How SaaS Companies Can Achieve and Maintain FedRAMP Certification Using a RACI Matrix

If you're a SaaS company looking to do business with the U.S. federal government, FedRAMP certification isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a requirement. Whether you're aiming for FedRAMP Moderate or High, the process is long, rigorous, and full of documentation-heavy checkpoints.

There’s one thing nearly all SaaS companies discover once they start the journey:
Achieving FedRAMP compliance is less about the tech—and more about managing people, process, and accountability.

With over 300 security controls based on NIST 800-53, you can’t afford role confusion. That’s why a RACI matrix—a simple framework for defining who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed—is mission-critical.

In this guide, we’ll break down the full FedRAMP journey and show how a RACI matrix—especially when powered by ezRACI—can help you implement and sustain your FedRAMP ATO more efficiently.

Chapter 1: What Is FedRAMP and Why Should SaaS Companies Care?

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) is a U.S. government-wide initiative to standardize security assessments, authorization, and monitoring for cloud products and services.

If your SaaS platform handles or stores federal data, FedRAMP is your gateway to contracts with agencies like DHS, DoD, HHS, VA, and the GSA.

FedRAMP has three baseline levels based on impact:

• Low: 125 controls

• Moderate: ~325 controls (most common for SaaS)

• High: 421+ controls (for systems handling PII or national security data)

The framework is based on NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, a comprehensive set of security and privacy controls developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Achieving an Authority to Operate (ATO) can take 12 to 18 months and involves third-party assessments, continuous monitoring, and extensive documentation.

Chapter 2: Why FedRAMP Requires Strong Role Definition

With hundreds of technical and procedural controls to address, most organizations find their biggest challenge isn’t implementing controls—it’s knowing who owns what.

Examples of FedRAMP responsibilities include:

• Managing system boundaries and documentation

• Updating SSPs, POA&Ms, and contingency plans

• Conducting risk assessments

• Performing vulnerability scans

• Coordinating with the Third-Party Assessment Organization (3PAO)

• Responding to incident reports

• Maintaining change control

Without clearly assigned roles, these tasks fall through the cracks—delaying your ATO and putting your security posture at risk.

That’s where the RACI matrix comes in.

Chapter 3: Understanding the RACI Model for FedRAMP

A RACI matrix defines who is:

• Responsible – The person(s) doing the work

• Accountable – The person who owns the outcome

• Consulted – Stakeholders who provide input

• Informed – Those who need updates but don’t participate directly

Applying this model to FedRAMP allows your team to:

• Avoid duplication of effort

• Eliminate role ambiguity

• Streamline evidence gathering

• Prepare for audits faster

• Scale compliance across departments

For FedRAMP Moderate, assigning RACI across 300+ controls isn't optional—it's operationally essential.

Chapter 4: Aligning RACI with NIST SP 800-53 Controls

NIST 800-53 Rev. 5 contains 20 control families, including:

• Access Control (AC)

• Audit and Accountability (AU)

• Configuration Management (CM)

• Incident Response (IR)

• Risk Assessment (RA)

• System and Communications Protection (SC)

• And more…

Each control must be addressed in your System Security Plan (SSP), and mapped to evidence. But who writes the SSP? Who reviews it? Who’s responsible for ongoing updates?

By applying RACI to each control, you can track responsibility across technical and business teams.

For example:

With ezRACI, you can tailor these mappings using a pre-built FedRAMP template and assign them live to actual team members—not just titles.

Chapter 5: FedRAMP Documentation – Who Owns What?

FedRAMP compliance involves maintaining an extensive documentation set, including:

• System Security Plan (SSP)

• Security Assessment Plan (SAP)

• Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M)

• Incident Response Plan

• Continuous Monitoring Strategy

• Change Control Procedures

• Rules of Behavior

Each document must be updated regularly, reviewed by leadership, and submitted during assessments. Without clear owners, these deliverables stall.

A RACI matrix ensures tasks like “update POA&M quarterly” or “submit monthly vulnerability scan report” are clearly owned—with no last-minute surprises.

Chapter 6: Managing FedRAMP Continuous Monitoring with RACI

After achieving your ATO, FedRAMP requires monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks including:

• Monthly scan reports

• Quarterly access reviews

• Annual risk assessments

• Annual contingency plan testing

• Incident response testing

• Continuous system health checks

The ongoing authorization phase is where many companies struggle—especially if RACI wasn’t defined during the initial audit.

With ezRACI, you can assign recurring compliance tasks with deadlines, notifications, and version control—so you’re always audit-ready.

Chapter 7: Building Your FedRAMP RACI Matrix in ezRACI

ezRACI provides a tailorable RACI template designed specifically for FedRAMP Moderate and High environments.

Key features include:

• Pre-mapped control families aligned to NIST 800-53

• Live RACI matrix with drag-and-drop assignment

• Slack and Microsoft Teams integration

• Task notifications and evidence tracking

• Exportable reports for internal and external auditors

You can start with ezRACI’s FedRAMP template, assign owners by role or individual, and scale it across your entire compliance lifecycle.

Chapter 8: Common Pitfalls in FedRAMP Without RACI

Here are the most common mistakes we’ve seen in SaaS companies pursuing FedRAMP:

• Overburdening the CISO with too many Accountable tasks

• No centralized task tracking for evidence collection

• Unclear ownership of documentation and SSP updates

• Last-minute audit panic due to missed timelines

• Poor handoff between teams post-ATO

A centralized, living RACI matrix prevents all of the above—especially when powered by a platform like ezRACI.

Chapter 9: Scaling FedRAMP Across Teams, Systems, and Years

As your product grows, your FedRAMP compliance must evolve.

• You may add microservices, new integrations, or external vendors.

• Your team will expand—and change.

• Threat landscapes shift—and your controls must adapt.

A RACI matrix built in ezRACI grows with you.

You can:

• Clone and adapt matrices for new environments

• Track matrix version history over multiple audit cycles

• Retire or reassign responsibilities as roles change

• Reuse templates for other frameworks like CMMC, ISO 27001, or SOC 2

It’s not just about passing FedRAMP—it’s about maintaining it efficiently over time.

Chapter 10: Final Thoughts – FedRAMP Success is All About Ownership

FedRAMP isn’t just a security checklist.
It’s an operational commitment to high-assurance cloud service delivery.

Achieving it requires more than good tooling—it requires good coordination.

With over 300 controls to manage, clarity matters.
A RACI matrix brings that clarity.
And ezRACI makes it easy to build, assign, update, and track.

If you’re preparing for a FedRAMP Moderate or High authorization—or trying to improve your continuous monitoring program—now’s the time to operationalize your compliance model.

👉 Start with our FedRAMP-ready RACI template and get your team aligned at www.ezraci.com