What does a RACI matrix identify?

What does a RACI matrix identify?

• A. A RACI identifies who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for project activities.
• B. The project schedule and milestones.
• C. The risk ownership and mitigation sponsors.
• D. The budget approval hierarchy.

Answer: (A)

A RACI matrix identifies who is involved and what their roles are for each project activity by labeling four kinds of involvement: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Responsible is the person who does the work, Accountable is the one who owns the activity and signs off on it, Consulted are those who provide input in a two-way manner, and Informed are people kept updated about progress. Why this is the best answer: it directly describes the purpose of the RACI matrix—to map tasks to the people who do the work, who approves or owns the task, who needs input, and who should be kept in the loop. This clarity helps prevent role confusion, ensures proper decision rights, and improves communication across the team. For context, think of a task like developing a requirements document. The team member drafting the document would be Responsible, the project sponsor or project manager who approves the final version would be Accountable, business analysts or subject matter experts might be Consulted for input, and other stakeholders or team members would be Informed about the outcome. The other options describe things outside of the RACI’s purpose. The RACI does not define the project schedule and milestones, the risk ownership and mitigation sponsors, or the budget approval hierarchy; those are addressed by schedule management, risk management, and financial/governance processes, respectively.

A RACI matrix identifies who is involved and what their roles are for each project activity by labeling four kinds of involvement: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Responsible is the person who does the work, Accountable is the one who owns the activity and signs off on it, Consulted are those who provide input in a two-way manner, and Informed are people kept updated about progress.

Why this is the best answer: it directly describes the purpose of the RACI matrix—to map tasks to the people who do the work, who approves or owns the task, who needs input, and who should be kept in the loop. This clarity helps prevent role confusion, ensures proper decision rights, and improves communication across the team.

For context, think of a task like developing a requirements document. The team member drafting the document would be Responsible, the project sponsor or project manager who approves the final version would be Accountable, business analysts or subject matter experts might be Consulted for input, and other stakeholders or team members would be Informed about the outcome.

The other options describe things outside of the RACI’s purpose. The RACI does not define the project schedule and milestones, the risk ownership and mitigation sponsors, or the budget approval hierarchy; those are addressed by schedule management, risk management, and financial/governance processes, respectively.