What is a RACI Chart? How To Guide, Template, & Examples
When several people are involved in a project, it's not always obvious who's doing the work, who approves it, and who just needs an update. That's how tasks get missed and decisions stall.
A RACI chart makes those responsibilities explicit. Here's how to create one, when it's worth using, and how to avoid common mistakes. I've also included a practical example and a downloadable template to get you started.
What Is A RACI Chart?
A RACI chart is a project management tool that maps who's responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for each task or deliverable. Also called a responsibility assignment matrix, it helps teams clarify ownership, approval authority, and communication expectations before work begins.
Continue Reading for Free
Create a free account to finish this article, plus get ongoing access to timely insights and practical resources.
Have an account? Log In
You can create one during project planning and refer back to it throughout delivery. Keeping it in your project management software gives everyone a shared reference when responsibilities change.
RACI Matrix Template & Sample
I’ve developed a RACI matrix template for you to download. You’ll also find a sample, checklist, and a cheat sheet. The template automatically populates the colors based on your entries. Feel free to adjust the colors to your liking!
This template is available through DPM membership. Become a member and get access to the RACI chart template, as well as 100+ other templates, samples, and examples for project documentation.
What Does RACI Stand For?
RACI identifies four types of involvement in a project:
- R = Responsible (doing the work): The person completing a task or deliverable. A task can have multiple responsible contributors, although ownership should be clear.
- A = Accountable (owning the outcome): The person ultimately answerable for the task's completion and approval. Assign one accountable person per task to avoid conflicting decisions.
- C = Consulted (providing input): The people whose expertise or feedback is needed before or during the work. Communication goes both ways.
- I = Informed (receiving updates): The people who need to know about progress, decisions, or outcomes but aren't expected to contribute directly. Communication is generally one-way.
The distinction that causes the most confusion is responsible vs. accountable. Responsible means doing the work. Accountable means making sure the work gets done and meets expectations. One person can hold both roles.
Watch more coverage of RACI charts here!
When To Use A RACI Chart
Not every project needs a RACI chart. For a small team with obvious responsibilities, it can create more administration than value. It's most useful when multiple people or departments contribute to the same work. You can refer back to the RACI framework throughout the life cycle of a project, since the RACI tells you when to involve the right people at the right time.
Consider using one for:
- Complex projects with multiple stakeholders: Clarify who approves deliverables, provides input, and receives updates before decisions become bottlenecks.
- Projects with unclear ownership: Identify gaps, overlapping responsibilities, and tasks that everyone assumes someone else is handling.
- Cross-functional or highly structured projects: Coordinate responsibilities across departments, vendors, or teams, especially when work passes through multiple approval stages.
If your team already knows who owns each decision and deliverable, you probably don't need another chart.
RACI Chart Example: Real Life Case Study
Here's an example RACI chart I created for a project involving the set up of a loyalty program for a fashion brand.
This RACI chart comes from a loyalty program project I managed for a fashion brand. With several client-side stakeholders involved, creating the chart exposed three issues worth addressing:
- Too many stakeholders: I focused the chart on client-side responsibilities and grouped the smaller agency team into one role.
- Unclear stakeholder groups: I separated core senior stakeholders from the wider leadership group rather than listing everyone individually.
- Concentrated accountability: Too many tasks initially depended on the client-side product owner, so we discussed distributing accountability across the appropriate roles.
The exercise helped us agree on responsibilities before those overlaps became delivery problems.
Pros and Cons of RACI Charts
Pros and Cons of RACI Charts
A RACI chart can make project responsibilities clearer, but it won't fix poor communication or unclear decision-making on its own. Here's where it helps and where it can create additional work.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Clearer ownership: Identifies who's doing the work and who's accountable for the outcome. | Additional administration: Creating and maintaining the chart takes time, particularly when responsibilities change frequently. |
| Faster decisions: Makes approval responsibilities explicit, reducing unnecessary back-and-forth. | Rigid role assignments: Responsibilities can become outdated as projects evolve. |
| More focused communication: Distinguishes people who need to provide input from those who only need updates. | Stakeholder friction: People may disagree with their assignments or feel excluded from decisions. |
| Better workload visibility: Highlights when too many tasks depend on one person or team. | False sense of clarity: A completed chart doesn't guarantee that people understand or accept their responsibilities. |
Common RACI Pitfalls And How To Avoid Them
Even a well-designed RACI chart can create problems if assignments are unclear or the team doesn't agree on them. Watch for these common mistakes:
- Making the project manager responsible for everything: Assign work to the people actually completing it, whether that's designers, developers, or department leads. The project manager shouldn't automatically own every deliverable.
- Confusing responsible with accountable: Check that every task has someone assigned to complete the work and one person accountable for its outcome. These can be the same person, but they don't have to be.
- Creating tension between consulted and informed stakeholders: Explain why some people provide input while others only receive updates. Being informed isn't a lesser role. It simply means their feedback isn't required for that particular decision.
