DACI Decision-Making Framework
Give every participant a clear role in a consequential decision without confusing consultation with consensus.
A DACI is a lightweight way to make decision ownership explicit before work stalls. It separates the person moving the process forward from the person with authority to make the final call.
What is a DACI?
Driver: Moves the decision forward, gathers input, and keeps the deadline visible.
Approver: The one person with final authority to decide.
Contributors: The small group whose expertise is needed before the decision.
Informed: People who need to know the outcome but do not need to join the process.
DACI does not make the decision for you. It clarifies how input becomes a decision. These role definitions follow the DACI framework described by Atlassian.
How it works
Log the decision as a clear question or action and set a due date.
Name exactly one Driver and one Approver, then add Contributors and Informed people.
The Driver gathers the required input and moves the status from Open to In Progress.
The Approver makes the call. Record the outcome and a short rationale, then mark it Decided.
Use DACI for consequential or cross-team decisions where ownership is unclear. Use a lighter process for routine choices that already have a clear owner.
Who this is for
Engineering managers, senior engineers, tech leads, and cross-functional leaders who need several perspectives without leaving the final decision ambiguous.
What is inside
A lightweight decision log with status and due date
Clear fields for Driver, Approver, Contributors, and Informed
Outcome and rationale fields for the final call
An Open Decisions view for active work and an All Decisions view for the record
Get the template
