A RACI is a matrix that summarises who is responsible for what on a project. It also defines who approves a deliverable, who is involved in the production and who is the target audience of the deliverable.

The matrix is constructed by placing the project roles in columns and the tasks and deliverables in rows and then in the intersect the letters R, A, C and I are used to indicate the involvement of the role on the deliverable.

An important consideration when producing project documentation is to know who the target audience is and therefore who should approve the document. For example, consider a report functional specification produced by a business analyst. The specification should be read, understood and approved by the Business Representative as they need to be sure that the report meets their requirements. In addition it should also be read, understood and approved by the report developer as they need to make sure that the functional specification doesn’t contain any features that cannot be implemented.

RACI Definition

There are variations but here the following is used.

R – Responsible

The person who is tasked with producing the deliverable, the document author and takes responsibility for content and decisions made when producing the deliverable

A – Approver

This person approves or signs off the deliverable

C – Consulted

This person inputs or assists with the production of deliverable.

I – Informed

This person is included on the distribution list and can give feedback but does not ultimately approve document. This person needs to be informed of document content.

Download BI Project RACI as a PDF document.

See Also

BI Project Roles and Responsibilities
BI Project Deliverables