The project will involve the individuals, departments, and organizations shown in the columns of the chart. The inter-organizational actions that can be
anticipated on this project are listed in the rows of the chart. Several responsibility codes (letters) are defined in the upper left corner, and these codes are used in each
cell of the chart to indicate the responsibility(s) of the entity in that column relative to the action in that row. By reading the codes in any row of the LRC, it is possible
to ascertain an overview of the procedure for the action associated with that row.
The LRC, however, is not intended to be an end in itself. Rather, the LRC is an efficient tool that is used to collect and verify information about how the organizations
intend to work together, so that written procedures for each action can be developed quickly and with minimum rework. The process involves several steps as follows:
1. Identify the individuals, departments, and organizations that should be represented in the chart and develop the column headings for those entities.
2. Develop an initial set of responsibility codes, such as the codes shown in the example.
3. Interview the project manager. Make an audio recording of the interview. Ask the project manager to:
ƒ Identify inter-organizational actions that should be included in the chart and ultimately in the project procedures manual. Enter these actions in the rows of the
chart.
Talk through the procedure for each action as he or she would prefer that it be performed. Enter responsibility codes into the cells of the chart to capture the procedure
as described. If necessary, create additional codes.
Copyright © 2003 by YCA. All rights reserved.

Cavendish Chemicals, Inc.

Linear Responsibility Chart
For
Design and Construction of Plant Clearwater



RESPONSIBILITY CODES
INDIVIDUAL / DEPARTMENT / ORGANIZATION


Cavendish Chemicals
r o

t

g

c
s
n
r
e
r

i
A. Requests / Initiates
o
r
p
o
g

t
e

r

s
d
n
c
i
e
B. Performs / Takes Action
n
e
s
n
n
a
r
I
r
n
r
o
g

e
i
e
i
t
.
o
C. Must Be Consulted
a
t
e
t
g
V
n
g

c
n
c
n
n
t
o
d
D. Must Approve
i
a
u
l
a

n
E
r
t
g
C

d

B
e
t
M
E. Must Be Informed
c
l