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July 28, 2025
The problem with RACI matrices is that they can quickly become a mess.
I saw everything:
To avoid this, let's start by recalling a basic one.
A RACI is used to describe who does what in activities.
A RACI is therefore in theory supposed to follow a chronological order of activities.
This order comes from the description of the processes.
So to have a relevant RACI you have to put things right.
Describe a process with the right start and end boundaries.
This is also subject to discord between departments.
I will come back to this in a future article.
Next, you need to describe the sequence of steps. in chronological order.
Once you have that, all you have to do is put the responsibilities for each task in a very academic way.
Watch out for R's and A.
You can consult the dedicated articles on the blog:
3 tips for defining the role of the accountable person (or who should become a liar)
3 important points to finally make clear procedures.
Some Business Process Management (BPM) software even allows you to view RACIs directly if you set up responsibilities.
But graphically, it's never very satisfying.
A good old Excel table works much better, because you can merge cells into it.
Let's see now 3 tips to make your RACI matrix readable.
In your RACI, for one stage of the process, you may still have the same responsibilities, for all tasks.
If that's the case, then escalate responsibilities back to the stage of the process and do a single line.
This means that all responsibilities are the same for all tasks.
You can also do this if several consecutive tasks in a process step have the same responsibilities.
It is then necessary to name the task group appropriately so that we can fully understand what is in it.
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Your process may be long, with lots of phases and steps, and therefore even more tasks.
As a result, it is likely to contain twenty roles, or more!
By nature, because of its very construction, a matrix RACI contains a lot of empty space, that's what makes it readable.
So, to make it easier to read, for example, make a table for each of the RACI phases, or even for a series of 3 to 4 steps.
Each part will be shorter, but will also contain fewer roles, and will therefore be more readable.
On the other hand, Leave the Sub-RACI in the chronological order of the process, otherwise it's going to be a hell of a mess to read.
I have often been asked about this concept, with the objection that the RACI was not compatible with the concept of parallel activities.
It's not true!
In fact, it is quite suitable.
Where do we see that the activities are parallel?
Well in the activity flowchart, in the graph view.
Therefore, in your RACI, if your lines of activity respect the wording of the flowchart activities, then there is no problem and the reader will know how to find their way around.
If necessary, you can also specify in the comment of the activity put in second position in the RACI that it must be performed concurrently with the first one.
Share this article with your teams who are in charge of documentation and training.
Check with them that they do make RACIs that follow the chronology of the processes, and that they make readable RACIs.
On our website, you can access some of our DOC&training simplification training.
So see you on the other side!