RACI matrix: example and how to implement it in a team

In many companies the problem is not a lack of skills but a lack of clarity about who is responsible for what. A task moves between departments and nobody closes it. A decision waits because everyone assumes someone else will make it. When I ran operations departments, a large share of such situations was resolved by a single table agreed with the team. That table is the RACI matrix. Below I describe how I build one, show an example for a purchasing process and point out the mistakes that most often rob it of its purpose.

RACI matrix: what it is

A RACI matrix, also called a responsibility matrix, is a table in which the rows are the activities or decisions in a process and the columns are roles. Each cell holds one of four letters or is left empty.

• R (Responsible): does the work. The role that actually carries out the task. One row can have several Rs.
• A (Accountable): answers for the result. Approves, makes the final decision and bears the consequences. Each row has exactly one A.
• C (Consulted): is consulted. Their opinion must be sought before the decision or during the work. This is two-way communication.
• I (Informed): is informed. Learns of the result but takes no part in the decision. This is one-way communication.

The most important rule is one A per row. An A can also be an R, which happens often in smaller teams: the same role performs the task and is accountable for it. In that case I write “A/R”. Two As in one row mean, in practice, that nobody is accountable for the result.

Why gaps in responsibility cost money

The cost of unclear responsibility is rarely visible as a single budget line. It is spread across small losses that are easy to overlook, because each one looks harmless on its own.

The first is tasks that fall between departments. Sales believes production confirms the delivery date, production is waiting for a signal from planning, and the customer calls with a question nobody can answer. The second is decisions that wait. An order sits for several days because it is unclear who should approve it, and the person who could do so does not know anyone is waiting for them. The third is duplicated work. Two people prepare the same report, or two departments contact the same supplier separately about the same matter.

Each of these situations means people's time, delays for the customer and a tense atmosphere. The RACI matrix does not remove them by itself, but it forces an answer to the question that is usually avoided: who exactly is responsible for this step.

When it is worth building a RACI matrix

• After mapping a process. The map shows the steps, RACI adds who is responsible for them. If you do not have a map yet, start there. I described it in the article on process mapping.
• During a reorganisation. When the structure, positions or departmental remits change, the old informal arrangements stop working.
• When implementing or tidying up an ISO system. The matrix is a convenient way of describing roles and authorities in processes.
• When launching a new process or system. It is easier to settle responsibility at the start than to untangle habits later.
• When the same disputes keep coming back. If the question “who was supposed to do this?” comes up every month, it is a sign that responsibility has not been settled.

How to build a RACI matrix step by step

1. List the activities and decisions from the process map

The rows come from the process map. Describe them with a verb: “approve the order”, “select the supplier”, “settle the invoice”. Decisions and the points where work passes from one department to another are particularly important, because that is where gaps most often arise. For one process, somewhere between a handful and a dozen or so rows is usually enough. A matrix that is too detailed stops being read.

2. List roles, not names

The columns are roles or departments: department manager, purchasing, finance, warehouse. Names change with every holiday, promotion and departure from the company, while the role stays. Assigning people to roles is a separate, short list that is easy to update.

3. Fill in the matrix

Go row by row. First settle the A, meaning who answers for the result of this step. Then the R, meaning who performs it. Finally the Cs and Is. Fill it in according to how the process is meant to work, and if current practice is different, record that difference separately. Very often that difference is the most interesting result of the whole exercise.

4. Check the rules

• Every row has exactly one A. A row without an A is a decision with no owner.
• Every row has at least one R. Without it, nobody does the work.
• A row with many Cs will be slow, because every consultation has to be arranged and waited for. Leave a C only where the opinion genuinely changes the decision.
• Look at the columns too. A role with a large number of As may be a bottleneck. A role with no R or A in a process it supposedly takes part in is probably not needed there.

RACI example: the order approval process

Below is an example for a typical indirect purchasing process, from raising a purchase request to settling the invoice. I have also added a row for an exceptional situation, a discrepancy in a delivery.

A few things in this table are worth commenting on. The request is approved by the department manager, because they answer for the budget and the needs of their team, and the warehouse is consulted so that nothing is bought that is already sitting on the shelf. The approval above the threshold is prepared by the department manager, but the decision is made by finance. In your company that may be the board or the finance director; what matters is that it is a single role. In the case of a delivery discrepancy, the warehouse describes the problem and purchasing is accountable for resolving it with the supplier. Without that row, non-conforming deliveries would hang between the warehouse and purchasing. If such situations keep recurring in your purchasing process, it is worth looking at it more broadly, for example as part of a purchasing audit.

The most common mistakes

An A for a committee or several people

“Approved by the board” or “A: manager and director” looks safe, but it blurs responsibility. If the decision is made by a committee, name one role that convenes it, presents the case and makes sure a decision is reached.

Everyone as a C

Putting a C in every column “just in case” produces a process in which every decision needs several conversations. Often an I, meaning informing people after the fact, is enough.

Names instead of roles

A matrix with names goes out of date at the first staff change and makes it harder to discuss the scope of a position, because the conversation quickly becomes personal.

No exceptions or escalation

A matrix usually describes the standard path. Yet most disputes concern complaints, urgent orders and budget overruns. Add rows for the most frequent exceptions and decide who the matter escalates to when the A is absent.

A matrix in a drawer

The most common mistake is a document prepared for an audit or a project that nobody opens afterwards. A matrix the team does not know changes nothing in everyday work.

How to implement a RACI matrix in a team

A matrix prepared by the manager alone rarely takes hold. A short workshop with representatives of every role in the columns works better. For it I prepare a list of activities from the process map and an initial proposal, and during the meeting we go through it row by row. The most value comes from the places where people disagree, because they show where the gaps or duplicated work are today.

After the workshop the agreed version is approved by the person responsible for the whole process. Then the matrix has to be published where the team actually looks: alongside the process description, in the job instructions, in the materials for new employees. It is also a good idea to link it to metrics, so that the role with the A for a given step knows its indicators. I write more about this in the article on operational KPIs.

After a month, and no later than after three, it is worth doing a review. I then check whether situations have arisen that the matrix did not anticipate, and whether in practice someone is acting differently from what was recorded. The matrix is also updated with every change to the process or the structure.

Variants: RASCI and others

The most common variant is RASCI, which adds the letter S (Support) for a role that supports the person doing the work, for example the IT department when a tool is being rolled out. There are other variants with additional letters too. In most companies basic RACI is perfectly sufficient, and every extra letter makes the table harder to read.

RACI and ISO 9001

Clause 5.3 of ISO 9001 requires top management to ensure that responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles in the organisation are assigned, communicated and understood. The standard does not require a RACI matrix or any particular format. The matrix is simply one practical way of meeting that requirement and showing the auditor that roles in the processes have been settled. There is one condition: people have to know it and work according to it, because the mere existence of a document does not prove that responsibilities have been understood.

Where to start

Choose one process in which you most often hear “I thought that was you”. Gather its steps, produce one version of the matrix for the roles involved, and discuss it with the team. It takes a few hours and usually shows straight away where tasks and decisions are getting lost.

If you want to tidy up responsibilities on a broader scale, take a look at the Operations optimisation page. A RACI matrix and basic KPIs for key processes are also part of the Operational Scan.