In my last blog post, I talked about the critical need for CEOs and leadership teams to move beyond the act of Journey Mapping and actually implement the work. It’s one thing to visualize a customer’s experience — it’s another to build the operational scaffolding that sustains it. That work can’t rest on one team or one initiative. It requires alignment, discipline, and a whole lot more structure than most companies apply.
I also introduced the PRAISE acronym — Personal, Reliable, Authentic, Immersive, Seamless, and Easy — a set of real-world examples that highlight how different parts of the organization can own a piece of the customer experience puzzle. It’s a reminder that a great customer experience doesn’t just happen — you have to earn it. Or as I like to say: Earn your customer’s PRAISE.
But ownership doesn’t happen on good intentions alone.
This is where project management frameworks like RACI, DACI, and RAVCI come in. These tools don’t just assign tasks — they assign clarity. When applied correctly, they can be game changers in two of the most essential (and often the most underdeveloped) disciplines in Customer Experience Strategy and Management: Creating a CX Culture and Implementing CX Governance.
Let’s dig into how.
Why CX Needs Structure, Not Just Sentiment
Many organizations say they care about customer experience. Fewer actually invest in the infrastructure required to make it real. That’s because CX culture and governance aren’t “projects” — they’re systems. And systems need clarity of roles, rules, and rituals.
- CX Culture is about embedding customer-centric thinking into the way people work, lead, and make decisions. It shows up in how new employees are onboarded, how performance is evaluated, and how success is celebrated.
- CX Governance ensures that customer feedback leads to action, that priorities align with actual customer needs, and that accountability doesn’t get lost in the cracks.
To build both, organizations must move from intention to implementation. And that’s where structured role clarity is essential.
RACI, DACI, and RAVCI: Quick Refresher
Before we apply these frameworks, a quick refresher:
- RACI defines who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for a given activity.
- DACI focuses on decision-making: Driver, Approver, Contributors, and Informed.
- RAVCI adds a critical layer for CX work: Responsible, Accountable, Veto, Consulted, and Informed. This version elevates the importance of strategic gatekeepers and governance roles.
These models help clarify who owns what — especially when multiple departments are involved. Let’s look at how they bring structure to CX Culture and Governance, using hypothetical, real-life PRAISE examples, derived from Customer Journey Mapping, to illustrate the point.
1. Applying Project Management Models to Creating a CX Culture
Creating a customer-first culture doesn’t start in the marketing department — it starts in how people are hired, trained, recognized, and led. And it doesn’t thrive unless responsibilities are shared across HR, Ops, IT, and beyond.
Let’s revisit the original PRAISE framework and use examples across the business to show how RACI and DACI can support culture-building:
P is for Personal: Humanizing the Experience
Hypothetical – A regional bank wanted frontline staff to personalize interactions, but their systems lacked the tools to support it. Customers had to repeat their needs, and no notes were shared between channels.
Using a RAVCI framework:
- Responsible: IT and Customer Experience teams, building and configuring the CRM.
- Accountable: CIO and Head of CX.
- Veto: Chief Risk Officer, to manage data compliance.
- Consulted: Frontline staff and Operations.
- Informed: Regional Managers and Marketing.
Now, personalization becomes embedded in the system — not dependent on individual heroics.
R is for Reliable: Consistent Across Touchpoints
Hypothetical – A healthcare provider faced inconsistency across in-person and digital experiences. Appointment scheduling and follow-up communications varied wildly depending on the channel.
We apply a RACI model:
- Responsible: Digital Product team.
- Accountable: VP of Operations.
- Consulted: Clinical Operations, Patient Services, and IT.
- Informed: All front-desk and scheduling staff.
This creates shared standards across systems and improved trust in the overall patient journey.
A is for Authentic: Rooted in Values
Hypothetical – At a fast-growing SaaS company, new hires weren’t connecting to the company’s core CX values. Onboarding focused on policies, not people.
Using DACI to redesign onboarding:
- Driver: People Operations.
- Approver: Head of CX.
- Contributors: Cross-functional CX leaders and team managers.
- Informed: All department heads.
The onboarding would now include real stories, CX principles, and a clear link between values and behaviors.
I is for Immersive: Designing Emotionally Engaging, Multi-Sensory Experiences
Hypothetical – A global travel company wanted to create a truly immersive customer journey — one that not only connected mobile, web, call center, and in-person interactions but also emotionally captivated the traveler. This meant integrating storytelling, video, music, and sensory cues to evoke anticipation, excitement, and trust at every stage of the experience.
