RACI Responsibility & Stakeholder Matrix Markdown Table Template
A RACI matrix settles who does what on a project before anyone has to argue about it. Each row is an activity or decision, each column is a role, and each cell holds one or more letters: Responsible (does the work), Accountable (owns the outcome and signs off), Consulted (gives input before the work is done), and Informed (is told afterwards). It is written at project kickoff and reread whenever a handoff goes wrong.
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Edit cells, add rows, or sort — the Markdown updates livePaste cells from Excel or Google Sheets into the first header to replace the table · Tab / Enter / arrows move · Shift+F10 opens row & column actions
When to Use This Table
The rule that gives the chart its value is that every activity has exactly one A. Two Accountables means nobody is, because each will assume the other is making the call. Every row also needs at least one R; the Accountable person can be the one doing the work, written A/R, which is common on small teams. The difference between C and I matters as well: Consulted is two-way and happens before the decision, Informed is one-way and happens after it.
A good RACI uses roles rather than names in the columns so it survives people changing jobs, keeps rows at the level of decisions and deliverables rather than every task, and gets checked for patterns. A column full of Rs is a bottleneck; a column full of Cs is a person who will slow everything down; a row with no R is work that will not happen. Reading the grid both ways is how you find those problems before they show up in a retrospective.
What Goes in Each Column
| Column | Alignment | What to put here |
|---|---|---|
| Project Milestone / Activity | left :--- | A decision or deliverable, starting with a verb (“Approve release”, “Define scope”). Left-aligned. Keep rows at a level where accountability actually changes hands — splitting a single owner’s work into ten rows adds noise without clarifying anything. |
| Product Owner | center :---: | Typically Accountable for scope, priorities, and acceptance, and Consulted or Informed on technical execution. Centered letters. Bold the A as the template does (see text formatting) so the single Accountable in each row stands out on a quick scan. |
| Tech Lead | center :---: | Usually Accountable for architecture and technical decisions and Consulted on most other rows. Centered. If this column has a C in nearly every row, consider whether all those consultations are needed or whether an I would do. |
| Frontend Eng | center :---: | A delivery role, so expect R on implementation rows. Centered. Use one column per role rather than per person; if two engineers share the work, both are covered by the same R and the Tech Lead or role owner stays Accountable. |
| QA Lead | center :---: | Responsible for test execution and often Accountable for the quality gate. Centered. QA should normally be Consulted, not merely Informed, on scope and architecture rows, since testability is cheapest to fix early. |
| DevOps Lead | center :---: | Responsible for deployment and infrastructure activities. Centered. Check rows like security assessments carefully: if a security owner exists, they should be Accountable, with DevOps Responsible for remediation. |
How to Fill It In
- 1List the activities from the project plan or charter, phrased as decisions and deliverables. Ten to twenty rows covers most projects; more usually means the rows are too granular.
- 2List roles as columns, including stakeholders outside the team (legal, security, support) who must be consulted or informed on some rows.
- 3Fill in the A for every row first, then the Rs, then Cs and Is. Resolve any row where two people both believe they are Accountable before going further.
- 4Validate: exactly one A per row, at least one R per row, no column overloaded with Rs, and no role left without a single letter (which suggests it does not belong).
- 5Put a legend directly above or below the table, review it with every role named, and store it in the project charter. Revisit it when roles or people change.
Ready-to-Paste Variations
RASCI with a Support role
Adds S for people who help the Responsible party do the work without owning it. Useful when shared services such as design or data teams contribute effort.
| Activity | Product Owner | Tech Lead | Design | Frontend Eng | QA Lead |
| :--- | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: |
| Define scope | **A/R** | C | C | I | C |
| Design UI components | C | C | **A/R** | S | I |
| Implement UI | I | **A** | S | R | C |
| Run regression tests | I | C | — | S | **A/R** |DACI for decisions
A decision-focused alternative: Driver runs the process, Approver makes the call, Contributors give input, Informed hear the result. Fits architecture and vendor decisions better than ongoing work.
| Decision | Driver | Approver | Contributors | Informed |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Choose parser architecture | Tech Lead | Head of Engineering | Frontend Eng, QA Lead | Product Owner |
| Select hosting provider | DevOps Lead | CTO | Security, Finance | Whole team |
| Set launch date | Product Owner | VP Product | Tech Lead, Support | Sales, Marketing |Common Mistakes
Two or more Accountables on one row.
Pick one. If the activity really has two owners, split it into two rows (for example “Approve UI design” and “Approve API contract”) with one A each.
A row with an A but no R, and nobody notices.
If the Accountable person also does the work, write
A/Rexplicitly. Otherwise assign an R. A bare A leaves readers unsure whether anyone is actually doing the task.Making everyone Consulted “to be safe”.
Each C is a person whose input must be gathered before progress, so a row with five Cs moves slowly. Downgrade to I wherever a person only needs to know the outcome.
Putting individual names in the columns.
Use roles, and keep a separate short table mapping roles to current people. The RACI then stays valid when someone changes team or leaves.
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RACI Responsibility & Stakeholder Matrix: Frequently Asked Questions
Can the same person be Responsible and Accountable?
Yes. It is written A/R and is normal when the owner also does the work, especially on small teams. What you cannot have is more than one Accountable on the same activity.
What is the difference between Consulted and Informed?
Consulted people are asked for input before or during the work, in a two-way conversation, and their input can change the outcome. Informed people are notified of progress or decisions afterwards, one-way, and are not expected to respond.
Should every cell have a letter?
No. An empty cell or a dash means the role has no involvement in that activity, which is useful information. Filling every cell with I to look complete just adds notification noise for people who do not need it.
When is DACI or RASCI better than RACI?
Use DACI when the rows are decisions rather than ongoing work, since it names a driver separately from the approver. Use RASCI when supporting teams contribute effort without owning the result and you want that recognised.