Overview
The RACI framework is a tool used for clarifying roles and responsibilities within a project or organization. The acronym RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. These four designations are used to define the level of involvement and responsibility for each person or group involved in a project.
- Responsible (R): The person or team who is supposed to “do the work” of completing the task.
- Accountable (A): The person who is ultimately in charge of the task's success. The buck stops with them when it comes to the task.
- Consulted (C): Someone who is tapped by the responsible party for guidance or advice on the task. They may provide input or feedback on the task but are not responsible for its completion.
- Informed (I): A person or team who is kept informed of the task's progress or outcome. They are not responsible for the task's completion but may need to know its status for their own work.
All tasks must have a single person who is Responsible, and a single person who is Accountable. Sometimes that is the same person. Tasks can have any number of Consulted and Informed people, or none at all.
The people involved with tasks, projects, and even organizations can be categorized using this framework. This is helpful to know who is in charge and who needs to do what.
In our Production team, here are common types of work and the typical RACI assignments for each.
This chart outlines the RACI for typical design/dev work within the Production team. Obviously, for other kinds of work, other roles would hold responsibility.