RACI Matrix: Clear Responsibilities, with an Example and Template

A RACI matrix answers one simple question for every step of a process: who does it, who decides, who is asked beforehand and who is told afterwards? The answer fits in a table, with tasks in the rows, roles in the columns and one of four letters in each cell. It takes little time to build and shows its strength wherever several departments share a workflow.

This guide explains the RACI model, separates "accountable" from "responsible", walks through creating a RACI matrix in five steps and applies it to order processing with six roles. A template to copy and the common variants such as RASCI follow at the end.

A RACI matrix adds the task level to an org chart. How to build the structure itself is covered in the guide on creating an org chart, which has its own section on assigning responsibilities.

What is a RACI matrix? The RACI model explained

A RACI matrix (also called a responsibility assignment matrix or RACI chart) maps every task of a process or project to the roles involved and states how each role is involved. The name comes from the four types of involvement:

The columns hold roles such as "production planning" or "inside sales", never names. That way the matrix stays valid when someone changes jobs, and it lines up with the positions on the org chart. In a small company where one person wears several hats, you can still split the roles: the managing director then appears once as head of sales and once as approver for capital expenditure.

The RACI model is most widespread in project management: the PMBOK Guide of the Project Management Institute lists the RACI chart as an example of a responsibility assignment matrix. In small and mid-sized companies it works just as well for recurring workflows, such as order processing, complaint handling or the onboarding process.

The two ground rules

Two rules keep a RACI matrix useful:

1. Exactly one A per row. When two roles answer for the same result, each tends to wait for the other. A shared A usually means the task is cut too coarsely and belongs in two rows.
2. At least one R per row. A task without an R has nobody to carry it out. A and R may sit with the same role; the cell then reads "A/R" or simply "A", depending on your convention.

Accountable vs. responsible: the difference

The two words sound alike, which is why they are so often confused in workshops. The distinction becomes clear as soon as you pin it to a task:

• Responsible is whoever does the work. The inside sales administrator writes the quote.
• Accountable is whoever owns and approves the result. The head of sales reviews quotes above a certain value and signs them. If a quote was priced wrong, she is the one who gets asked.

A simple test helps: who can declare the task done? That role gets the A. Whoever carries out the task gets the R. For routine tasks with clear authority the two often coincide, for example when shipping schedules deliveries up to a certain weight on its own. The threshold at which the A changes hands belongs in the authorities section of the job description.

C and I get mixed up just as often. A consulted role can still influence the result; an informed role hears about it once it is settled. Five Cs in one row make a task slow, because five opinions have to be gathered. For every C, check whether an I would do.

How to create a RACI matrix in 5 steps

Step 1: Define the workflow and its boundaries

A RACI matrix describes one clearly bounded workflow, such as "order processing from inquiry to invoice". Fix the start and end points. If the workflow is already documented as a process description or a swimlane diagram, take its boundaries from there. For a first overview of suppliers, inputs, process, outputs and customers, a SIPOC is a good starting point.

Step 2: Write the tasks into the rows

Break the workflow into eight to fifteen tasks, each with a verb and an object: "price the quote", "confirm the delivery date". With fewer rows the matrix is too coarse to reveal conflicts. With many more, it starts describing individual steps that belong in a work instruction.

Step 3: Write the roles into the columns

Add every role involved in at least one task, including external ones such as the customer or a service provider. Five to eight columns are typical. Start from the positions on the org chart and add roles that cut across it, such as quality assurance or a project lead.

Step 4: Assign the letters together with the people involved

Fill in the matrix with the people who run the workflow every day. For each task, ask about the last concrete case: who did it, who approved it, who was asked first? The answers often differ from the documented target, and those differences are what makes the exercise worthwhile. More on this in the section on the workflows behind the letters.

Step 5: Check, agree and publish

Check the matrix row by row and column by column:

• In each row: is there exactly one A and at least one R? Are too many Cs slowing the task down?
• In each column: a role with a great many Rs is probably overloaded. A role with only Is may not belong in the matrix at all. A role with many As is where all approvals converge, which shows immediately during holidays or sick leave.

Then agree the matrix with the managers of the areas involved, approve it and file it where people need it: next to the process description, in the quality management system or on the intranet. Add a review date.

RACI matrix example: order processing with six roles

Composite example: it combines workflows commonly found in companies of this kind. The company and details are invented.

A manufacturer of conveyor systems with 140 employees builds custom equipment to order. Six roles take part in order processing: inside sales (IS), head of sales (HS), production planning (PP), production (PR), shipping (SH) and accounting (AC).

Three things stand out. The head of sales holds the A for quotes and complaints and is otherwise informed at most: she signs off where money and the customer relationship are at stake and lets the other steps run. Production planning is involved in almost every row, which fits its role as the hub of the workflow. And inside sales is consulted on the invoice, because only inside sales knows which special terms were agreed in the order.

