What RACI is and why it helps
RACI is a simple governance tool that clarifies who does the work, who owns the outcome, who is asked for input, and who is kept in the loop. The acronym stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. By mapping these four roles to each deliverable or decision, teams reduce ambiguity, speed up approvals, and avoid rework. Use RACI whenever multiple functions touch the same initiative, when decisions are stalling, or when you are scaling a project from a small team to a cross-functional effort.
Step 1: Define the work and the outcome
Accountable sets the goal and success criteria for the initiative and signs off on the scope. Responsible drafts the initial list of deliverables and success metrics. Consulted contributes context from adjacent domains to ensure the scope is realistic and complete. Informed is notified about the agreed scope and understands what will be delivered and what will not.
Step 2: Identify the stakeholders
Accountable approves the list of stakeholders who must be represented. Responsible maps actual people to roles and ensures coverage across functions. Consulted validates the stakeholder list and flags any gaps or overlaps that could slow decisions. Informed receives the final roster so they know whom to contact for each topic.
Step 3: Break the work into manageable tasks
Accountable confirms that the work breakdown aligns with the outcome and timeline. Responsible decomposes deliverables into tasks with clear start and finish conditions. Consulted reviews the breakdown for technical, legal, financial, or operational dependencies. Informed is briefed on the plan at a level appropriate to their interest and influence.
Step 4: Assign one clear owner per deliverable
Accountable is singular for each deliverable and ultimately owns the result, the trade-offs, and the final approval. Responsible proposes the ownership model and highlights any deliverables that still lack an owner. Consulted weighs in on whether the chosen owner has the right authority and bandwidth. Informed learns who the owner is so escalations and questions flow to the right person.
Step 5: Designate who does the work
Accountable confirms the assignment of doers and removes conflicts or resourcing constraints. Responsible accepts the execution role, plans the work, and commits to dates. Consulted provides expert guidance that shapes how the work is performed without taking on delivery. Informed is told who is executing so expectations and communications remain consistent.
Step 6: Define decision rights and collaboration channels
Accountable sets the decision rule for each milestone, including what requires approval and what can proceed on Responsible’s authority. Responsible establishes working cadences, artifacts, and tools so collaboration is smooth. Consulted agrees on how and when to provide input, with clear deadlines that keep decisions moving. Informed receives a communication plan that states what updates they will get and through which channels.
Step 7: Establish how status and changes are communicated
Accountable decides which metrics and exceptions must be reported and when escalation is required. Responsible prepares status updates and change requests that tie back to scope, timeline, and impact. Consulted reviews significant changes that affect their domain and provides a recommendation. Informed receives succinct updates that show progress and decisions without inviting unnecessary re-litigation.
Step 8: Pilot the RACI and resolve overlaps
Accountable convenes a short review using real tasks to test the matrix and make final calls where responsibilities overlap. Responsible walks through upcoming milestones to surface conflicts early. Consulted challenges ambiguous assignments and proposes clarifications rooted in process reality. Informed is notified of the final RACI so everyone operates from the same page.
Step 9: Run the project using RACI day to day
Accountable clears bottlenecks quickly and upholds the decision rules when pressure mounts. Responsible executes the plan, seeks timely input from Consulted, and keeps Informed apprised without slowing delivery. Consulted provides focused, time-boxed feedback aligned to the agreed cadence. Informed stays engaged at the planned touchpoints and refrains from introducing new work through back channels.
Step 10: Review outcomes and improve the model
Accountable initiates a retrospective to assess whether roles, decisions, and communications supported the outcome. Responsible compiles evidence on cycle time, rework, and decision latency. Consulted reflects on where advice arrived too late or too broad and suggests sharper triggers for involvement. Informed shares whether updates were clear and useful and whether the frequency matched their needs.
Practical rules that keep RACI effective
Accountable is one person per deliverable to avoid split decisions. Responsible can be one or many depending on the work size, but each task has a named lead. Consulted is purposeful and time-bounded so input improves quality without derailing schedules. Informed is concise and rhythmic so stakeholders remain aligned without meeting fatigue. If priorities or people change, update the RACI immediately and republish it so the model remains a living source of truth.
A quick example
For a new pricing page launch, Accountable is the product lead who owns the outcome and final go-live decision. Responsible includes the designer and engineer who build the page and the analyst who implements tracking. Consulted covers legal for claims review and finance for margin impact. Informed includes sales, support, and leadership who receive progress updates and the go-live announcement. With these roles clear from the start, approvals happen on time, quality improves through targeted input, and the release avoids last-minute surprises.