A situation you may recognize
Two teams assume the other is obtaining a utility interface approval. Both report their own deliverables as complete, while a critical external dependency remains unattended.
Three practical steps
- Map the people and organizations affected by the work. Identify decision makers, technical contributors, users and external interfaces instead of considering only the organization chart.
- Agree responsibility for deliverables and interfaces. RACI identifies who performs the work (Responsible), owns the outcome (Accountable), provides input (Consulted) and receives updates (Informed). Match these assignments to contracts and actual delegated authority.
- Use concise decisions, action records and escalation routes. Give each unresolved issue an owner, due date and evidence of closure, and explain decisions to those affected.
Who works together
Project management facilitates coordination; discipline leaders own technical contributions. Document control preserves reliable information, while the sponsor resolves decisions beyond the team’s authority.
Illustrative example
Illustrative case: a substation team assigns one interface owner to coordinate civil foundations, equipment loads and cable entries. Each specialist retains their technical responsibility while shared questions have a clear route.
A mistake to avoid
Copying everyone into an email does not assign responsibility. Participation and approval authority need explicit agreement.