The decision-making model we use, see below for acronym breakdown
The DACI acronym stands for the people who are involved in the decision-making process.
- D = Driver. There is one driver and that person is responsible for getting stakeholders involved, gathering the input, and working with the Approver to ensure that the decision is made in the necessary timeframe. The driver need not be the person that leads the implementation of the decision.
- A = Approver. The Approver is usually one person who is accountable for the results of the decision. The final decision is theirs alone. Less frequently, a decision will have more than one Approver, if it is affecting multiple areas of the organization and needs consensus among leads.
- C = Contributors. The Contributors have the expertise required to make a good decision. They provide comments, recommend solutions to problems, and, importantly, represent groups of people who will be affected by the decision. The Contributors have a say in what we do, but do not have a vote.
- I = Informed. Anyone who will be impacted by the decision should be informed about the decision once it is made. Ideally, documentation about the decision explains not just what was decided but some of the background, including alternatives that had been considered.