Template · 10 min read

DACI: A Decision-Making Framework

Atlassian · Atlassian Team Playbook Free Beginner

This is a ready-to-run template for exactly the question you are asking: who is the single decider, and who merely contributes. Naming the engineer as the Approver on how it is built, and yourself as the Approver on business constraints, turns a vague power struggle into a clear map. Keep it around for the next contested call, not just this one.

  • Exactly one Approver per decision keeps speed and accountability intact.
  • Contributors inform the call but do not get a veto, which prevents consensus paralysis.
  • Writing down roles before the debate removes the meta-argument about who decides.
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The question it answers

  1. When my technical hire and I disagree on the tech stack, whose call is it?

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