RASIC

When ownership on a project is unclear, settle who does the work, who owns it and who helps

What it is

RASIC assigns five roles to each task on a project. Responsible is the person who does the work. Accountable is the one person who owns the outcome, assigns the work and signs it off. Support is the people who actively help the Responsible person do the work. Consult is the people who give input before the work happens, and Inform is the people who are kept up to date.

RASIC is RACI with the Support role added. Support differs from Consult because Support people do part of the work themselves, and naming them means the person doing a large task is not left to carry it alone. Each task still has exactly one Accountable.

When to reach for it

A handoff went wrong and people are asking who was supposed to do it
Two people both believe they own the same decision
A large project where the person doing the work needs hands-on help and that help has not been planned

Try it this week

Pick one task or decision on a real project where ownership feels unclear, and write one line of the grid for it.

Write the task as a concrete phrase that starts with a verb, such as "approve the budget".
List the people involved, and give each one a letter, R, A, S, C or I, leaving a person blank if they have no role.
Check that the line has exactly one A and at least one R, and settle it with the people involved if it does not.
Check whether anyone marked C only needs to be kept informed, and whether everyone marked S is doing hands-on work.
Share the line with everyone on it and agree who keeps it current.

Go deeper

Related tools

Adapted from the RACI responsibility assignment matrix

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