The review also turned up a gap: there was no row for changes the customer requests after the order confirmation. In practice the customer called the production supervisor, who agreed to the change verbally. The matrix gained a new row, "assess and confirm customer change", with the A in production planning.

RACI matrix template to copy

Copy the template below into Excel, Word or your intranet. Replace the placeholders in square brackets and add rows and columns as needed.

Four details belong under the table and are easy to forget:

Workflow:     [name of the workflow, start and end]
Legend:       R = does the work, A = owns and approves (exactly one per row),
              C = asked beforehand, I = informed afterwards
Status:       version [x], [date], created by [role], approved by [role]
Next review:  [date]

In Excel, conditional formatting that highlights every row without an A, or with more than one, pays off. With =COUNTIF(B2:G2,"A*") at the end of each row you can see at a glance where the rule is broken.

Variants: RASCI, RACI-VS and DACI

Several extensions of the classic RACI model draw finer lines between types of involvement:

• RASCI (or RACSI) adds an S for Support: roles that help the responsible role without carrying the task themselves. It fits when, say, IT assists with a system change that the business department owns.
• RACI-VS adds V for Verify (checks the result against requirements) and S for Sign-off (formally approves). You find it in regulated settings where verification and approval are separate steps.
• DACI comes from product management and maps decisions instead of tasks: the Driver moves the decision forward, the Approver makes it, Contributors provide input and Informed are notified.

RACI covers most workflows. Reach for a variant when you need to show a specific distinction that four letters lose.

The workflows behind the letters

A RACI matrix shows who is involved in a task. It leaves open how the task is done, which systems are used and where the handover between two roles tends to stall. That is the job of the process description and, when handovers are the focus, the swimlane diagram. The documents complement each other:

The last row matters for every RACI matrix. An R in a column says that a role is in charge. Whether the deputy can actually do the task during the holidays is in the skills matrix, and how cover is organized is described in the guide to a vacation cover plan.

Filling in the matrix works like any process mapping: the most reliable answers come from the people who do the work, especially when you ask about concrete cases. In the example above, the missing row for customer changes only came to light when someone asked the production supervisor what he did the last time a customer called.

This is how wissa.ai works: an AI interviews the people involved one by one in a chat, around 15 to 20 minutes per conversation, whenever it suits them, and asks what they actually do and whom they coordinate with. The conversations become process documentation and an org chart, and the handovers between roles show up in them. wissa does not generate a finished RACI matrix; you read the letters for it from documentation that reflects how the workflow runs today. The page on process documentation software shows how it works in detail. A free trial package to start with (10 credits, once per company, terms) usually covers a first interview. Try one interview for free

Conclusion

A RACI matrix is a table with tasks in the rows, roles in the columns and four letters: R for doing the work, A for owning the result, C for the roles asked beforehand and I for those informed afterwards. Exactly one A and at least one R per row keep it useful. The matrix pays off most when it is built together with the people involved and sits next to the process description that explains the workflow in detail.

FAQ

What does RACI stand for?

RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. Responsible is the role that carries out a task. Accountable is the role that answers for the result and signs it off, exactly one per task. Consulted roles are asked beforehand and contribute expertise. Informed roles are told about the result.

What is the difference between accountable and responsible?

Responsible does the work, Accountable owns the result and approves it. The test question is: who can declare the task done? That role gets the A. For routine tasks with clear authority, both letters can sit with the same role.

Can a RACI matrix have more than one accountable?

Each task should have exactly one A. Across the whole matrix, one role can hold the A in many rows, and different tasks have different As. If two roles want to share the A for one task, the task is usually too broad and can be split into two rows.

What is a RASCI matrix?

RASCI extends the RACI model with an S for Support. It marks roles that assist the responsible role, such as IT during a system rollout, without carrying the task themselves. RACI covers most workflows; RASCI is worth it when supporting roles need to be visible in the matrix.

How do I make a RACI matrix in Excel?

Put the tasks in column A and the roles in the first row, then enter R, A, C, I or nothing in each cell. A check column with =COUNTIF(B2:G2,"A*") shows whether each row has exactly one A, and conditional formatting highlights the exceptions. The template above can be copied straight into Excel.

Does ISO 9001 require a RACI matrix?

No. Clause 5.3 of ISO 9001:2015 requires top management to assign responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles and to ensure they are communicated and understood within the organization. The standard does not prescribe a format. A RACI matrix is a clear way to document that assignment for individual processes, alongside job descriptions.

Sources

• ISO 9001:2015, clause 5.3 "Organizational roles, responsibilities and authorities"
• Project Management Institute: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 6th edition, Newtown Square (PA) 2017, section 9.1 "Plan Resource Management" - responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) and RACI chart