In one line: A simple grid that states, for every key decision or deliverable, who does the work, who owns the outcome, who must be asked and who must be told. It speeds decisions and reduces conflict.
Core idea
Cross-functional work stalls when people disagree about who decides. A RACI chart lists tasks or decisions down one side and people or roles across the top, and fills each cell with a letter:
| Letter | Role | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| R | Responsible | does the work |
| A | Accountable | owns the result and makes the final call; exactly one per row |
| C | Consulted | gives input before the decision (two-way) |
| I | Informed | told after the decision (one-way) |
RASIC adds an S for Supports: people who supply resources or help without owning the work.
How it works
- List the decisions and deliverables that cause friction, not every task.
- List the roles, using roles rather than names where possible.
- Fill in the letters and then check the rows:
- exactly one A per row
- at least one R
- not so many Cs that every decision becomes a committee
- Check the columns: someone with no letters may be redundant; someone with As everywhere is a bottleneck.
- Agree on it openly, and revisit it when the team or the phase changes.
In practice
The biggest payoff is in matrix organizations and in multi-company programs, where the same decision can look like it belongs to engineering, the program office or the customer. Filling in a RACI together forces the conversation that would otherwise happen during a crisis. It also makes Accountability concrete: when only one person holds the A, there is no ambiguity about who owns the next move.
Questions to ask yourself
- Which recurring decision on my program has more than one person who thinks they’re accountable?
- Where am I consulted on everything and decisive on nothing?
- Who is being surprised by decisions they should have been informed about?
Connections
- Context: Product Development Organizations. Companion tool: Obeya.
- Makes possible: Accountability and the clear roles of High-Performing Teams.
- Capabilities exercised: Decision Making, Communicating and Advocacy, Responsibility and Urgency to Deliver.
Sources
- Course module on Obeya and RASIC, plus a course handout on RACI charting; no public source.