RACI Matrix

A RACI matrix maps every task or decision to four roles — Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed — so there is never confusion about who does the work, who owns the outcome, and who needs to be looped in.

A RACI matrix (also called a responsibility assignment matrix) is a grid with activities or deliverables down one axis and roles or people across the other. Each cell is marked R, A, C or I. Responsible = the person(s) doing the work. Accountable = the single owner answerable for the result (exactly one per row). Consulted = people whose input is sought (two-way). Informed = people kept up to date (one-way). The discipline of assigning exactly one "A" per row is what prevents the two classic failures: no one owning a task, or several people assuming someone else owns it.

Also known as: RACI.

Why it matters

Ambiguity about roles is one of the most common causes of project friction — duplicated effort, dropped balls, decisions that stall because no one knows who can make them. A RACI matrix forces those conversations up front and records the answers, so when work starts everyone knows their part. It is especially valuable on cross-functional projects where authority and effort are spread across teams.

When to use it

Build a RACI during planning, once the WBS and stakeholders are known, and revisit it when the team or scope changes. It is most useful on projects with many contributors and unclear ownership; a tiny co-located team may not need one. Use it also for recurring processes, not just projects.

How to use it

1. List the key activities, deliverables or decisions as rows.
2. List the roles or named people as columns.
3. For each row, assign exactly one Accountable (A).
4. Assign one or more Responsible (R) — the doers — and mark Consulted (C) and Informed (I) as needed.
5. Review each row and column: every row has one A; no person is overloaded with R’s; too many C’s signals slow decisions.

Example

For "Approve final design": the Designer is R, the Product Owner is A, Engineering and Legal are C, and the wider team is I. For "Deploy to production": DevOps is R, the Engineering Lead is A, the Product Owner is C, and Support is I. Each row has a single clear owner.

Template

A RACI template is a grid with activities as rows, roles as columns, a legend, and validation notes (one A per row). Available as Excel/Sheets.

Browse templates →

Tools

Formula

Related topics

FAQs

Alternatives

• RAM (generic responsibility assignment matrix)
• DACI / RAPID — decision-focused role models
• Simple owner column — lightweight alternative for small teams