DACI

What is DACI?

DACI stands for Driver, Approver, Contributors, and Informed – it’s a framework designed to bring structure and clarity to the decision-making process by assigning specific roles and responsibilities to the team members involved in a decision.

Product Management can be fraught with complexity, from managing product roadmaps to navigating constantly shifting market dynamics and customer expectations. The DACI framework helps to break down this complexity by formalizing and streamlining how important decisions are made.

The framework is generally agreed to have emerged from within the company Intuit during the 1980s as a variant of the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrix. It aimed to address some of RACI’s perceived issues, particularly how rigid it is in fast-paced environments.

DACI focuses more on “driving” decisions and outcomes rather than a strict hierarchy of responsibility, ideally leading to a more active and collaborative approach.

The DACI framework consists of the following components:

• Driver: The Driver is responsible for driving the decision-making process forward. 
• Approver: The Approver has the authority to make the final decision. 
• Contributors: Contributors are the people or groups who provide the input, data, and expertise that inform the decision-making process.
• Informed: The Informed are the ones who need to be kept up-to-date on the decision and its outcomes.

It can help teams to focus on their specific areas of responsibility, reducing their cognitive load and making it easier to manage complex product ecosystems. The clarity provided by DACI can help to make your management of your business’s product development cycles, market launch strategies, and ongoing product iteration processes all more effective.

What are the roles and responsibilities in the DACI framework?

Each role within the DACI framework is intended to make for a more streamlined, efficient, and transparent decision-making process. By clearly defining these roles and responsibilities, DACI helps to navigate some of the complexities of decision-making, ensuring that every decision is the result of a collaborative, informed, and structured process.

Here is a more detailed look at the four components of the DACI model: 

Driver

Responsibilities: The Driver is the linchpin of the DACI framework, responsible for steering the decision-making process from start to finish. The Driver coordinates the collection of all the relevant information, understanding the input from the Contributors, and driving the group toward a decision.

The Driver has to ensure that the process stays on track, that deadlines are met, and that all of the relevant data and viewpoints are properly considered. Although the Driver plays an important role in guiding the decision-making process, they do not have the final say; instead, their job is to facilitate and recommend, making sure that the decision-making process is thorough and inclusive​​​​.

Skills required: Drivers need strong organizational, communication, and leadership skills. They also need to have a comprehensive understanding of the initiative’s goals and be adept at coordinating efforts and managing different teams’ timescales.

Approver

Responsibilities: The Approver is the decision-maker within the DACI framework, wielding the authority to give the final “yes” or “no”. This role is typically occupied by a Product Manager, Head of Department, or someone else in a position of authority. Their job is to evaluate the recommendations the Driver gives them and make the ultimate decision based on all the information gathered.

The Approver plays a critical part in the process, as they are responsible for the decision’s outcome and its alignment with the organization’s goals and strategies. The Approver must consider the input and insights provided by Contributors to ensure they make informed and balanced decisions​​​​.

Skills required: Approvers should have a deep understanding of the initiative’s strategic importance and the implications of their decisions. Unsurprisingly, they also need to be decisive, willing to take responsibility for their decisions, and able to balance a wide range of considerations to ensure they make informed choices.

Contributors

Responsibilities: Contributors are the subject matter experts who provide the necessary input, data, and analysis to inform the decision-making process. They should be selected based on their knowledge, expertise, and relevance to the decision at hand.

Contributors are vital to ensuring that the decision is well-rounded and considers an appropriate range of perspectives and sources of information. While they don’t make the decision, their contributions significantly influence the process by providing the Driver and Approver with the expertise needed to make an informed choice​​​​.

Skills required: Contributors should be subject matter experts in their respective fields, with the ability to communicate complex information clearly and effectively. They need to be collaborative, and willing to offer constructive feedback and suggestions to support the Driver.

Informed

Responsibilities: The Informed group is anyone who’s not directly involved in making the decision, but needs to be kept updated on the process and its outcome.

This role helps foster transparency, and it ensures that all the relevant parties within your organization are aware of any key decisions that are made and their implications. Keeping the Informed group updated helps to align the broader team and organization with the decision’s outcomes, making for a smoother implementation and minimizing potential resistance and confusion​​​​.

Skills required: While you don’t really need any specific skills to be kept in the loop, it helps if those in the Informed role are good communicators, and are capable of understanding the decisions made and their implications for their work or department. They should also be adaptable and ready to respond to the outcomes of decisions made by the team.

What are the benefits and risks of using the DACI framework?

The DACI decision-making framework provides a structured approach to product management decision-making, bringing several benefits if you manage to implement it effectively. However, like any framework, it also comes with its own set of risks and challenges that you’ll need to be aware of to get the best from the process.

Benefits of using DACI

Enhanced clarity and focus

By defining clear roles for each person involved in making a decision, DACI helps to eliminate confusion over who is responsible for what. This clarity of roles ensures that everyone knows their specific part to play, leading to a more focused and streamlined decision-making process​​.

