RACI and DACI solve related problems, but they are not interchangeable.
RACI is useful when a group needs clarity about how work will be carried out. It asks who is Responsible for doing the work, who is Accountable for the result, who should be Consulted before action is taken, and who should be Informed as the work moves.
DACI is useful when the uncertainty is about a decision. It identifies the Driver who moves the decision process, the Approver who makes the final call, the Contributors whose knowledge is needed, and the people who must be Informed after the decision.
The practical distinction is simple: work and decisions can have different owners.
A project manager may be responsible for coordinating a launch without having the authority to approve a pricing change. A product leader may approve that change while relying on finance, sales, and engineering as contributors. If the team uses one generic responsibility chart for both situations, activity can look assigned while the decision remains stuck.
The frameworks help only when the labels correspond to real authority and real behavior. Naming somebody Accountable does not give that person the information, time, or power needed to own the result. Naming an Approver does not help if several people retain an undeclared veto. Naming people Consulted can create delay when nobody knows what consultation is expected to produce.
There is value in having one clear Approver for many operational decisions. It reduces ambiguity about how a decision closes. It should not be treated as a universal rule. Some governance arrangements require joint approval, and some decisions need escalation because their consequences cross legal, financial, or ethical boundaries.
The chart should remain smaller than the work. Use it to expose a missing owner, an unclear decision right, or an audience that has been forgotten. Do not turn every task into a negotiation about letters.
When execution is unclear, start with RACI. When a decision is drifting, start with DACI. In both cases, the useful question is not whether the table has been completed. It is whether the people named can now move the work or close the decision.
Sources: PMI Lexicon of Project Management Terms and Atlassian's DACI decision framework.
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