How to Use RACI in Process Mapping

by Anna Roebuck

In the quest for streamlined operations, organisations often face confusion over who is responsible for what. This lack of clarity can lead to delays, duplicated efforts, and frustration. This is where the RACI model comes in. It’s a simple, yet powerful framework designed to bring clarity and accountability to any project or process. By defining roles and responsibilities, RACI helps teams work more efficiently and collaboratively.

Are you unsure what RACI is? You may have heard the acronym, but if you’re not sure, read our guide to the RACI responsibility matrix and what it should be used for, especially for business process mapping.

In Netcall’s guide to process mapping, you’ll learn about:

1. What is RACI?
2. When do we use RACI?
3. Benefits of using RACI
4. Benefits of combining RACI with process mapping
5. The drawbacks of RACI
6. Our alternative recommendation: RATSI
7. How our Liberty Spark & RACI capture your process

While RACI is a foundational tool, it’s worth noting that alternative matrices like RATSI may offer greater clarity for some teams. You can learn more about what RATSI is in our dedicated blog posts. Or simply let us show you how RATSI helps your business better.

What is RACI?

RACI is an abbreviation of a style of matrix used to define who is responsible for what in an organisation. To define RACI clearly, the letters R, A, C, and I stand for:

1. Responsible – The person responsible for doing the work – they must complete the work or task
2. Accountable – This person is ultimately responsible for making sure the work is delivered but won’t be involved in the actual task itself
3. Consulted – A person that needs to be spoken to and potentially provides information regarding the work you are doing. They are not required to deliver the work
4. Informed – A person who needs to know about and keep up to date with the work. They will be affected by the result of the work achieved.

RACI allows people to attribute steps of a process (for example) to a certain job role. More than that, though, it also allows you to define exactly what that job role participation should be.

What is RACI used for?

The RACI matrix is a versatile tool used in various business scenarios to bring order and clarity. Some of the most common applications include:

1. Change management programmes – Before implementing any change you need to understand who is responsible for what and who will be affected by your initiatives. This is especially relevant if those who are responsible or accountable will be changing roles.
2. Re-organisations or restructures – Use RACI to comprehend the processes in your organisation and the people touched by them. To understand the roles required for the future to inform training and recruitment.
3. Project management – Assigning responsibilities for key steps in the project plan.
4. Audit and compliance – Provides clarity of roles and responsibilities – this is important to demonstrate compliance. A company with a clear RACI matrix will be able to ensure the right roles are performing the work in line with regulations.

An example of a process step populated with RACI information in our Liberty Spark – business process mapping solution

Let’s start at the beginning:

Benefits of using RACI

Using the RACI model effectively provides significant benefits that enhance team efficiency and communication.

1. Clear awareness: It creates a definitive list of everyone involved in a project or process and their specific responsibilities. Everyone knows who is doing what, fostering greater collaboration.
2. Effective communication: By clearly defining who needs to be consulted or informed, RACI prevents miscommunication and ensures vital information reaches the right people at the right time.
3. Workload analysis: It provides a visual overview of task assignments, allowing managers to identify who may be overburdened and redistribute work more evenly.
4. Accelerates onboarding & creates job descriptions automatically: A completed RACI chart can act as an instant job description for each role, providing a clear brief for hiring and helping new hires understand their responsibilities from day one.

An example of how a job description for Head of Digital can look with RACI in Liberty Spark

1. Streamlines continuous improvement: RACI provides a clear starting point for new projects by eliminating the time spent figuring out who does what, allowing teams to focus on the work itself.

Benefits of combining RACI with process mapping

While RACI defines who does what, a business process mapping tool visualises the “how.” By combining these two powerful tools, you get a complete and actionable picture of your operations. Integrating a RACI matrix into a process map brings several key benefits:

1. Enhanced clarity & accountability: It links roles directly to the steps of a process, making it immediately clear who is responsible for each action. This visual accountability reduces ambiguity and prevents tasks from falling through the cracks.
2. Improved communication: A combined view helps teams see exactly who they need to consult or inform at each stage of a workflow. This ensures seamless handoffs between departments and minimises delays.
3. Efficient handoffs: You can clearly identify the handoff points between different roles and teams, allowing you to streamline transitions and pinpoint potential bottlenecks.
4. Strategic alignment: By mapping roles to processes, you can analyse whether the right people are working on the right tasks. This helps align your talent with your key strategic objectives and business capabilities.

Learn more in our Guide to Process Mapping to understand how to leverage your business operations and performance with process mapping.

For example, a process map for “customer onboarding” would show each step, from initial contact to account setup. By integrating RACI, you can specify who is Responsible for collecting customer data, who is Accountable for the final setup, who needs to be Consulted from legal, and who needs to be Informed in the finance department. This integrated view ensures seamless handoffs and clear accountability at every stage.

The drawbacks of RACI

RACI, however, can actually lead to further confusion if it’s not used correctly or if people are unclear about the terminology.

1. Potential for confusion: RACI’s common issue is unclear Responsible/Accountable distinction, leading to misuse, duplicated effort, or lack of ownership. This confusion can make the matrix counterproductive and frustrating.
2. Risk of over-engineering: Teams can sometimes overdo RACI, applying it to every task in a process, regardless of its size. This level of detail can quickly become overwhelming, creating a complex and confusing chart that is difficult to maintain.
3. Version control issues : Unless managed with a modern digital tool, a RACI matrix is often a static document (like a spreadsheet or a physical chart). This makes it highly susceptible to becoming outdated as soon as roles change or processes are updated.
4. Can lead to overload: There’s a tendency to assign too many roles to a single person, especially the “Informed” or “Consulted” roles. This can lead to information overload and unnecessary meetings. Similarly, if too many people are marked as “Responsible” for a single task, it can diffuse accountability and make it unclear who is truly doing the work.
5. Not a strategy tool: A standalone RACI matrix can provide an isolated view of responsibilities without linking them to broader business goals. This can lead to a disconnect between daily tasks and strategic initiatives.

“RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. The problem is that in reality everyone has their own definition and understanding of what each of these terms means. If you’ve had experience of using RACI – you may have even argued with colleagues over the difference between Responsible and Accountable.”

Colin Claverie

Product Owner (Liberty Spark), Netcall

Our alternative recommendation: RATSI

For some organisations, a simpler model called RATSI offers more clarity by replacing “Consulted” with two clearer roles: Task (actually does the work as described) and Support (provides inputs in exceptional situations). We explore this alternative in detail in our blog What is RATSI?

How our Liberty Spark & RACI capture your process

Liberty Spark is a modern process improvement tool that makes it easy to integrate RACI (or RATSI) directly into your process maps. Instead of static, hard-to-update spreadsheets, our platform allows you to:

1. Map and assign simultaneously: As you create a process map, you can assign RACI roles to each step in real time.
2. Automate updates: Changes to a process or role are instantly updated across the platform for all relevant parties.
3. Gain strategic insights: Our software provides a single source of truth for all your processes, enabling you to analyse workloads and align processes with your broader organisational strategy effortlessly.

Learn more about utilising the RACI and RATSI frameworks in process improvement tools like Liberty Spark:

Ultimately, whether you choose RACI or its alternative, RATSI, the key is to use a framework that brings clarity to your team. By combining these responsibility matrices with visual process mapping, you can eliminate confusion, improve collaboration, and drive continuous improvement within your organisation.

Let us show you how Liberty Spark can help you effortlessly map a RACI matrix (or any type of Responsibility Matrix) within your organisation.