Increased efficiency

DACI speeds up your decision-making by establishing a clear process for discussion, analysis, and approval. With roles and responsibilities clearly outlined, there’s less back-and-forth and more direct action, which can significantly reduce the time it takes to move initiatives forward​​.

Improved alignment and cross-functional collaboration

By involving key stakeholders through the Contributors and Informed roles, DACI encourages collaboration and alignment within and across teams. This collaborative approach ensures that diverse perspectives are considered, leading to more well-rounded and effective decisions​​.

Improved accountability

The framework assigns specific individuals to drive the decision-making process and others to approve decisions, creating a clear accountability chain. This structure makes it easier to track decisions back to their origins, ensuring that everyone takes their roles seriously and considers their choices carefully​​.

Better communication and transparency

Keeping all relevant parties informed ensures that there are no surprises and that everyone understands the rationale behind decisions. This openness fosters a culture of trust and can help align team members with your product’s goals and outcomes​​.

Risks of using DACI

Rigidity

Despite its origins, one of the main critiques of DACI is its potential for rigidity. In fast-paced environments where decisions need to be made quickly and adaptively, the structured approach of DACI might actually serve to slow down processes rather than speed them up, making it difficult to quickly pivot in response to unexpected challenges.

Over-simplification of complex decisions

While DACI is designed to streamline decision-making, there’s a risk that it might oversimplify complex decisions. This can happen when the framework is applied too rigidly, without leaving room for nuanced discussions or considering all the facets of a more complicated issue​​.

Potential biases

The effectiveness of DACI can be compromised if the Driver has any strong personal biases. These biases could influence what and how information is gathered, and the selection of Contributors. This in turn could potentially lead to decisions that aren’t in the best interest of the product, organization​​, or your customers.

Dependency on clear role understanding

The success of the DACI framework hinges on everyone fully understanding and embracing their roles. Without this understanding, the decision-making process can become muddled, leading to inefficiencies and frustration among team members​​.

Challenges in implementation

Successfully implementing DACI requires buy-in from all the involved parties and a clear understanding of the framework. If people aren’t committed or don’t fully understand the process, you probably won’t realize the potential benefits of DACI, which can lead to inefficiencies and resistance.

A step-by-step guide to implementing DACI

Implementing the DACI framework effectively requires taking a structured, step-by-step approach. Here is a general guide on how to apply the DACI framework to help guide your decisions:

Step 1: Identify the decision

This step lays the groundwork for the entire decision-making process, emphasizing the importance of clarity and precision from the get-go.

• Clarify the issue: Define the decision that needs to be made, understanding its context and implications.
• Assess impact: Evaluate the potential impact of the decision to prioritize efforts accordingly.
• Gather preliminary information: Collect initial data to help refine the decision’s scope.

Step 2: Assign roles

This step is about setting clear expectations and ensuring that all the necessary perspectives and areas of expertise are included in the decision-making process.

• Understand DACI roles: Ensure clarity on the roles of Driver, Approver, Contributors, and Informed.
• Match skills to roles: Assign roles based on individuals’ expertise, ensuring a balanced perspective.
• Clarify expectations: Communicate the responsibilities associated with each role to all stakeholders.

Step 3: Gather information

This step involves systematically collecting all the relevant facts, data, and insights necessary to fully understand the context of the decision.

• Define information needs: Identify key questions and determine where relevant information can be found.
• Utilize diverse methods: Employ a range of research methods to collect comprehensive data.
• Analyze and synthesize information: Gather and critically analyze the data, clearly documenting key findings.

Step 4: Recommend a decision

This is the most crucial stage in the DACI framework, where the Driver pulls together all the gathered information into a coherent recommendation to give to the Approver. This recommendation should be clear, well-supported by the data and information provided by Contributors, and aligned with the initiative’s goals and constraints.

• Put together the recommendation: Choose the best option based on the analysis, articulating the rationale behind it.
• Prepare a report: Create a structured recommendation report or presentation outlining the recommendation.
• Review and feedback: Ask for feedback from Contributors to refine the recommendation.

Step 5: Review and decide

In this stage, the Approver evaluates the presented recommendation and makes the final decision. This step hinges on a thorough review of the information, critical analysis, and strategic thinking to ensure that the decision aligns with the initiative’s goals and the organization’s broader objectives.

• Review the recommendation: The Approver thoroughly evaluates the recommendation, seeking clarification as needed.
• Evaluate against objectives: Ensure the decision aligns with goals and objectives.
• Make the decision: The Approver decides, documenting the decision and its rationale.

Step 6: Communicate

This step focuses on effectively sharing the final decision and its rationale with all relevant stakeholders, ensuring transparency, fostering alignment, and facilitating the smooth implementation of the decision. 

• Establish a communication plan: Identify stakeholders and select appropriate channels for communication.
• Articulate the decision and rationale: Clearly summarize the decision and explain the underlying reasoning.
• Encourage feedback: Provide open channels for stakeholders to ask questions and provide feedback.

Step 7: Implement and follow up

This stage is where the words are put into action, as the Driver coordinates the efforts to turn the decision into reality.

