Decision-making glossary
DACI framework
The DACI framework is a way of assigning roles for a group decision: a Driver who runs the process, a single Approver who makes the call, Contributors who bring expertise, and Informed people who are told the result. Naming the roles before discussion starts prevents stalled decisions and later disputes about who had the final say.
DACI is most useful for cross-functional decisions where it is unclear who decides, such as choosing a vendor, changing a shared process or setting a launch date. Atlassian’s version is a short workshop for three to six people: assign the roles, then fill in the background, the relevant data, the decision factors and the options with their pros and cons, and set a due date.
The rule that matters most is one Approver. Two approvers means the decision can deadlock, or be reopened by whichever one disagrees. Contributors are consulted and can make recommendations, but the call is not theirs. Informed people are told after the decision is made, not asked.
DACI overlaps with RACI, which assigns responsibility for tasks rather than decisions, and with Bain’s RAPID, which adds people who must agree and names the people who will carry the decision out. DACI settles who decides. It does not keep the decision or its reasoning, so it pairs naturally with a decision log.
Sources: Atlassian Team Playbook, “DACI: A Decision-Making Framework”