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Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

How To Improve Your Team By Playing One Of These 4 “D.A.C.I.” Roles

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Know thy role!

My good friend Jane turned me on to a framework that she learned at Johnson & Johnson’s BabyCenter…it’s called DACI and it stands for: D = Driver, A = Approver, C = Consulted and I = Informed.

The DACI model has helped me execute numerous projects more efficiently!

Here’s how it works:

When you are trying to get something done, ask yourself: “Who can serve in the following roles?”

Driver = This is the most important role. It’s the person who drives a project from start to completion — it’s their neck on the line to get this thing done! This is typically one person but you can be two “co-drivers.”

For larger projects, I highly recommend that you pick a highly organized and detail-oriented person to be the Driver. A less-organized person works fine as the Driver on small projects involving fewer people and items to organize.

The DACI driver’s responsibilities typically include:

  • Calling an initial kick-off meeting to discuss the purpose of the project
  • Collecting ideas & feedback on the project from those inside and outside the company (note: those people are also known as Consultants (see below))
  • Creating a detailed step-by-step plan for the project including tasks that need to get done, deadlines and how the project will be measured
  • Organizing follow-up meetings to hold people accountable for their assigned tasks and measure progress
  • Communicating updates on the project regularly
  • Lead the completion of the project

Note: The driver doesn’t have to be the smartest person and in fact I find that the smartest person on a particular topic often doesn’t make a good Driver (they make a good Consultant)

Approver = The person who will approve the project (aka “The Boss” or a senior manager)

Consulted = These are the experts that the driver will call upon to consult him or her. This can be the largest group and it is up to the Driver to make sure to find and utilize Consultants

Informed = These are the people who need to be informed about the progress of the project. They will include all the people above — the Driver, Approver and Consulted — and possibly others who want to be updated on the project but aren’t actively involved.

So, next time you’re trying to get something done: Try using the DACI approach…and get in touch with knowing thy role!

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