Lesson 3 of 6
The RACI
8 min
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Most TCoE friction is not about effort; it is about who decides. A RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) settles that before the first dispute. sap-tst-310 built a RACI for a project's test lifecycle. A TCoE needs a wider one that covers the permanent organization: Basis, development, security, integration, release management and partners, not just the test team and process owners.
Rules that make a RACI work
- One A per row. Accountability cannot be shared. If two people are accountable, nobody is.
- A cannot be delegated away. A process owner can ask the TCoE to run acceptance tests, but stays accountable for accepting.
- R can be several roles, but name who leads.
- Keep C small. Every C is a meeting. Consult the people whose input changes the outcome; inform the rest.
- Partners are R, rarely A. An integrator or AMS partner can be responsible for work, but the customer stays accountable for decisions about its own system.
Contoso's TCoE RACI: test work
| Activity | TCoE lead | Test architect | Automation lead | Data and env lead | Process owner | Key users | AMS partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testing standards and templates | A | R | R | C | C | I | I |
| Regression scope for a release | A | R | C | C | C | I | I |
| Regression execution | A | R | R | C | I | R | R |
| Automation build and maintenance | I | C | A/R | C | I | I | R |
| Test data provisioning | I | C | C | A/R | I | I | R |
| UAT execution and evidence | C | R | I | C | A | R | I |
| Business acceptance | I | C | I | I | A/R | C | I |
| Readiness assessment | A/R | R | C | C | C | I | I |
RACI for test work. The process owner, not the TCoE, is accountable for UAT and acceptance.
Contoso's TCoE RACI: the IT interfaces
The second table is where TCoEs usually fail, because the work belongs to other IT teams but the TCoE depends on it. At Contoso these are Sam (Basis), Kenji (ABAP development), Nadia (security and GRC), Theo (integration) and Luis (release management).
| Activity | TCoE | Basis (Sam) | Development (Kenji) | Security (Nadia) | Integration (Theo) | Release (Luis) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMR refresh from production | C | A/R | I | C | C | I |
| Masking personal data after refresh | R | R | I | A | I | I |
| Test users and roles in CMQ and CMR | R | I | I | A/R | I | I |
| Interface endpoints ready for test | C | C | I | I | A/R | I |
| Defect fix and unit test | I | I | A/R | I | C | I |
| ATC and ABAP Unit results at transport release | I | I | A/R | I | I | C |
| Transport import to CMQ | I | R | C | I | I | A |
| Production import decision | C | I | I | I | I | A |
RACI for the IT interfaces. Masking is accountable to security and data protection, even though the TCoE and Basis do the work.
Common RACI failures
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Every row has the TCoE as A | The TCoE took accountability for work it cannot control | Give A to the team that controls the outcome; the TCoE becomes R or C |
| Acceptance is "A: steering committee" | Accountability by committee | Name the process owner; the committee is informed |
| The AMS partner is A for regression | Contract drafted by the partner | Customer TCoE is A; partner is R against TCoE standards |
| Masking has no A | Fell between Basis, security and the TCoE | Security and data protection are A; Basis and TCoE are R |
| Ten Cs on standards | Wish to involve everyone | Consult process owners and engineering; inform the rest |
Put the partner rows of the RACI into the contracts themselves. If the AMS partner is responsible for regression execution, its statement of work should say that it executes to TCoE standards, records results and evidence in SAP Cloud ALM, and has no authority to accept results or waive tests. The same applies to the system integrator on any new project. A RACI that contradicts a contract loses every time, because the contract is what the partner is paid against.
What would you do?
During regression, CMR test users lose their roles after a refresh. Wei says security should restore them; Nadia says the TCoE never asked. Two days are lost. What should Priya change?
- One A per row; accountability is never shared and never delegated away.
- A TCoE RACI must cover Basis, development, security, integration and release management, not just testers and process owners.
- Process owners are accountable for acceptance; security is accountable for masking and test users; release management for imports.
- Partners are responsible for work but rarely accountable for decisions about the customer's system.
- Test the RACI against real disputes from the last release before approving it.
Check your understanding · not graded
Lesson check
1. Who is accountable for masking personal data after a CMR refresh at Contoso?
2. A RACI row lists the steering committee as A for business acceptance. What is wrong?
3. Which rule about partners belongs in a TCoE RACI?
4. How should Priya test a draft RACI before approval?