How to Create a RACI Matrix in JIRA (And a Much Easier Alternative)

When it comes to project management, clarity is everything. And one of the best ways to eliminate confusion around who’s doing what is by using a RACI matrix—a framework that defines who's Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for every task, deliverable, or milestone.

But what if your team uses JIRA as your primary project management tool?

JIRA is fantastic for managing Agile workflows, tracking issues, and aligning development teams—but it’s not built for RACI out of the box. That said, you can definitely create a RACI matrix in JIRA… it just takes a little setup.

Here’s how to do it, step-by-step.

✅ Step 1: Understand Your Roles

Before you dive into JIRA, make sure your team agrees on the four roles in the RACI model:

• Responsible – The person who does the work

• Accountable – The person who owns the work and ensures it gets done

• Consulted – People whose input is needed

• Informed – People who need updates, but don’t actively contribute

Once you’ve got that nailed down, it’s time to open up JIRA.

✅ Step 2: Add Custom Fields for RACI

JIRA doesn’t have built-in fields for RACI, so you’ll need to create them manually:

1. Go to JIRA Settings > Issues > Custom Fields

2. Click Create Custom Field

3. Choose the User Picker (multiple users) or Text Field (multi-line) depending on how you want to assign people

4. Create one custom field for each role:

   • Responsible

   • Accountable

   • Consulted

   • Informed

5. Add each custom field to your relevant screens or projects

This gives you the structure for RACI—but we’re not done yet.

✅ Step 3: Populate RACI Roles in Tasks or Epics

Now that your fields are available:

• Open a task, story, or epic

• Fill out each RACI field with the appropriate users

• Save and communicate the roles clearly with your team

You can also use Automation Rules to send notifications when someone is added as “Informed” or “Consulted” — although it requires some tinkering.

✅ Step 4: Use Filters or Dashboards to Visualize RACI

RACI doesn’t live naturally in JIRA dashboards, but you can create JQL filters like:

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"Responsible" = currentUser() AND status != Done

Or create custom dashboards to track responsibilities by person, sprint, or initiative.

But here’s the thing…

😵‍♀️ Doing RACI in JIRA Gets Messy. Fast.

JIRA was built for tracking tasks and issues—not managing cross-functional responsibility at scale. And if you’ve ever tried maintaining RACI across multiple epics, teams, or projects… you know it becomes painful.

The biggest challenges:

• No visual matrix view

• No drag-and-drop collaboration

• Difficult to reuse templates

• Confusing for non-technical stakeholders

That’s why more teams are ditching the JIRA RACI workaround and opting for something easier.

🚀 The Easier Alternative: Use ezRACI

If you want to build clear, actionable RACI matrices in seconds—without wrestling with JIRA custom fields—ezRACI is built for you.

Here’s what makes ezRACI different:

✅ Visual, editable RACI boards
✅ Shareable links for internal and external stakeholders
✅ Integrates directly with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and other tools
✅ One-click RACI templates for common project types
✅ Designed for project managers, CSMs, CISOs, and cross-functional teams

You can even connect ezRACI to JIRA if needed—but the beauty is, you don’t have to rely on JIRA alone to manage responsibility anymore.

✨ Final Thoughts

Yes, you can build a RACI matrix in JIRA with some customization and elbow grease. But if you're looking for a simpler, more collaborative, and visually clear solution, ezRACI is the better path forward.

Try it today and see how much easier it is to align your team when everyone knows their role.

🔗 Learn more at www.ezraci.com