Example data. Fieldnote is a fictional company used to fill all 61 boards, so the examples tell one consistent story.
Scale-up Fieldnote, two squads plus the Integrations squad being staffed: Karim runs the RACI with Tom, Ana and Élise to stop decisions stalling between squads.
What the team took away
Two activities had two approvers and one had none. Élise keeps A only on partner choice and backlog priority; everything else is Karim's call.
How to run it
Preparation
Invite only the leads who own a step of the process. Anyone whose name will not appear in a cell is an observer, not a participant.
Send the list of activities 2 days before, capped at 12. If you have more, split the workshop.
Pre-fill the board with activities as rows and roles as columns. Leave every cell empty.
Agenda
10 min
Set the rules State the four letters and the one non-negotiable: exactly one A per row. Show a filled example row from another team.
15 min
Silent first pass Each lead fills the cells for their own role only, in silence. No discussion yet.
40 min
Walk the rows Read each row aloud. Stop at every row with zero A, two As, or more than three Cs. Settle it before moving on.
15 min
Stress test Pick the two activities that caused the most friction last quarter. Replay them against the matrix: would it have prevented the mess?
10 min
Publish Agree where the matrix lives and who updates it. Set a review date in 3 months.
Pitfalls
If a row ends with two As, force a choice on the spot. Two accountable people means nobody is.
Cap the Cs at three per row. Beyond that, the activity is a committee and will stall.
Do not let people put their own name as R and A on every row. Ask who does the work when they are on holiday.
Afterwards
The matrix goes into the team charter or the project wiki. Every new activity is added on the spot. When decisions still stall, run a DACI on the specific decision rather than reopening the whole matrix.