RACI Matrix for Project Management - Description and Example - Four Roles and How to Create One

Oct 12, 2026

RACI Matrix for Project Management explains how to interpret and apply a responsibility assignment chart that assigns four stakeholder roles—Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed—to each task, milestone, or key decision. The document clarifies how accountability is single-point sign-off, how consulted and informed stakeholders participate differently, and how to build an effective matrix by listing stakeholders and tasks, confirming roles, resolving ambiguities, and saving it with project documents. It also provides an NCHC QI project example with role-based assignments and guidance on spreadsheet formatting and cell color coding.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

What is the RACI Matrix?

The Four Roles

Responsible

Accountable

Consulted

Informed

Creating a RACI Matrix

RACI Matrix Example

RACI Matrix for Project Management Description and Example Overview The objective of this document is to provide a clear and concise description of how to understand and use the RACI matrix for project management. This document is intended for use by students, residents, or employees conducting a research or QI project at NCHC . What is the RACI Matrix? The RACI matrix is a responsibility assignment chart that maps out every task, milestone, or key decision involved in completing a project and assigns individuals to their respective duties, whereby the acronym RACI stands for the four roles that stakeholders might play in any project. The RACI matrix brings structure to describing the roles that stakeholders play within a project, and it clarifies responsibilities and ensures that everything the project needs done is assigned an individual to do it. The Four Roles ❖ Responsible: The people who do the work. These are the individuals who must complete the task or objective or make the decision. Ensure that there is neither too much work assigned to one individual nor too many individuals responsible for one task. ❖ Accountable: The person who is the point of contact for the work completed. This individual must sign off or approve when the task, objective, or decision is complete. This individual also must make sure that responsibilities are assigned in the matrix for all related activities. This is not to say that the individual responsible is not also accountable for their work, but simply indicates that someone other than the responsible party is signing off or recognizing the task has been completed. There should only be one person accountable for each task or decision delineated, but it is possible to have the same individual listed as both responsible and accountable. ❖ Consulted: The people who be communicated with regarding decisions and tasks. These individuals are active participants and are kept in the loop of all tasks and decisions. ❖ Informed: The people who will be updated on progress and decisions. These individuals need updates on progress or decisions, but do not need to be formally consulted, nor do they contribute directly to the task or decision. Creating a RACI Matrix Although this document provides an example of a RACI matrix for a QI project that might be conducted at NCHC, the first steps for developing this matrix for communication and project management is to list both the stakeholders involved in the project and the major tasks, milestones, or decisions that will be made throughout the course of the project. From that point, you can begin to assign one of the four roles to each individual and for each task. To ensure that the RACI matrix is effective and contributes to the success of the project, confirm with each stakeholder their role in the project, including resolving any disagreements or ambiguities, and save the matrix with other important project documents. RACI Matrix Example The following is an example of a RACI matrix used for a QI project conducted at NCHC. For future purposes, it is best to use a spreadsheet format, such as Excel, for clarity and ease of formatting. | Task/Decision | Principal
Investigator | Research
Coordinator | Research
Committee | Department
Director | Data
Collectors | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Submission of Project Application | R | A | C | C | I | | Review and
Approval of
Application | I | A | R | C | I | | Development of Protocol | C | R | I | A | I | | Distribution
of Materials and Measures | C | A | I | R | C | | Data
Collection | A | C | I | C | R | | Data Analysis | R | A | I | C | I | | Evaluation of Revised Workflow | C | R | R | A | I | *Color coating the cells by role will help easily identify who needs to do what and when. Revised: 05/20/2020

FAQs

What does the RACI matrix help teams clarify in a project?

It structures how stakeholders’ roles relate to each task, milestone, or key decision, clarifying responsibilities and ensuring every needed activity is assigned to someone.

What is the difference between Responsible and Accountable roles?

Responsible performs the work and completes tasks, while Accountable is the single point of contact who signs off or approves when the task, objective, or decision is complete.

How do you create an effective RACI matrix?

List stakeholders and the major tasks/milestones/decisions, assign one of the four roles to each stakeholder for each task, confirm each stakeholder’s role, resolve disagreements or ambiguities, and store the matrix with other project documents.

Oct 12, 2026

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