DACI Decision Rubric & Example Use Cases

Why DACI (and why this tool)

Teams slow down and resent one another when decision rights are fuzzy. DACI is a lightweight, outcome‑focused way to name who drives a decision, who approves it, who contributes information, and who should be informed. This tool gives you a ready-to-use DACI template, a worked example, a short rubric for picking the right decision protocol, a one‑page meeting cheat sheet, and a recommended decision record you can paste into your shared workspace.

DACI roles — simple definitions

• Driver (D): Responsible for running the decision process — gathers inputs, drafts options, coordinates contributors, and drives the timeline. The Driver ensures progress until the decision is made.
• Approver (A): The single person (or small defined group) with final authority to approve the decision. There should be at most one Approver to avoid ambiguity.
• Contributors (C): People or groups who provide expertise, data, or analysis that meaningfully shapes the decision. Contributors are consulted and expected to respond in the agreed timeframe.
• Informed (I): Stakeholders who should be kept up-to-date after the decision; they do not block or shape the decision but need the outcome and rationale.

DACI template (copyable)

Worked example: Choosing a CRM for the sales team

Decision question: Which CRM will we adopt by Q4 for the sales pilot?

• Driver: Sales Ops Manager (runs vendor evaluations, coordinates demos)
• Approver: VP of Sales (final budget and rollout authority)
• Contributors: Sales reps, IT security lead, Finance (TCO), Customer Success
• Informed: Marketing, Support, External partners

Options considered: 1) Vendor A — cheaper, limited APIs; 2) Vendor B — higher cost, strong integrations. Decision: Vendor B selected. Rationale: integration reduces manual work and anticipated churn; total cost justified by expected time savings. Next steps: Procurement to finalize contract (Owner: Sales Ops), IT to prepare sandbox (Owner: IT). Review: 6 months pilot review.

Quick rubric: Which decision protocol fits?

Use this short decision flow to pick between DACI, RACI, consent, or delegated decisions.

1. Is speed essential (must decide quickly) and the risk low?
   • Yes → Prefer a delegated decision (assign authority to a role with clear guardrails).
2. Is the decision cross-functional with unclear ownership and higher risk?
   • Yes → DACI works well: Driver coordinates, single Approver reduces stalls, Contributors provide expertise.
3. Is the decision mostly about compliance or operational responsibilities with clear handoffs?
   • Yes → Use a RACI variant to detail Responsible/Accountable/Consulted/Informed for tasks and follow‑ups.
4. Is the team autonomous and values speed with shared trust and no single approver needed?
   • Yes → Use a consent (sociocracy-style) approach where objections must be reasoned and addressed; good for iterative product choices when consensus is desired.
5. If still uncertain:
   • Default to DACI for one-off, cross-functional strategic choices; delegate for routine operational choices; RACI for role-heavy operational workflows; consent for continuous, team-owned decisions.

One‑page meeting cheat sheet

• Start the agenda item with the Decision question (one sentence).
• Confirm roles: Who is Driver and Approver (announce names aloud).
• Driver outlines options and key evidence (3 minutes max).
• Contributors share essential inputs (timeboxed).
• Approver clarifies remaining concerns; either approves or requests one clear next step (e.g., more data with deadline).
• If Approver absent, default to Driver proposing a temporary decision with a defined review date and explicit informed list.
• Record the decision immediately in the template and publish to the team channel.

Meeting script (short): "Question: [read]. Driver: here are the options and key facts. Contributors: one point each. Approver: decision or ask for X by [date]."

Decision record — recommended documentation pattern (copy into your workspace)

Use a consistent format so decisions are searchable and auditable. Recommended fields:

1. Decision ID (unique)
2. Title
3. Decision question
4. Driver
5. Approver
6. Contributors
7. Informed
8. Options considered (brief)
9. Decision
10. Rationale (key evidence/assumptions)
11. Risks / mitigations
12. Next steps & owners
13. Review date / criteria for revisiting
14. Links to supporting docs

Keeping a short, consistent record prevents repeated debates and helps new team members understand why choices were made.

When not to use DACI

• For routine, repetitive task assignments where a RACI or standard operating procedure is a better fit.
• For purely experimental, rapid learning loops where the team prefers consent-based iteration without a single approver.

Next practical step

Paste the Decision template into your next meeting note and explicitly name Driver and Approver. If your team wants to scale this, consider adding an interactive decision record template so results are searchable and reviewable (see Capability notes below).