But the initial efforts were fragmented: media creative, digital product, and CX teams were working in silos, resulting in disconnected campaigns and inconsistent brand tone.
Using a RAVCI model:
- Responsible: CX and Digital Product Teams, orchestrating the customer journey and experience design.
- Accountable: Chief Experience Officer.
- Veto: CTO, to ensure platform compatibility and performance standards.
- Consulted: Media Creative, Brand Marketing, Customer Service, and Field Operations.
- Informed: Training, Field Staff, and Channel Partners.
This structure ensured that immersive experiences weren’t just a marketing afterthought — they were intentionally designed with emotional impact, creative consistency, and cross-channel alignment. From dynamic video touchpoints to gamified itinerary planning, the customer became part of a story, not just a transaction.
S is for Seamless: Eliminating Friction
Hypothetical – A consumer electronics brand struggled with disconnected tools: service tickets, order tracking, and loyalty programs were all on different systems.
Using a RAVCI model:
- Responsible: IT Systems and Customer Support.
- Accountable: Chief Operating Officer.
- Veto: CTO, to ensure architecture viability.
- Consulted: Sales, Marketing, and CX.
- Informed: Customer Success and Retail Store teams.
This would enable frictionless handoffs and a more cohesive customer journey.
E is for Easy: Reducing Customer Effort
Hypothetical – A logistics company found that customers were repeatedly calling support to track packages because self-service tools were outdated.
RACI clarified the improvement initiative:
- Responsible: Customer Portal Product Team.
- Accountable: VP of Customer Experience.
- Consulted: Customer Service, Field Ops, and Marketing.
- Informed: Customers (via release comms) and Sales.
This can turn a recurring pain point into a CX win — and a cost-saving opportunity.
2. Applying Project Management Models to CX Governance
Governance ensures feedback doesn’t just land in a dashboard — it turns into action. Without it, priorities drift and efforts stall.
Here’s how project management tools supported governance across the organization:
From Feedback to Action: Closing the Loop
Hypothetical – At a B2B software firm, customer feedback collected through CSAT and NPS surveys went nowhere. There was no clarity on what teams could act on, and no follow-up with customers.
A DACI structure helped:
- Driver: Voice of the Customer Program Manager.
- Approver: CX Steering Committee.
- Contributors: Product, Success, Support.
- Informed: Account teams and the customer.
This creates accountability loops and visible actions tied to real feedback.
Empowerment with Guardrails: Service Recovery Policies
Hypothetical – A hospitality brand wanted to empower employees to resolve guest issues, but without clear boundaries, results varied.
Using RAVCI:
- Responsible: Frontline Managers.
- Accountable: Director of Guest Experience.
- Veto: CFO, setting compensation thresholds.
- Consulted: Legal, HR, and Brand.
- Informed: Ops Leaders and Marketing.
Now, empowerment has structure — enabling great service without sacrificing consistency or control.
Data Governance: One Source of Truth
Hypothetical – A retail company had multiple, conflicting dashboards with customer data. Leaders didn’t trust the metrics, and no one knew which version was right.
RACI helped establish governance:
- Responsible: Data Analytics team.
- Accountable: Chief Data Officer.
- Consulted: CX, Marketing, and Sales Ops.
- Informed: Executive Team.
By defining ownership and veto power over conflicting sources, they can move from noise to insight.
Pitfalls to Watch For
Using frameworks like RACI or RAVCI doesn’t guarantee success — but not using them almost guarantees confusion. Watch for these traps:
- Vague accountability: If everyone owns it, no one owns it.
- Too many consulted voices: Decision paralysis is real.
- Static models: Roles must evolve as the business grows.
Structured Empathy in Action
Like Baseball (Go Padres!) Customer Experience is a team sport, but that doesn’t mean it has to be chaotic. CX Culture and Governance need structured empathy: frameworks that clarify ownership, reduce friction, and embed customer focus into the DNA of the business.
The models we’ve explored — RACI, DACI, and RAVCI — bring definition and discipline to CX work, while the PRAISE framework keeps the customer at the center. Importantly, this approach also aligns with LEAN and Six Sigma principles by reducing friction, clarifying roles, and creating consistent, value-driven processes that improve quality and efficiency.
With PRAISE examples rooted in IT, HR, Ops, Sales, and Marketing, and project management frameworks like RACI, DACI, and RAVCI guiding the work, CX becomes more than a journey map. It becomes how you operate.
Ready to bring structure to your CX initiatives and earn your customer’s PRAISE? Batter Up!
