RACI chart in Microsoft 365: a simple list version

Short answer: a RACI chart says who does what on each task. Build it as one SharePoint list. Each row is a task. The Title column holds the task. Four Person columns hold the people: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. Add a Status choice, then save a view that shows only the tasks where you are named. One list is easier to keep current than a chart pasted into a slide.

What RACI means

RACI is four letters. Each letter is a kind of part a person can have in a task.

Responsible: the person who does the work. A task can have more than one.
Accountable: the person who answers for the result and gives the final yes. There is only one.
Consulted: people who are asked for input before the work is done. The talk goes both ways.
Informed: people who are told what happened. The talk goes one way.

Here is a small example. The task is "Publish the new price list". Sam does the work, so Sam is Responsible. Maria signs off, so Maria is Accountable. Finance is Consulted before the prices are set. The sales team is Informed after the list goes out.

The rules that make a RACI chart work

One Accountable per task. If two people are Accountable, each one thinks the other will decide. Pick one.
At least one Responsible per task. If nobody does the work, the task does not move.
The Accountable person may also be Responsible. On a small team this is common. It is fine.
Keep Consulted short. Every person you ask slows the task down. Ask only the people whose input changes the result.
Keep Informed honest. If someone is on the list but never reads the update, remove them.
Do not name a whole department when you can name a person. "Finance" is hard to ask. One named person in Finance is easy to ask.

How this differs from other guides

This guide is about naming people on each task. For a log of risks, actions, issues and decisions, see "RAID log in a SharePoint list: risks, actions, issues, decisions". For requests to change something and the decision on each one, see "Change request log in a SharePoint list". For the form that starts a project, see "How to set up a project intake form in SharePoint".

Step 1. Plan the columns

Write these on paper first. Six columns is enough.

Title: the task, in one line. Start with a verb, such as "Publish the new price list".
Responsible: Person column. Allow multiple.
Accountable: Person column. One person only.
Consulted: Person column. Allow multiple.
Informed: Person column. Allow multiple.
Status: Choice column. 1 Not started, 2 In progress, 3 Done.

The Title column is there by default and it is required by default. You can keep it as the task name, rename it to "Task", or turn off Require in the column settings. One way to start is to keep it as the task name and make people fill it in.

Step 2. Create the list

Create a blank list and give it a name, such as "RACI chart". Microsoft explains how in "Create a list". Exact names may differ on your screen.

Step 3. Add the four Person columns

Microsoft explains how to add a column in "Create a column in a list or library". In short: next to the last column name, select the plus icon, pick the column type, enter a name, fill in the details and save. Do this once for each column.

For each of the four columns, pick the Person type. Microsoft lists the settings for Person columns in "List and library column types and options". Two matter here:

Allow multiple selections: turn this on to let a row hold more than one person.
Include or exclude groups of people: choose whether the column accepts only single people, or also distribution lists and SharePoint groups.

Set them like this:

Responsible: allow multiple selections on. A task often has two doers.
Accountable: allow multiple selections off. This is what enforces the one-Accountable rule. The column cannot hold two names.
Consulted: allow multiple selections on.
Informed: allow multiple selections on.

For all four, one way to start is to accept single people only and leave groups out. That keeps each name clear. If your team needs a group in Informed, such as a distribution list, you can allow groups in that column alone. Exact names may differ on your screen.

Step 4. Add the Status column

Add a Choice column named Status. Microsoft says that for a Choice column you enter the values people can pick, one per line, and you can set a default value. Type the choices with a number in front: 1 Not started, 2 In progress, 3 Done. Set 1 Not started as the default.

Why the numbers? One way to start is to put a number in front of each choice. Then sorting by the text follows your numbers, and the order is clear at a glance.

Step 5. Enter a few sample rows

Add four tasks before you share the list. For example:

"Publish the new price list". Responsible: Sam. Accountable: Maria. Consulted: one person in Finance. Informed: the sales team members.
"Order the new laptops". Responsible: Lee. Accountable: Maria. Consulted: IT lead. Informed: the office manager.

Read each row aloud. Can you say what each person does? If not, the row is not ready. Fix it now, while the list is small.

Step 6. Make a view for your own tasks

A view is a saved way to show the same list. The contents of the list do not change when you make a view.

