Operations Planning tool

RACI Matrix

Assigns clear roles for execution, outcome accountability, consultation, and information across activities and deliverables.

A RACI Matrix puts concrete activities in rows and involved roles in columns. Responsible does the work, Accountable owns the outcome, Consulted contributes before or during the decision, and Informed receives updates. Exactly one Accountable role remains visible per activity. The matrix structures collaboration; it does not replace authority, capacity planning, or decision rights.

Core question

Which role performs each activity, owns the outcome, is consulted, or is informed?

Plan a RACI Matrix Method guide

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Participants: 2-8
Time: 45–90 minutes with prepared activities

Each RACI row names one Accountable role. The assignment clarifies work without adding hierarchy.

Paper illustration of an activity-role table with clear RACI assignments and one highlighted accountable role per activity.

Scope
Bound the work
Set the process, period, or deliverable scope. Use concrete activities as matrix rows.
Roles
Name involved roles
List roles that perform, decide, advise, or need information. Clarify existing authority.
Assign
Assign RACI per activity
Mark each role R, A, C, or I when it contributes to that specific row.
Check
Find gaps and overload
Read the matrix by rows and columns. Look for missing ownership, too many handoffs, and unnecessary involvement.
Agree
Confirm understanding and maintenance
Ask affected roles to confirm. Set the storage location, owner, and trigger for changes.

Update the matrix when scope, roles, or decision rights change. Share the approved version with affected roles.

A good fit when

Use RACI when several roles share recurring or dependent work and responsibility handoffs are unclear.

Ideal for

Project governance
Process ownership
Cross-team delivery

Not good for

Creative ideation
Teams without clear role structure

Outputs

RACI Matrix
Activities, roles, and communication assignments in one table.
Open authority questions and review
Unresolved rights and changes receive explicit ownership.

RACI assignments for a pilot

Fictional teaching example

Fictional role assignment for a confirmation message in a tool-lending pilot.

RACI assignments for a pilot
Activity or deliverable	Activity	Product	Design	Engineering	Operations
Activity 1Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?	Confirm pilot scope	R/A	C	C	I
Activity 2Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?	Design confirmation	C	R/A	C	I
Activity 3Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?	Implement message	I	C	R/A	C
Activity 4Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?	Approve operational readiness	C	I	R	A

1. Activity
Activity 1
Confirm pilot scope
Activity 2
Design confirmation
Activity 3
Implement message
Activity 4
Approve operational readiness
2. Product
Activity 1
R/A
Activity 2
C
Activity 3
I
Activity 4
C
3. Design
Activity 1
C
Activity 2
R/A
Activity 3
C
Activity 4
I
4. Engineering
Activity 1
C
Activity 2
C
Activity 3
R/A
Activity 4
R
5. Operations
Activity 1
I
Activity 2
I
Activity 3
C
Activity 4
A

R = performs, A = exactly one accountable role per activity, C = provides input, I = receives information. R/A means the same role performs and owns the outcome. Roles apply only to this fictional pilot.

Microsoft Learn: Define roles and responsibilities

First step

Choose a project, process, or bounded outcome. List important activities instead of broad job descriptions.

Open the method guide

Good to do first

Operations

Process Mapping

Supplies the process steps that become the matrix rows.

Facilitation

Stakeholder Mapping

Supplies the involved roles that responsibility gets assigned to.

Where to go next?

Delivery

Communication Plan

Carries the Informed roles from the matrix into an information flow with feedback.

Agile

Working Agreements

Anchors the agreed responsibilities as binding team rules.

Deep dive

Purpose

With unclear responsibilities across several roles or areas, the method creates unambiguous accountability logic. It reduces friction because decision, execution, contribution, and information become separately visible.

How it works

For the relevant tasks, roles are structured along their actual involvement. This makes gaps, over-control, and duplicate responsibility recognizable faster. The result stabilizes collaboration where work would otherwise hang on implicit expectations.

In detail

A RACI Matrix clarifies collaboration when tasks hang on several roles and responsibility becomes blurred. Accountable must stay unambiguous, while consulted or informed must not become a disguise for co-decision. The table pays off when conflicts over responsibility are resolved before implementation.

Facilitation

Map concrete decisions and recurring work situations rather than abstract job titles, or the assignment stays without effect. The matrix becomes solid when accountable genuinely stays singular and consulted is cleanly separated from informed. Close with a shared understanding among the affected teams and a place where the assignment stays findable later.

The method guide walks execution through 5 phases, timing, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.

Open method guide

Your perspective

Does this method help with your work?

Your feedback helps shape the next improvements to methodatlas.

Sources and topics

Topics

Roles Responsibility Governance Operations

Sources

Define roles and responsibilities - Microsoft Learnlearn.microsoft.comDefiniert R, A, C und I, zeigt Aktivitäten als Zeilen und Rollen als Spalten und fordert eine accountable Person je Aufgabe.RACI Matrix for GEF Projects Oversight - United Nations Development Programmepopp.undp.orgOffizielles RACI-Beispiel für Projektaufsicht, herangezogen als Anwendungsbeleg.

Artifact templates

RACI Matrix: WorksheetPrepare activities, roles, and existing decision rights for a joint responsibility assignment.

markdown

raci-matrix-working-template.md

Prepare activities, roles, and existing decision rights for a joint responsibility assignment.

RACI Matrix: Worksheet

Question

To be confirmed

Desired outcome

To be confirmed

Scope

Clarify ownership for a work scope Time: 45–90 minutes with prepared activities and roles

Complete this worksheet on paper or in your own document during the work.

Preparation for this scope

Method setup

Materials: Process or project scope, key activities, involved roles, and existing ownership or approval rules.
Roles: Facilitation keeps the scope small. Role representatives clarify involvement. One owner maintains and communicates the agreed matrix.
Advance information: Gather deliverables, process steps, responsible roles, existing decision rights, and known handoff conflicts.
Overall time needed: 45–90 minutes for prepared activities and roles. Organization-wide governance needs additional alignment.
Setup: Write activities and roles from the perspective of the work. Assign Responsible to the doer and exactly one Accountable role as ultimately answerable for each row. Consulted contributes before or during the work; Informed receives relevant progress or results. One person may hold multiple roles. Blank cells are fine when no involvement is needed; agree an R and A for each relevant activity.

Prepare for the work steps

Scope: Bound the work

Process description, project outcome, decision points

Roles: Name involved roles

Organization chart, process knowledge, responsibility rules

Assign: Assign RACI per activity

Activities and roles

Check: Find gaps and overload

RACI draft and existing approvals

Agree: Confirm understanding and maintenance

Revised matrix, open authority questions

RACI assignments for a pilot

Activity or deliverable	Activity or deliverable	Role 1	Role 2	Role 3	Role 4
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
Activity 4

Activity 1: Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?
Activity 2: Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?
Activity 3: Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?
Activity 4: Which role performs the activity, owns the outcome, advises, or is informed?

Blank worksheet: use activities as rows and involved roles as columns. Agree one A and at least one R for each relevant row. Add C and I only for real communication needs.

Microsoft Learn: Define roles and responsibilities