DACI
DACI is a decision-making framework that assigns four roles before a group decision is made: a Driver who runs the process, an Approver who makes the final call, Contributors who provide expertise, and the Informed who are told the outcome. The roles, background, options and final decision are recorded in one shared document. This version follows the play published in the Atlassian Team Playbook.
Facilitation script
- 1
Open the shared document and agree the wording of the decision question.
5 min - 2
Assign the Driver.
5 min - 3
Assign the Approver and the Contributors.
5 min - 4
List the Informed.
5 min - 5
Fill in background, data, decision criteria and the options with pros and cons.
10 min - 6
Discuss the options; the Approver decides.
10 min - 7
Capture action items, owners and open questions.
10 min - 8
Write up the decision and its reasoning and share it with all parties.
10 min
Tips
Settle the Approver before anyone talks about options; if the group cannot agree who decides, that is the real blocker and worth the whole meeting.
Push back on two or three Approvers, since shared approval usually means nobody feels free to decide.
Driver and Approver should be different people so the person running the process is not also judging it.
Write the reasoning down in full sentences, because the document is mainly read later by people who were not there.
Common pitfalls
Naming several Approvers to avoid an awkward conversation. The decision then needs consensus among them and stalls exactly as it did before.
Contributors behaving as if they had a vote. The Approver ends up negotiating instead of deciding, and the roles lose their meaning.
Leaving the Informed list vague, such as 'the wider team'. Affected people learn about the decision by accident and reopen it.
Filling in the template after the decision was already made informally. The document becomes paperwork and the options section shows only the winner.
Using DACI for every routine choice. The overhead slows the team down and people stop taking the format seriously when it matters.
Variations
Asynchronous: the Driver fills in roles and background beforehand, Contributors comment in the document, and the meeting is used only for discussion and the decision. Bigger decisions: spread the steps over several days so Contributors can gather data between role assignment and decision. Related frameworks: RACI assigns responsibility for tasks rather than roles in a single decision, and a Force Field Analysis can be used inside the options step to weigh what supports and opposes each choice.
Where it fits
When to use it
A decision has been discussed in several meetings and nobody knows who is allowed to close it
Several functions are affected and each assumes it has a veto
A decision was made and then reopened by someone who felt left out
The team will need to explain months later why an option was chosen
A project is starting and its two or three biggest open decisions need owners
When not to use it
The decision is small and reversible. Let the responsible person decide and inform the team
You need to clarify who does which ongoing task rather than who decides one question. Use a RACI Matrix
The group wants a decision everyone actively supports, not one person's call. Use Consent Decision-Making or Gradients of Agreement
The options are not yet known. Run an ideation or research step first and bring DACI in once there is something to choose between
The team wants to set standing decision authority between a manager and a team. Delegation Poker fits that better
Related methods
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
What is DACI?▾
DACI is a framework for group decisions that fixes four roles up front: Driver, Approver, Contributor and Informed. The Driver runs the process, one Approver makes the call, Contributors give input and the Informed are told the result. Roles, options and the decision are kept in one shared document.
What is the difference between DACI and RACI?▾
RACI clarifies who is responsible and accountable for tasks or deliverables across a project. DACI is narrower: it clarifies who drives and who approves one specific decision. Teams often use RACI for the work plan and DACI for the handful of decisions that would otherwise drift.
Can there be more than one Approver?▾
It is possible, but one is better. With a single Approver it is clear who decides once the input is in. If two people must both agree, name them openly and agree in advance how a disagreement between them is resolved.
How long does a DACI session take?▾
The Atlassian play allows about 60 minutes plus roughly 15 minutes of preparation for three to six people. Complex decisions usually need more time between assigning roles and deciding, so many teams prepare the document asynchronously and meet only for the discussion and decision.
Who should be the Driver?▾
Someone close enough to the topic to gather the right information and with enough time to chase input, often the project lead or the person who raised the question. The Driver does not need to be senior and should not be the Approver. Their job is to get a decision made, not to make it.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Atlassian Team Playbook.