Key takeaways
Successful project management depends on a team-wide understanding of roles and responsibilities. Using a RACI matrix to assign and define each role is a great way to keep a project on track and positioned for success.
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How Does a RACI Chart Help Project Managers?
Project managers use RACI charts to keep track of team roles and relay those responsibilities to the larger team. The matrix defines clear roles and responsibilities for individual team members across the various phases of the project, breaking the roles down into four types. Each letter of the project management acronym stands for a designation: those who are Responsible and Accountable for project deliverables, those who should be Consulted as work begins, and stakeholders who need to be Informed of ongoing progress, roadblocks, and updates.
Read more: Project Management Phases
RACI Matrix Definitions
Responsible
The individual(s) with responsibility for the task or deliverable is typically responsible for developing and completing the project deliverables themselves. The responsible parties are typically hands-on team members who make direct contributions toward the completion of the project. The responsible team is comprised of the project’s “doers”, working hands-on to ensure that each deliverable is completed.
Some examples of responsible parties are:
- Project Managers
- Business Analysts
- Developers
- Graphic Designers
- Copywriters
Accountable
Accountable parties ensure accountability to project deadlines, and ultimately, accountability to project completion. This group frequently also falls under the informed category.
Some examples of accountable parties are:
- Product Owners
- Signature Authorities
- Business Owners
- Sponsors
- Key Stakeholders
Consulted
Consulted individuals’ opinions are crucial, and their feedback needs to be considered at every step of the game. These individuals provide guidance that is often a prerequisite to other project tasks, for example, providing legal guidance on a project throughout the process. If you are working on new product development or expansion, this could essentially be the entire organization.
Some examples of consulted parties are:
- Legal Experts
- Information Security and Cybersecurity Experts
- Compliance Consultants
Informed
Informed persons are those that need to stay in the loop of communication throughout the project. These individuals do not have to be consulted or be a part of the decision-making, but they should be made aware of all project updates. Typically, this party are business owners or stakeholders that are more interested in viewing the project at a 30,000-foot view. Keep this group on your cc list for awareness of topics, decisions, and progress – that includes making them part of the initial project kickoff and project demos as optional attendees. This group often also falls under the accountable group.
Some examples of informed parties are:
- Project Committee Members
- External Stakeholders
- Business Owners
Read more: DACI vs RACI Model Guide
Why Are RACI Roles Important?
The same way a requirements traceability matrix provides accountability to project requirements by mapping out the relationship between these requirements and the project work, RACI roles provide a sense of organization and clarity for teams that are looking to divide roles and keep team members accountable for their contributions. Considering that 27% of projects go over budget, for reasons like scope creep and lack of defined roles, RACI roles help position a project for success and avoid common pitfalls.
Moreover, RACI roles help ensure that communication between all roles is ongoing. When you consider that nearly half of all project spending is at risk of being wasted due to a lack of effective team-based communication, it becomes all that more important to prioritize. Ultimately, teams who prioritize communication and well-defined roles are better off, and RACI roles help teams achieve that goal faster – while providing accountability for each team member’s unique contributions to the success of the project.
Read More: Top 10 Main Causes of Project Failure
How to Create a RACI Matrix
If you’re looking to implement a RACI matrix as part of your team’s project planning process, take these steps to create a RACI matrix.
- Plan ahead before taking action.
Ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the project and its demands before outlining any further steps by communicating with key stakeholders and decision-makers.
- Determine the scope of the project.
Determine the list of key activities and deliverables from the director of program management or other leadership.
- Determine who the involved parties are.
Determine who is needed to be a part of the project or initiative.
- Outline each project role.
Determine the project roles and responsible job titles and persons for each activity and deliverable.
- Gather as a group.
Hold review sessions with key members of the team for alignment, and if you haven’t already, host a kickoff meeting with the entirety of the team and key stakeholders to unveil the matrix, address questions, and more.
If the project has already started, it’s not too late to implement a RACI matrix.
- Outline the story. Using research from multiple sources, do a, b, c, and d.
- Utilize steps 2 and 3 (shown above). Ensure the right groups are assigned and engaged.
- Hold a review session. Ensure that the team acknowledges and discusses the plan and the roles assigned.
Read more: 8 Factors That Lead to Successful Projects
Examples of a RACI Matrix
As shown above, a RACI matrix helps break down what roles individuals will play as work is carried out and to what extent they will be involved in the project overall. The horizontal axis represents each person on the project team and the vertical axis represents each task.
Each square of the matrix represents an individual, a task, and that individual’s role within the project, either responsible, accountable, consulted, or informed. In this situation, for example, the project manager is accountable for accessing risk, defining performance requirements, creating designs, executing construction, and approving construction work. However, they are only informed about approving construction work and defining functional and aesthetic needs.
Read more: Understanding Different Types of Stakeholders and Their Roles
Our FREE Downloadable RACI Matrix Template
Who Creates the RACI Matrix?
The RACI matrix — sometimes called RACI model, RACI diagram, or simply just RAC — is created by the project manager at the start of the project as a key part of establishing the initial human resources planning for the project. Because miscommunication is a common threat to any project, RACI charts are a great asset to teams dealing with any type of project, from very simple projects to extremely complex ones.
Common Mistakes When Creating a RACI Matrix
- Failure to plan ahead: Utilizing a RACI matrix should not be your first step in project planning. Having a fully assembled project team and at least a general idea of a task list and project plans is a better place to start before preparing a matrix.
- Working with too large a team: A RACI matrix is likely not the best bet for a large team, as it will make the matrix hard to understand and overly complex.
- Not communicating with the project team: A RACI matrix should help organize tasks and responsibilities that have already been introduced to the project team – no one likes to be blindsided. Be sure to host a kickoff meeting with the team first before creating a RACI matrix.
Frequently Asked Questions
RACI Matrix Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
Read more: Top 10 Causes of Project Failure
Free RACI Matrix Templates
A number of project management software solutions include a native RACI matrix template. Here are just a few we’ve found:
Colorful RACI Chart Template
We love this template from Smartsheet because it’s colorful, thorough, and includes room for every party involved in the project.
Pastel Colored RACI Matrix Template
This template from the Academy to Innovate HR is a great choice for project managers who want to organize their team roles with an easy-on-the-eyes chart that evolves beyond the simple spreadsheet.
Simple RACI Chart from Clickup
These RACI templates from Clickup have enough variety to fit any of your project needs, but are simple enough for even beginner PMs to use.
Detailed RACI Matrix Template
This template is a great starter template for anyone looking to explore RACI charts in their project management strategy. As an added bonus – it comes with the RACI definitions already built in!
Excel-Based RACI Chart Template
Are you an Excel or Google Sheets user looking to take advantage of the RACI matrix? An Excel-formatted template from Project Management Docs can be just the solution for you. This template is a great template for users who want a chart that comes in a pre-formatted structure.
