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Last edited 25 Aug 2020

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RACI matrix

1 Introduction
2 Assigning roles
3 Clarifying assignments
4 Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
5 External references

[edit] Introduction

A RACI matrix is a form of form of responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) that can be used to help systematically manage a process or project. RACI is an acronym that stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed.

[edit] Assigning roles

These designations can be given to individuals involved in a process:

Responsible: The person in charge of the process.
Accountable: The person the responsible person reports to and who must sign off on decisions. NB: Occasionally A is taken to mean 'Assists', that is, someone who assists the responsible person.
Consulted: People who will be involved in discussions about the process.
Informed: People who will need to be told about the process.

There can only be one responsible person and one accountable person, but there may be several people who are consulted or informed.

[edit] Clarifying assignments

The correct assignment for individuals can be recorded in the form of a RACI matrix, which gives clarity about the involvement of individuals and helps avoid confusion, duplication, wasted effort and omissions. A RACI matrix can provide more specific information about roles and responsibilities than might be possible with a simple tick-box responsibilities matrix.

This can be particularly useful on design and construction projects where there are a great number of different tasks to be performed by a large number of individuals and organisations who may never have worked together before. Knowing who is responsible for each task, who needs to be consulted and who needs to be informed can be complex, but this is essential to the successful running of the project.

For example, in defining project team roles for the production of Building Information Modelling (BIM) information, PAS 1192-2 suggests that RACI indicators might be used to define project delivery team roles, responsibilities and authority for information delivery post contract-award.

A RACI matrix might form part of a BIM execution plan or a Project Execution Plan (PEP) which sets out the strategy for managing a project. It describes who does what and how, defining the policies, procedures and priorities that will be adopted. RACI indicators are also commonly used in project management software.

NB: Other versions of RACI include:

RACI supplemented with the letter S to form RASCI (or sometimes RACIS), where S is for 'Support' referring to someone motivating and supporting the team.
The addition of the letter O in the form CAIRO, where O is 'Out of the loop', referring to someone who is not part of the process.
CAIROS, where the 'Support' role is added to CAIRO.
RACI-VS, where V is a 'Verifier', verifying the outcome against requirements, and S is the 'Signatory' signing off on the verifiers decision.
DACI, where D is the 'Driver'.