Review these assignments with the team before finalizing the chart. Good stakeholder management starts with setting clear expectations. A short conversation now can prevent disagreements over ownership later.
How To Create A RACI Chart In 6 Steps
In the graphic below, I’ve summed up the six steps to make a RACI chart:
Let's walk through the six steps using a familiar example: the Fellowship's mission to get the One Ring to Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings.
The idea comes from a talk Meghan McInerny gave at Digital PM Summit 2017. It makes a useful example of how responsibilities can be divided across a team.
Step 1: Identify Project Roles
Start by listing everyone involved in the project across the top of your chart. You can use job titles or individual names, depending on how your team works.
- Use roles when responsibilities should stay consistent despite staffing changes or when one person holds multiple positions.
- Use names when individual ownership matters or several people share the same job title.
Choose whichever approach makes responsibilities easiest to understand, and use it consistently.
Step 2: Identify Project Tasks Or Deliverables
List the project's main tasks or deliverables down the left-hand column. Use your project plan or deliverables list as a starting point.
Keep the level of detail manageable. A RACI chart should clarify ownership, not become a second task tracker. Focus on work that requires coordination, decisions, or approvals.
Step 3: Assign The RACI To Each Role And Task
For each task, assign the responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed roles. Every task should have at least one responsible person and exactly one accountable owner. Add consulted and informed stakeholders only where needed.
In our example, Frodo is responsible for carrying the Ring to Mount Doom. Gandalf provides guidance, while Sam actively supports Frodo's work. This distinction also shows where an extended model such as RASCI, which includes a supporting role, can be useful.
Step 4: Agree on This With Your Team
Review the assignments with the people doing the work. Check whether responsibilities are realistic, whether anyone has too much on their plate, and whether any tasks lack clear ownership.
Make adjustments before sharing the chart more widely.
Step 5: Agree on This With The Core Project Stakeholders
Share the draft with key stakeholders to confirm approval authority, decision-making responsibilities, and communication expectations.
Keep the review focused on resolving gaps or disagreements rather than inviting everyone to redesign the chart.
Step 6: Make It Useful Throughout The Life Of The Project
A RACI chart only helps if people actually use it. Don't let it disappear into a project folder after kickoff.
- Reference it during delivery: Check assignments when starting work, requesting approvals, or resolving ownership questions.
- Update it when responsibilities change: Revisit the chart after staffing changes, scope adjustments, or shifts in decision-making authority.
- Keep it accessible: Store it in a shared location, such as Confluence, Google Docs, or your team's project management software. If you're using Excel, make sure everyone can access the current version.
- Review it at project close: Identify where ownership worked, where approvals stalled, and whether too many people were involved.
Treat the chart as a living project document, not a one-time planning exercise.
Listen to this as a podcast
Suze gives her hot take on how to stop pointing fingers and just get on with it.
RACI Chart Best Practices
Before putting your RACI chart to work, check these five things:
- Use it where it adds value. Simple projects with clearly defined responsibilities may not need a formal matrix.
- Define roles before assigning them. Make sure everyone understands the difference between responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed.
- Assign one accountable owner per task. Multiple accountable parties can slow approvals and leave decisions unresolved.
- Be selective about who needs updates. Not every stakeholder needs to appear in every row. Use your stakeholder management plan for broader communications.
- Build it with your team. Draft the chart yourself if that's easier, but get input from the people responsible for doing and approving the work.
The goal isn't to fill every cell. It's to make responsibilities clear enough that work can move forward without unnecessary questions or approvals.
What Are The Alternatives To A RACI?
RACI isn't the only way to clarify roles and decision-making responsibilities. Several variations adjust the terminology or introduce additional roles to suit different teams.
- RASCI (Responsible, Accountable, Supportive, Consulted, Informed): Adds a supportive role for people who actively help complete a task. Useful when work involves several contributors.
- CARS (Communicate, Approve, Responsible, Support): Focuses on communication, approval, execution, and support rather than distinguishing between consulted and informed stakeholders.
- RAS (Responsible, Approve, Support): A simplified model with three roles. Useful when a team needs fewer distinctions, although it may not capture every accountability requirement.
- DACI (Driver, Approver, Contributor, Informed): Focuses more directly on decision-making, identifying who drives a decision, who approves it, and who provides input.
- CLAM (Contributes, Leads, Approves, Monitors): Uses action-oriented roles to distinguish participation, leadership, approval, and oversight.
The best choice depends on what you're trying to clarify. Use RACI for task ownership and accountability, DACI for decision-making, or RASCI when supporting contributors need explicit recognition.
You can also explore RACI 2.0 for another variation on the framework.
What's Next?
For more help managing projects and leading teams, take our Mastering Digital Project Management course. It covers the entire project life cycle from initiation to closure, and also covers a wide range of project methodologies that help achieve project success.
