01 · Purpose
Why and when to use it
Why?
It reduces ambiguity about who acts, who accepts the result and whose input must be obtained.
When?
Create it when roles are agreed in Define and refine it for specific analysis, pilot and handover decisions.
Who takes part? The leader drafts it with the team and checks assignments directly with the people and managers concerned.
02 · Application
How to apply it
Start with: Deliverables or decisions, project roles, authority limits and the organisation’s approval rules.
- Choose clear deliverables or decisions as rows.
- List the relevant roles as columns.
- Assign a responsible role and, as a practical default, one accountable role per row.
- Add consulted roles whose input is needed and informed roles who need the result.
- Check authority, workload and conflicts with existing governance.
- Confirm the chart together and update it after role changes.
03 · Example
A warehouse dispatch project
Original illustrative example. All quantities, targets, roles and timings below are fictional teaching assumptions, not findings from a real project.
| Deliverable / decision | Leader | Process owner | Analyst | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline report | A | C | R | I |
| Scope change approval | R | C | C | A |
| Operational handover | R | A | C | I |
04 · Interpretation
What the result tells you
The analyst produces the baseline report and the leader is accountable for its delivery. The sponsor approves scope changes. The process owner accepts operational handover. These assignments are illustrative and must match actual authority.
Completion check: An agreed responsibility matrix with clear delivery and decision ownership.
05 · Judgement
Mistakes and limitations
Common mistakes
- Assigning accountability to someone without decision authority.
- Consulting everyone on every row.
- Using RACI as a substitute for agreeing what the deliverable means.
Limits of the tool
Different organisations use role conventions differently. A single accountable role is a useful default, but governance requirements take precedence. The chart alone does not provide skills, capacity or communication.
07 · Reading
Sources and further reading
Toolset backbone: Six Sigma+Lean Toolset: Mindset for Successful Implementation of Improvement Projects, second edition, edited by Stephan Lunau, with Renata Meran, Alexander John, Olin Roenpage and Christian Staudter (Springer, 2013). This reference identifies the toolset; the book text was not available for a chapter-level comparison in this development pass. The explanations, application sequence and fictional examples here are original LeanTrainingLab teaching material. Linked readings provide background; they do not prescribe every example or target.