Article · 15 min read

Directly Responsible Individuals (DRI)

GitLab · GitLab Handbook Free Intermediate

GitLab runs a fully remote company on exactly the rule your answer prescribes: every area has one named owner who holds the final say, and everyone else can weigh in but does not co-decide. It is the most operational, copy-able playbook for one clear owner per domain, written by a company that lives or dies by it. Steal the mechanic wholesale: assign the domain, name the person, and let disagreement escalate cleanly instead of stalling.

  • A DRI is one named person with final say in their area, which kills the 'who decides?' ambiguity that slows two founders down
  • Input is welcome and disagreement is encouraged, but the DRI makes the call and the team commits
  • Split ownership so decisions never have two owners: overlap, not disagreement, is what actually causes the deadlock
Open on handbook.gitlab.com ↗

The question it answers

  1. How do we divide roles and decision-making so we don't step on each other?

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