Accountable or responsible? The core of the problem
Reading the Scrum Guide one must pay attention to the meaning of individual words in order to grasp the whole of it correctly. Both “accountable” and “responsible” are the words translated the same way in Polish as “odpowiedzialny”. This might lead to misunderstandings at times. The words “responsible” and “responsibility” are brought up 3 times in the Scrum Guide, while “accountable” “accountability” as many as 8 times. That’s pretty often, given the length of 13 pages of all. Let’s try to explain these levels of responsibilities in relation to tasks. So “accountable” or “responsible? When to use them? Are they used interchangeably? Let’s find out.
“Accountable” = responsibility for the results
First, why don’t we have a look at some definitions of the word “accountable”?
to be responsible for the effects of your actions and willing to explain or be criticized for them
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
if you are accountable to someone for something that you do, you are responsible for it and must be prepared to justify your actions to that person
Collins Dictionary
responsible for your decisions or actions and expected to explain them when you are asked
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
What all these three definitions have in common is that this is kind of responsibility in which you are responsible for the results or the effects of the work, often done by someone else. Such a person can either do the work themselves or delegate someone else to do it. However, at the end of the day, it’s them who’s responsible for the effects of the work. For instance, say you’re an IT manager to whom a group of 25 people report. You assign the group some tasks to do, and it’s you who bear the responsiblity of the outcome of their work. Interestingly, it’s usually one individual who is accountable for the work of a group. Which makes it easier to communicate.
“Responsible” = you do the task to complete
On the other hand, to be responsible means “having the job or duty of doing something or taking care of”. This is a lower level of responsibility. You’re responsible for the specific task you’re given. A portion of work is assigned. You feel it’s your piece of work to do. You report to someone accountable for what you’ve just done. No matter how well or badly the work you do is, it’s not you who will be held accountable. Anyway, you can be both accountable and responsible at the same time. When? For example, when you’re doing the work, and are responsible for its results.
RACI matrix – different levels of responsibilities
A RACI matrix or a RACI chart is a helpful tool that supports you in mapping out who is responsible for what. That can help in organizing your project work. The name stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed. The first two have already been explained. “Consulted” refers to the individual who provides advice to supervisors, or the people doing the work. “Informed” refers to the individual who, despite having no influence on the decisions being made, must be informed about the steps taken.
In the next post, we’II touch upon the issue of “accountablity” or “responsibility” in terms of the Scrum Guide.
