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Mobius
Intermediate

What is RACI

Full name: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed

Also known as: RACI matrix, RACI chart

Definition

RACI is a table showing, for each task, who does the work (Responsible), who owns the result (Accountable), who is asked (Consulted) and who is told (Informed).

Why it matters

When a task has two owners it has none: each one waits for the other to decide, or both decide differently.

Common mistakes

Putting two A's on one task, so both people decide or neither does.

Related terms

Worked exampleIllustration

The clinic launches a new price list

Columns

Owner, office manager, bookkeeper, staff.

Letters

R does the work. A owns the result. C is asked before. I is told after.

Check

Each row has exactly one A and at least one R.

Steps

  1. Collect supplier costs. R: the bookkeeper. A: the owner. I: the office manager.

  2. Set the new prices. R: the office manager. A: the owner. C: the bookkeeper. I: the staff.

  3. Update the website and the printed list. R and A: the office manager. I: the staff.

  4. Brief the staff. R: the office manager. A: the owner. I: the staff.

  5. Tell existing patients. R: the staff. A: the office manager. C: the owner.

The owner is A on the decisions and R on nothing, and that is the point.

Illustration

Tap a letter, check the row

Tap a letter, check the row
OwnerOffice managerBookkeeperStaffCheck
Supplier costs
✓
New prices
✓
Website and printed list
✓
Staff briefing
✓
Tell patients
✓

Every row passes: one A and at least one R. The owner holds the A on the decisions and does none of the tasks.

R, Responsible: does the work. A, Accountable: owns the result. C, Consulted: asked before. I, Informed: told after. R/A: one person does both.

The clinic's price list as a table. Tap a cell to change its letter. Every row needs exactly one A, the person who owns the result, and at least one R, the person who does the work.

Definition

RACI is a kind of responsibility assignment matrix, the wider family of tables the PMBOK Guide describes for linking project work to people. The tasks or decisions go in the rows, the people or roles in the columns, and each cell holds a letter. R, Responsible, does the work. A, Accountable, answers for the result and signs it off. C, Consulted, is asked before the work is done, in a two way conversation. I, Informed, is told after. The rule that makes the table useful is standard practice: every task has exactly one A and at least one R. The common misread is to think the A does the work. Often the A does none of it and owns only the outcome.

Why it matters

A RACI table settles who answers for each result before the work starts, so decisions do not wait and nobody learns too late that a change was made without them. For a small business owner it also shows the load: a column with an A on every row belongs to an owner who has not delegated, and a row with no R is a task nobody will do.

Directly related: Project, Scope, Dependency.

Improvement tips

  • Put decisions in the rows, not only tasks, such as approving the new prices, because that is where two A's usually hide.
  • Keep the C and I lists short: every C is a conversation that can slow a decision.
  • Walk through the table with everyone named in it, so each person agrees to their letters.
  • Read down each column: a person with an A on every row has not delegated, and a person with an R on every row is overloaded.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming the A does the work, when the A often only owns the result and signs it off.
  • Leaving a row with no R, so the task has an owner and nobody who does it.
  • Filling in the table once and never showing it to the team again.

Related terms

Project ManagementBeginner

Project

A project is temporary work with a start and a finish that creates one unique result, such as a new website, within limits of scope, time and cost.

Project ManagementBeginner

Scope

Scope is all the work a project will deliver, and by agreement everything it will not. Written down, it shows when a request is extra work.

Project ManagementIntermediate

Dependency

A task dependency in project management is a link where one task cannot start or finish until another does. It sets the order of work and carries delays.

Quick check

In a RACI table, one row has an A for the owner, an A for the office manager and no R. What needs fixing?

Choose an answer

Frequently asked questions

Do I need RACI when starting a new business?
Not as a formal chart while you work alone. The idea helps as soon as a partner or the first employee joins: decide together who owns which result and who only does the work.
When does a new business need to start using a RACI table?
When the first employee or partner joins, or when a task needs more than two people. Settling the letters early prevents arguments later about who decided what.
How do I set up my first RACI table for a small team?
Put the tasks in the rows and the people in the columns. Give each row one A and at least one R, then add a C for anyone who must be asked and an I for anyone who must be told.
Can RACI help co-founders avoid arguments about who decides?
Yes. Writing down which co-founder is A on which kind of decision, before the first disagreement, turns a power struggle into a rule you both agreed to.
Why does RACI matter for a business already running?
If tasks fall through the cracks, decisions wait or people hear about changes too late, a RACI table shows where: a row without an R, a row with two A's, a missing I.
What goes wrong when a business runs without clear roles?
Tasks are dropped because everyone assumes someone else has them, or two managers decide the same thing in two different ways. Both waste time and wear the team down.
How do I use RACI without creating bureaucracy?
Use it only for the few projects or decisions where roles are unclear, on one page. Start with the A letters alone, and add the others where they are needed.
What if two managers both want to be Accountable?
Only one can be. Pick the one whose job the result belongs to, and mark the other as C, so they are asked before the decision.
What does RACI stand for in simple terms?
Responsible, the person who does the work. Accountable, the person who answers for the result and signs it off. Consulted, someone asked before. Informed, someone told after.
Is a RACI table complicated or risky to use?
No. It is a grid of letters. The only real risk is filling it in and never looking at it again.
Do I need to be a project management expert to use RACI?
No. A list of tasks with the team's names across the top and a letter in each cell is all it takes.
What is the most important rule of RACI?
Every task has exactly one A. With two, the answer for the result is split, and with none, nobody owns it.

Sources: PMI, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)

Last reviewed: 2026-09-24

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