One useful view is "My tasks". It shows only the rows where you are named. Microsoft says you cannot use [Me] when you filter from a column header. You must use the classic view editor. Microsoft gives these steps in "Use filtering to modify a SharePoint view":

Select the view name, then Edit current view.
Scroll to Filters and select "Show items only when the following is true."
Add: Accountable is equal to [Me].
Select OK.

Now the view shows the tasks you answer for. To also see tasks you do the work on, add a second statement for the Responsible column and join the two with Or. Microsoft says to put the Or statements first, then the And statements. A filter can have up to 10 statements.

For blank and "is not equal to" filters, we also use the classic view editor (Edit current view, then Filters). That part is our advice, not a Microsoft rule. For blank and "is not equal to" filters, we also use the classic view editor (Edit current view, then Filters). That part is our advice, not a Microsoft rule.

Step 7. Make a view grouped by person

A grouped view shows the tasks in blocks, one block per name. Microsoft says grouping is a view setting: "Group list and library items by information in the columns." In the view editor, set Group by to the Accountable column. Then you see one block for each Accountable person, with their tasks under the name. Microsoft describes saving a view in "Create, change, or delete a view of a list or library". Name the view "By Accountable".

This view is good for a weekly check. Look at the block for each person. Ask: is every task here moving?

Views are not security. Anyone who can open the list can switch to any view and see every row. If some tasks must stay private, use a separate list with its own permissions, or check with your admin.

A matrix version in Excel

The classic RACI chart is a grid. Tasks run down the side. People run across the top. Each cell holds R, A, C or I. You can make this in Excel in a few minutes.

The grid has real strengths. You see the whole team on one screen. You can spot a person with too many R cells, or a task with no A. It is quick to draw in a workshop.

The grid also has limits:

It gets wide. Fifteen people means fifteen columns.
Nothing stops you from typing two A letters in one row.
You cannot filter it to "my tasks" by name without extra work.
A copy sent by email goes out of date the same day.

A list fixes these. The Accountable column holds one name only, and a view finds your tasks for you. One way to start: draw the grid in Excel with your team to agree on the roles, then type the result into the list and use the list from then on.

Keep it current

A RACI chart is only useful if it matches real life. One way to start:

Review the list once a month, or when the team changes.
When someone leaves, open the view grouped by Accountable and find their block first.
Set Status to 3 Done when a task ends, and filter Done rows out of your main views.

For reminders about dates, see "Send a reminder before a due date in a SharePoint list" and "Late tasks nobody notices: setting up late alerts".

What to avoid

Do not put two people in Accountable. The column should hold one.
Do not name a department when you can name a person.
Do not make everyone Consulted. If all people are asked, nobody is.
Do not list the whole company in Informed. Use it for the people who need to know.
Do not write long tasks in the Title column. Keep it to one line.
Do not use a view as a lock. It only changes what is shown.
Do not build a RACI chart for every small task. Use it for work where people get confused about who does what.

Honest limits

A RACI chart does not make people do the work. It shows who agreed to what. If two leaders disagree about who is Accountable, a column cannot settle it. They have to talk. Also, a list shows names, but it does not tell you if a person has time. Check workload in another way. For a small or middle team, one list is often enough. Menus and names in Microsoft 365 change, so check your own screen.

When to get help

You can build all of this yourself in Microsoft 365. If you would rather have it built and tested for your team, I do that. A tracker like this is a fixed price: $5,000 for one, built in 2 weeks. See "What a SharePoint tracker costs". Bring one example of the problem to a free call.

Tell me what's still manual

I am Al Davies. I run 250 High Street LLC and build SharePoint trackers and Power Automate flows for operations teams. I work remotely. The first call is free, and I will not try to sell you anything.

See trackers I built: Tools I built

FAQ

What does RACI stand for?

Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. Responsible does the work. Accountable answers for the result. Consulted gives input. Informed is told the outcome.

Can one task have two Accountable people?

One way to run it is no. Keep one Accountable per task. Two names blur who decides. In SharePoint, turn off allow multiple selections on that column so it holds one person.

What is the difference between Responsible and Accountable?

Responsible does the work. Accountable owns the result and gives the final yes. On a small team, one person can be both.

Why can I not use [Me] when I filter from a column heading?

Microsoft says [Me] and [Today] do not work from a column header. Use the classic view editor: select the view name, choose Edit current view, then go to Filters.

Should I use Excel or a SharePoint list for a RACI chart?

Excel is good for drawing the grid with your team. A list is better to keep, because it holds one Accountable per task and can show each person only their own tasks.