Knowledge Base · Tools & Terms
What is a RACI chart, and when do I use one?
A RACI chart spells out, for each task or decision, who is Responsible for doing it, who is Accountable for it, who gets Consulted, and who gets Informed. Use one whenever work involves several people and progress keeps stalling because nobody is sure whose call it is, or because everyone assumed someone else was acting.
The four letters describe four different relationships to the same piece of work. Responsible is the person who does the work. Accountable is the person who owns the outcome and answers for it. Consulted covers the people whose input is needed before the work is done. Informed covers the people who need to hear the result afterwards. Most confusion comes from treating those as the same thing: a room full of Responsible people with nobody Accountable is how actions quietly die between meetings.
Build one at the point where a plan turns into actions. List the actions or decisions down one side, the people across the top, and fill in the letters. The exercise earns its keep in the conversations it forces: if two people both believe they are Accountable, settle it now rather than at the deadline; if a step has nobody Responsible, it is not yet a real action.
In ClarionEX, RACI Lite exists to clarify who is responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed so execution does not stall in ambiguity. Its practice prompt is deliberately small: select one action item and define R, A, C, and I before assigning it. Clear roles reduce rework, because the work is checked by the right people at the right time instead of being redone at the end.
Open RACI Lite in ClarionEX (free in Lite)
Related questions
- How do I involve frontline staff in solving problems?
- How do I empower employees to improve their own work?
- What is the leader's role in continuous improvement?
Source: ADX site content: ClarionEX tool guidance (RACI Lite).