By explicitly naming a single Approver, DACI eliminates the consensus-by-default failure mode where decisions drift because no one is empowered to make the final call.
Glossary
DACI
Who drives, and who decides.
In short
A decision-making framework that assigns four roles to every significant decision: Driver (runs the process), Approver (has final authority), Contributors (provide expertise and input), and Informed (need to know the outcome). Developed at Intuit, DACI is functionally similar to RACI but optimized for decision velocity rather than ongoing task execution.
Last reviewed
In SynthBoard
Where it shows up.
The product, not the theory.
In the first step.
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Or ask one expert.
The Operator takes it — about a minute, and the card shows “up to 85 credits” before anything runs. Nothing runs until you tap.
Keep reading
Related terms.
Cross-Session Memory
The capability that lets each new decision session reason in light of every prior one — the calls already made, the reasoning behind them, the constraints declared, and the outcomes recorded.
Definition TermCynefin Framework
A decision-making framework developed by Dave Snowden that classifies situations into five domains — Clear, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic, and Disorder — and prescribes a different response style for each.
Definition TermDecision Audit Trail
A comprehensive record of the reasoning, evidence, expert positions, counter-arguments, and consensus evolution at each stage of a structured decision process.
Definition TermDecision Autopsy
A structured retrospective on a past decision that dissects the reasoning, the assumptions, and the outcome to extract durable lessons for future decisions.
Definition TermDecision Fatigue
The deterioration of decision quality that occurs after a prolonged period of decision-making.
Definition GuideDecision intelligence, explained
The complete guide to making strategic calls with AI that disagrees on purpose.
Read the guide The benchMeet the experts
24 named experts, each with a point of view of their own.
Meet themSynthBoard (synthboard.ai) is one place for your business, your life, and every hard call. Your Chief of Staff keeps what you tell her on file, and 24 named experts on different AI models take the calls — one expert for a consult, a board with opposed seats for the hard ones — and hand back a memo with the call, the dissent and the first move. How it works.
How is this step going?


