The RACI approach is a great way to define project roles clearly. You may also choose to use different levels of responsibility that better mesh with your organization’s structure; but having a clear delineation of project accountability is a vital tool for setting expectations you can hold your team and colleagues accountable to.

• Responsible: People who are responsible are expected to participate in the activity fulfilling the tasks and activities assigned to them or their team.
• Accountable: Folks who are accountable are the “go-to” for ensuring the project is proceeding on plan. They have the ability to assign work within their accountability areas.
• Consulted: Consulted folks have the ability to weigh in on decisions but are not decision makers.
• Informed: Folks who are informed are in the loop of the team’s communication but do not participate in the activity in question.

The project accountability matrix below is an template you can use to define the right accountability roles in a project. These matrixes will likely differ from project to project. Within the same organization, an owner might have a different role in different projects.