[GTM glossary](/glossary.txt) Directly responsible individual RevOps & Pipeline # Directly responsible individual (DRI) In short A directly responsible individual (DRI) is the one person who is fully accountable for the result of a specific project, task, or decision. The practice became widely known through technology companies and is now common in GTM teams. The idea is simple: when everyone owns something, nobody does. A DRI does not do all the work, but is the person who makes sure it happens and who answers questions about it. ## What a DRI does * **Owns the outcome:** Is the person asked when the result is late or wrong. * **Drives decisions:** Collects input, then decides or escalates quickly. * **Coordinates others:** Pulls in the people needed but is not required to do every task. * **Communicates status:** Keeps stakeholders updated without being chased. --- ## DRI examples in GTM work A DRI can be named for a launch, a territory realignment, a CRM migration, or a lead-routing change. Say marketing is launching a new outbound play: one named SDR manager is the DRI for the whole play, even though marketing, sales ops, and reps all contribute. --- ## DRI vs. RACI A DRI is a single owner for one initiative. A RACI chart maps four roles across many tasks. The DRI is roughly the Accountable person in a RACI. Use a DRI for a focused project and a RACI when many people and handoffs are involved. --- ## How to assign a DRI well ### Pick someone with authority The person needs enough decision power to unblock the work, not only the title of owner. ### Name exactly one Co-DRIs defeat the purpose. If two people truly share it, split the project into two parts. ### Write it down Put the name next to the project in the tracker so everyone sees it. --- ## Common DRI mistakes * **Owner with no authority:** Responsibility without power leads to frustration and delays. * **Overloading one person:** Spread ownership across the team. * **Blame culture:** A DRI is an owner, not a scapegoat. --- ## Directly responsible individual FAQs **What is a directly responsible individual (DRI)?** A directly responsible individual is the one person accountable for the outcome of a project or decision. Others may contribute, but the DRI is the named owner who ensures it gets done and answers for the result. **What is the difference between a DRI and a project manager?** A project manager coordinates schedules and tasks, often across many projects. A DRI owns the outcome and the key decisions for one initiative. Sometimes the same person plays both roles, but the DRI role is about accountability. **Can a DRI be more than one person?** By definition, no. The practice depends on a single named owner. If two people seem to share ownership, it is usually better to divide the work into two projects, each with its own DRI. **How does a DRI differ from the Accountable role in RACI?** They are similar: both mean one person owns the outcome. A DRI is used for a single project or decision, while RACI assigns Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed roles across many tasks in a process. Share term --- ## More related phrases * [SMART goals](/glossary/smart-goals.txt) * [Battlecard](/glossary/battlecard.txt) * [Data visualization](/glossary/data-visualization.txt) ## Similar phrases * [Revenue operations (RevOps)](/glossary/revenue-operations.txt) Revenue operations (RevOps) aligns sales, marketing, and customer success around shared process, data, and systems so the whole revenue funnel is managed as one connected motion. * [Sales operations](/glossary/sales-operations.txt) Sales operations is the function that supports a sales team through process design, data, tools, forecasting, and planning, so reps can spend more of their time selling. * [Sales process](/glossary/sales-process.txt) A sales process is the repeatable set of stages and actions a team follows to turn a prospect into a customer, with clear exit criteria for each stage. * [Objectives and key results (OKR)](/glossary/objectives-and-key-results.txt) Objectives and key results (OKRs) are a goal-setting framework that pairs a clear qualitative objective with a few measurable key results, used to align sales, marketing, and RevOps teams. * [RACI chart](/glossary/raci-chart.txt) A RACI chart assigns each task or decision to people as Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed, so GTM teams know who does what and who signs off.