Every company with projects under way has a division of responsibilities, though it often lives in each team's habits and changes from one project to the next. It shows most between site and office, because what happens in the field reaches decision-makers late and filtered. We review how the company works today, change what needs changing and write it down in a matrix that every project applies in the same way.
Our view
- 01
Each task has a single person accountable for the result. With two, accountability is diluted, and with none the task has no owner until the problem surfaces.
- 02
The matrix is built task by task with the functions that will apply it, and disagreements are settled in the same session. A matrix imposed without them is rarely followed.
- 03
Formal decisions, their thresholds and what is reported to management are part of the matrix. That is what the other processes, and the agents, need in order to know whom to alert and who approves.
What we deliver
We build the matrix with the company in four to six weeks and test it on a real project for one reporting cycle before rolling it out. The work ends when management approves it and it is published for the whole team. It is reviewed every year and whenever the organisation changes.
- The map of lifecycle tasks, from prospecting to operation.
- The RACI matrix, with one person accountable for the result of each task.
- Formal decisions, who approves them and with what threshold.
- The reporting scheme, setting what is reported, to whom and how often.
- Training for the team, and the indicators and meetings the company uses to follow the process, with our support if needed.
| Activity | Management | Development | Permitting and environment | Engineering | Grid connection | Procurement and contracts | Construction | PMO and project controls | Health and safety | Finance | Legal | Energy and markets | Operations and assets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Origination and feasibility | |||||||||||||
| Identify the site and the resource | I | A/R | C | C | C | I | |||||||
| Secure the land: options and leases | I | A/R | C | I | C | ||||||||
| Resource measurement campaign | A | R | C | I | |||||||||
| Technical feasibility study and preliminary layout | I | A | C | R | C | C | I | ||||||
| Preliminary financial model | A | C | C | R | C | ||||||||
| Constraints map and grid export alternatives | A | R | C | R | |||||||||
| Grid access and connection application | I | A | C | C | R | I | C | ||||||
| Decision to move into development (gate 1) | A | R | C | C | C | I | C | I | C | ||||
| 02 Development and permitting | |||||||||||||
| Environmental impact assessment | A | R | C | I | |||||||||
| Administrative authorisation | I | A | R | C | C | C | |||||||
| Planning and building permits | A | R | C | C | C | ||||||||
| Agreements with municipalities and landowners | I | A/R | I | I | C | ||||||||
| Move to advanced permitting (gate 2) | A | R | C | C | C | I | C | C | |||||
| Basic engineering and final layout | C | C | A/R | C | C | C | I | ||||||
| Geotechnical survey | A/R | C | C | ||||||||||
| Design of the export line and substation | C | C | A | R | C | I | C | ||||||
| Contracting strategy: EPC or multi-contract | A | C | C | R | C | C | C | C | |||||
| CAPEX budget for the investment decision | I | C | C | C | C | C | R | A | |||||
| Initial risk register and contingency | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | R | C | A | |||
| Master plan and project schedule | I | C | C | C | C | C | C | A/R | I | ||||
| Power sales strategy: PPA or market | A | C | C | C | R | ||||||||
| Move to ready to build (gate 3) | A | R | C | C | C | C | I | C | C | R | |||
| 03 Contracting and financing | |||||||||||||
| Tender for turbines or modules | I | C | A/R | C | I | C | C | C | |||||
| Tender for civil and electrical works | I | C | C | C | A/R | C | I | C | C | ||||
| Negotiation and signature of the main contracts | A | C | R | C | C | C | C | ||||||
| Investment decision | A | C | C | C | C | C | C | R | R | C | C | I | |
| Financial close | A | C | I | R | C | C | |||||||
| Construction and erection insurance | C | C | C | A/R | C | ||||||||
| Transfer from development to construction (handover 1) | I | R | C | C | C | C | A | I | |||||
| Project execution plan | I | C | C | C | C | A/R | C | C | C | ||||
| 04 Construction | |||||||||||||
| Mobilisation and health and safety plan | I | A | I | R | C | ||||||||
| Review of the contractor's detailed engineering | C | R | C | A | C | ||||||||
| Civil works: roads, platforms and trenches | C | C | A/R | I | C | I | |||||||
| Foundations | C | A/R | C | ||||||||||
| Manufacturing supervision and equipment logistics | C | R | A | I | I | ||||||||
| Erection of turbines or of structures and modules | C | C | A/R | C | I | ||||||||
| Medium-voltage network and substation | C | C | A/R | C | C | ||||||||
| Export line and connection point | C | C | R | A | C | C | |||||||
| Quality control and inspections | R | C | A | I | I | ||||||||
| Schedule tracking and deviation analysis | I | C | C | A/R | I | ||||||||
| CAPEX control and final cost forecast | I | C | C | R | A | ||||||||
| Change and claims management | A | C | C | C | R | C | C | ||||||
| Risk tracking and use of contingency | I | C | C | C | C | A/R | C | C | |||||
| Environmental compliance on site | R | A | C | C | |||||||||
| Monthly report to management and lenders | I | C | A/R | C | |||||||||
| Project document management | I | C | C | C | C | A/R | I | ||||||
| 05 Commissioning | |||||||||||||
| Energisation and substation tests | C | C | R | A | I | C | C | ||||||
| Commissioning of the equipment | C | C | A/R | I | C | C | |||||||
| Acceptance tests and provisional acceptance certificate | A | C | C | C | R | C | C | C | I | C | |||
| Operating licence and registrations | R | C | C | A | C | I | I | ||||||
| Contract close-out and release of retentions | R | C | C | A | C | ||||||||
| Project lessons learned | A | C | C | C | C | C | C | R | C | C | C | ||
| 06 Operation and transfer | |||||||||||||
| Transfer from construction to operations (handover 2) | I | C | C | C | R | C | C | I | A | ||||
| Operation and maintenance contract | A | C | C | C | R | ||||||||
| Warranty and defects tracking | C | C | C | A/R | |||||||||
| Final acceptance certificate | A | C | C | C | C | C | C | R | |||||
| Transfer to asset management and project close (handover 3) | I | R | A | C | C | ||||||||
| First-year performance against the financial model | I | C | C | A | C | R | |||||||
- R does the work
- A answers for the result
- C is consulted
- I is informed
- A/R answers and does the work
Agents and tailored tools
Once the matrix is approved, we give the team a conversational agent on the RACI. Anyone can ask it about a task in their own words, from the office or from a phone on site, and it answers with the version of the matrix it relies on.
- For each task it says who carries it out, who is accountable for the result, who must be consulted and who must be informed.
- It says who approves each decision and with what threshold, and routes the approval to the right person.
- It checks that every task in the schedules has a single owner of the result.
- If the matrix does not settle the question, it says so and logs it for the next review instead of guessing the answer.
At the annual review it compares actual approvals with the matrix and flags where they have drifted apart. Changes to the matrix are still approved by management.
What it connects to
Governance is the reference for every other process. It sets who approves each feasibility gate, who owns each risk and each schedule activity, the threshold for approving a CAPEX change, who signs the readiness checklists and the handovers, and who decides each change of standard proposed by a lesson learned. The matrix is what keeps the PMO connected: each process knows whom to ask for what it needs, and nobody has to rebuild it.