Concept · Organizational & Team Heuristics
RACI Matrix
Origin: Project management
Biological Parallel
When vervet monkeys detect predators, role clarity is survival: the scout who saw the threat is Responsible for the specific alarm call (leopard/eagle/snake), elders are Accountable for interpreting urgency, all troop members are Consulted through visual confirmation, and juveniles are Informed last. Ambiguous calls get ignored; clear role separation prevents paralysis. The RACI matrix formalizes what primate alarm systems evolved: explicit ownership prevents everyone-and-no-one failure modes during coordinated responses.