• Make it happen: Assign actionable tasks and allocate resources for implementation.
• Monitor progress: Conduct regular progress reviews and make adjustments as necessary.
• Evaluate outcomes: Assess the implementation’s success against the objectives and gather lessons learned.

By following these steps, you can apply the DACI framework to make informed decisions, align team efforts, and achieve your objectives more efficiently. Each step builds on the previous one, ensuring a comprehensive approach to decision-making that incorporates diverse perspectives, clear communication, and effective implementation.

Examples of how to implement DACI in Product Management

While DACI might not be the best approach for the faster, everyday prioritization decisions that you have to make as a Product Manager, it can be useful to help with larger decisions around major new features, new areas of the product, or, indeed, completely new products.

Here are some examples to demonstrate how you could assign the roles in the DACI framework to streamline your Product Management and Development decision-making processes:

Considering a major new product feature

Driver – Product Manager
Leading the evaluation process, gathering input from stakeholders, and ensuring the initiative aligns with the product roadmap.

Approver – Product Director
Making the final decision on whether to proceed based on strategic fit, ROI, and resource availability.

Contributors – R&D, Marketing Lead, and Sales Lead
Providing input on technical feasibility, market demand, and sales impact.

Informed –  Customer teams, Product Marketing teams, Sales representatives
Keeping everyone updated on the decision and how it impacts the company’s product strategy so they can prepare accordingly.

Adding a new product to the portfolio

Driver – Product Manager
Spearheading the initiative by conducting market analysis, defining product vision, and coordinating with cross-functional teams for feasibility studies.

Approver – CEO or Board of Directors
Deciding on the final inclusion of the new product into the portfolio, considering the alignment with overall business objectives and financial viability.

Contributors – R&D, Finance, Marketing, and Sales teams
Providing expertise in product development, budgeting, market positioning, and sales strategy.

Informed – Entire organization
Kept in the loop about the development and expected impact of the new product on the company’s growth and strategic direction.

Adopting new technologies

Driver – Lead Developer or Architect
Researching and proposing new technologies to solve existing problems or improve the product.

Approver – The CTO or VP of Engineering
Deciding whether to invest in the new technology based on the team’s recommendations, potential ROI, and alignment with business goals.

Contributors – A selection of Developers and IT staff
Participating in a pilot initiative or proof of concept to evaluate the new tech.

Informed – The entire Engineering team and other departments that might be affected by the change or need to prepare for its implementation.

Refactoring or technical debt reduction

Driver – Software Engineer or Technical Lead
Identifying areas where refactoring is needed to reduce technical debt and improve system performance.

Approver – Engineering Manager
Approving the refactoring plan, ensuring it aligns with current priorities and available resources.

Contributors – Developers and QA Testers
Refactoring the code and ensuring the system remains stable and functional.

Informed – Product Managers and other stakeholders
Staying informed of changes in priorities as a result of the refactoring effort.

Tips and best practices for using DACI

To ensure you’re using it effectively, and getting the most out of the DACI decision-making framework, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Clearly define and communicate roles

Specificity is key. Clearly define each DACI role and communicate these assignments to all team members. Ensure everyone understands not only their role but also the roles of their colleagues to facilitate smooth collaboration and avoid confusion​​.

Foster open communication

Foster an environment where open dialogue is encouraged among all DACI roles. This ensures that Contributors feel valued and that their input is seriously considered, and it helps the Driver and Approver make more informed decisions​​.

Be flexible when assigning roles

Be prepared to adapt the roles based on the specific needs of each decision or initiative. The dynamic nature of software development might require shifting roles to take advantage of different team members’ expertise at various stages​​.

Regularly review and refine

Iterate on the process. Gather feedback on what’s working and what’s not, and make adjustments accordingly. Continuous improvement will help ensure the framework keeps working effectively over time​​.

Document your decisions

Keep records of all the decisions made, including the rationale behind them and the roles each participant played. This not only provides a valuable reference for future decisions but also helps to maintain transparency and accountability within your team.

Educate your team

Provide training or onboarding sessions for new team members on the DACI framework. Making sure that everyone has a solid understanding of the process and their role within it is vital for it to work properly.

Promote psychological safety

Create a safe environment that encourages all your team members to express their honest opinions, offer feedback, and suggest changes. The DACI framework lives and dies with open and honest communication.

Address biases

Be proactive in identifying and mitigating potential biases, especially from Drivers or Approvers. Encourage diverse viewpoints and consider using things like anonymous feedback process to ensure that decisions are made objectively.

Celebrate successes and learn from failures

Reflect on the outcomes. Take time to celebrate the successes you’ve achieved through the DACI process and to learn from any failures. This helps you and your team understand what aspects of the framework contributed to the initiative’s outcome and how the process can be improved moving forward.

By keeping these tips and best practices in mind, you should find it easier to effectively implement the DACI framework, enhancing your organization’s decision-making processes, and fostering a culture of clarity, efficiency, and collaboration.

DACI is just one of many frameworks that can help you with your decision-making and prioritization. For a whole load of other options to try out for yourself, download our free eBook, The Product Manager’s Guide to Prioritization Frameworks.