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Glossary
Roles & process

What is RACI Matrix?

A RACI Matrix is a visual chart used in project management to map out the roles and responsibilities for every task, milestone, or decision in a project. It uses four categories—Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed—to ensure there is no confusion about who is performing the work and who holds final authority for the outcome.

When to use it

Teams should use a RACI Matrix when projects involve multiple stakeholders, cross-functional dependencies, or complex decision-making processes. It solves the problem of overlapping duties or tasks 'falling through the cracks' by clearly assigning a single point of accountability for every deliverable, reducing communication bottlenecks and role ambiguity.

Example

A SaaS team prioritizing 4 features for Q3 uses a RACI Matrix to align their launch plan. In this scenario, the Lead Engineer is 'Responsible' for the actual development, while the Product Manager is the only one 'Accountable' for the feature's success and final sign-off. The Marketing Lead is 'Consulted' to ensure the messaging is correct, and the Customer Success team is 'Informed' via the public roadmap once the feature reaches the beta stage. This prevents the engineering team from being overwhelmed by conflicting requests while keeping all departments updated.

How Planet Roadmap helps with RACI Matrix

Planet Roadmap has a Table view with custom fields that lets you explicitly assign RACI roles to every task, ensuring clear ownership and stakeholder visibility across your entire product roadmap.

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FAQ

Can more than one person be Accountable for a single task?
No, there should only be one 'Accountable' person per task to ensure clear ownership and avoid decision-making deadlocks. While multiple people can be 'Responsible' for executing the work, a single individual must be the one who ultimately signs off on the result.
What is the difference between Responsible and Accountable?
The person 'Responsible' is the 'doer' who performs the actual work to complete the task. The person 'Accountable' is the 'owner' who has the final authority over the task's completion and must ensure the 'Responsible' parties meet the project's requirements.

Related terms

ScrumKanbanMilestoneProduct Requirements Document (PRD)Work Breakdown StructureProduct ManagerProduct OwnerTechnical Program Manager

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