/accord

RACI Matrix Reference

Purpose: Assign unambiguous responsibility for every spec item, decision, or deliverable using RACI (or variants DACI / RAPID). Accord attaches a RACI column to L3 and to major decisions so that every spec line has a named accountable owner.

Scope Boundary

• accord raci: Responsibility assignment matrix (this document).
• accord stakeholder (elsewhere): Who the stakeholders are and how to engage them.
• accord story-map / vision / requirements / detail / ac (elsewhere): The content being assigned.
• magi (elsewhere): Multi-perspective decision arbitration.
• sherpa (elsewhere): Atomic step execution (RACI feeds into step ownership).

Core RACI

R  Responsible  — person(s) who do the work
A  Accountable  — the one person who owns the outcome (must be exactly one)
C  Consulted    — two-way communication before decision/action
I  Informed     — one-way communication after decision/action

Critical rules

1. Exactly one A per row. Multiple A's = no one is accountable.
2. A cannot be blank. Every row needs an owner.
3. R can be multiple. Teams do work collaboratively.
4. C means bidirectional. Input + response; not just notification.
5. I is one-way. Heads-up only, no expectation of response.
6. A and R may be the same person. For single-owner tasks.

Matrix shape

              Alice   Bob    Carol   Dave
Decide KPI      A      C      R       I
Draft spec      C      A      R       I
Sign off        I      A      C       —
Implement       —      R      R       A
Test            —      I      C       A/R

RACI Variants

Choosing the right variant

DACI (Decision-Focused)

D — Driver       moves the decision forward, sets deadline
A — Approver     has final say (one person)
C — Contributor  provides expertise / opinions
I — Informed     learns the outcome

Use for discrete decisions: "Which auth provider?", "SLO target?", "Launch date?"

RAPID (Bain) — for strategic decisions

R — Recommend   owner of proposal
A — Agree       must veto if disagree (quality/policy gate)
P — Perform     executes once decided
I — Input       provides facts/analysis
D — Decide      final call (one person)

Example:

• Recommend: product lead proposes pricing change
• Input: finance, sales provide data
• Agree: legal must not object
• Decide: CEO makes call
• Perform: sales + product roll out

Workflow

SCOPE        →  list items (spec lines / decisions / deliverables)
             →  decide scope — per item or per phase?

IDENTIFY     →  list people / roles (not individuals if roles are stable)
             →  from stakeholder map (accord `stakeholder`)

ASSIGN       →  for each row, assign exactly one A
             →  fill R (who does the work)
             →  fill C (who must be consulted) — keep < 3 per row
             →  fill I (who is informed) — keep < 5 per row

VALIDATE     →  no row has two A's
             →  no row has blank A
             →  no person is A on > ~5 rows without delegation plan
             →  no row has too many C's (decision paralysis)

COMMUNICATE  →  share matrix; get explicit acknowledgment from A's
             →  publish as living document

REVIEW       →  revisit on org change / phase transition
             →  retrospective: did A's actually own?

Designing the Rows

The hardest part is what the rows represent. Good rows are:

• Outcomes, not activities ("Payment feature shipped" vs "write code").
• Gateable — clear "done" state.
• At the right altitude — not too fine (one row per sub-task) or too coarse (one row per project).

Typical altitudes for Accord L0-L3:

Heat Map Diagnostics

Plot the matrix as a heat map and look for patterns:

Output Template

## RACI Matrix: [Scope]

### Legend
- R = Responsible (does the work)
- A = Accountable (owns outcome, exactly one)
- C = Consulted (bidirectional, before)
- I = Informed (one-way, after)

### Scope
- **Scope level**: [L0 / L1 / L2 / L3 / decision-set]
- **Variant**: [RACI / DACI / RAPID / ...]
- **Time window**: [phase / quarter]

### Matrix
|   | [Person A] | [Person B] | [Person C] | [Person D] | [Person E] |
|---|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Row 1 | A | C | R | I | — |
| Row 2 | C | A | R | I | I |
| Row 3 | I | A | C | — | R |

### Diagnostics
- [ ] Exactly one A per row
- [ ] No blank A
- [ ] No row with > 3 C's
- [ ] No person is A on > ~5 rows unaddressed
- [ ] No column is token-only (all I's)

### Decision Variant Rows (DACI / RAPID)
If any rows are decisions, annotate separately:
| Decision | D | A | C | I |
|----------|---|---|---|---|
| Auth provider | PM | CTO | Sec, Legal | Everyone |

### Communication
- **Published to**: [channel / doc / wiki]
- **Acknowledgment required from A's**: [date]
- **Review cadence**: [phase boundaries]

### Handoffs
- Accord L3 handoff: attach RACI column per item
- Sherpa: per-step ownership derived from matrix R
- Magi: escalate un-ambiguous As to decision arbitration
- Scribe: formalize as governance document
- Stakeholder (elsewhere): ensure matrix aligns with engagement plan

Anti-Patterns

Deliverable Contract

When raci completes, emit:

• Variant selection (RACI / DACI / RAPID / etc.) with rationale.
• Matrix with unambiguous A per row.
• Diagnostics passing all checks.
• Decision-variant rows separated if any.
• Communication plan (publish, acknowledge, review cadence).
• Handoffs: Accord L3, Sherpa, Magi, Scribe, Stakeholder.

References

• Responsibility Assignment Matrix — PMI PMBOK chapter on resource management
• Bain & Company — RAPID®: Bain's tool for assigning decision rights (Rogers & Blenko, HBR 2006)
• Atlassian — DACI decision-making framework
• Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) — RACI in ART governance
• ISO 9001 / ITIL — RACI for process control
• Mind Tools — RACI chart introduction
• McKinsey — The people puzzle: decision rights (decision rights adjacent to RACI)
• Responsibility Charting — Beer, Eisenstat — organizational design foundations