There is one structure underlying such diverse subjects as regular problem analyses, court decisions, the RACI-matrix in project management, and meeting minutes. An understanding of this phenomenon, the DAI-ly cycle, helps understanding the essence of many of these tasks. For a proper understanding, let’s start with a more widely known concept helpful in understanding that DAI-ly cycle.

RACI-matrix

Most project managers will be familiar with the RACI-matrix and can go straight to the next paragraph. Below a short description of this model that is universally used in project management (with various different flavors, like RASCI, RASIC, RACI-VS and others).

Whereas an organization chart shows the division of responsibilities and who will communicate on which subject in a group of people, this matrix shows responsibilities divided up one level more specific. The following overview is based on Wikipedia:

Responsible

Those who do the work to achieve the task.

Accountable (also approver or final approving authority)

The one ultimately answerable for the correct and thorough completion of the deliverable or task, and the one who delegates the work to those responsible.

Consulted (sometimes counsel)

Those whose opinions are sought, typically subject matter experts

Informed

Those who are kept up-to-date on progress.

Problem analysis

When faced with a particular problem, a typical structure that can be used – and of which I am a ‘FAN’- would be:

1. Fact assembly (sometimes known as ‘Observations’ including information gathered from those in RACI-terms ‘Consulted’)
2. Analysis (or the decision-making process by the Accountable person)
3. Next Steps (or the actions to be undertaken by the Responsible persons, which might include the provision of Information to third parties)

For better or worse, this structure is also seen in decisions made by courts of justice. Regardless of whether these are overturned by higher courts or not, at least they provide a basic structure that facilitates the understanding of their content.

Meeting minutes

In the past, meeting minutes were kep verbatim, often in a format ‘Mr. Smith mentioned that …’ Maybe useful in a very legal environment, nice for ego-building but requiring special skills like steno and very time-consuming (not only the production, but also the agreement in the next meeting where valuable time was spent on properly rephrasing what had been said the previous time).

These days, most business meetings have a format where information is shared, upon which decisions are made and actions planned. A useful structure for meeting minutes would be:

Information|    Information brought into the meeting (I in RACI)

Decision|          A decision made inside the meeting (C and A in RACI)

Action|              Information or Actions flowing out of the meeting (R in RACI)

The careful reader will again see here the Information obtained from those Consulted, a Decision made by the person Accountable, and Actions or Information flowing from the Responsible party to those that need to be Informed. The Actions planned or completed and the Information thereof then sparks off a new cycle.

IDA-ly cycle

The cycle of Information-Decision-Action corresponds to a more philosophical, for some maybe even biblical one of Thought-Word-Matter, but carries the disadvantage with it that Information is communicated at various times and in a multiplicity of places. The same thing applies to Actions, where one Action can be divided up into many sub-Actions and followed up by as many others. What really drives and provides a summary of progress (let’s call it the ‘critical path’) is not the distribution of Information or the execution of Actions, but it is the timing of Decisions. This view is also seen in project management, where deliverables (at the level of Actions) can be plenty, but the most crucial components of a project planning are still the milestones (Decisions).

Similarly, one can also apply the IDA-cycle to customer Decisions: the market has been stimulated by all kinds of Information, from advertising to Public Relation publicatons to word-of-mouth. Still, any commercial response is driven by the Decision of the customer, be it that she decides to obtain further Information to make a purchasing decision, or that she makes that Decision and places an order(a pure Áction).

Some might argue that only Actions like purchases can be measured properly (“How do you measure multiple questions in one call?”), however, in Customer Service we are faced with several customer interactions, both the Actions of purchases and the Information requests before and after the purchasing Decision. It is the field of Customer Service to deal with both, whichever the Decision of the customer.

 (Originally published October 21, 2013, edited for clarity March 8, 2024)