Library/T-04
Responsibility Map (RACI)
For each step of a workflow, name who does it, who owns the result, who is consulted and who is told.
Subtract · VestT-04
The pattern it solves
Several people touch the same work and nobody owns the outcome.
Signals you need it
Things fall between people. Duplicate effort. "I thought you were doing that."
Use it when
The problem is ownership ambiguity inside a workflow.
Do not use it when
The problem is who may decide (T-02) rather than who does the work.
Naming where a tool does not apply is part of the tool.
What it takes in
One workflow's steps; the people involved.
What you end up with
A grid of steps × people, each cell Responsible, Accountable, Consulted or Informed. Exactly one Accountable per step.
The steps
- 1.Pick one workflow that keeps breaking.
- 2.List its steps.
- 3.Fill the grid.
- 4.Fix any step with zero or two Accountables.
- 5.Cut Consulted to people whose input changes the outcome.
How it returns time
Removes duplicate work, unnecessary check-ins and the owner as the default Accountable.
What to measure
Handoff errors or dropped items per month; owner touches in that workflow.
What to measure, before and after. Not what anyone achieved — there are no client results to report.
Where it comes from
RACI, a widely used project-management convention.
What it fixes
The leaks this addresses
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