Apple’s formula for success is called DRI. And it is also the best technique to find faults in case of problems.

Directly Responsible Individuals is the Spanish meaning of the acronym DRI (Directly Responsible Individuals). And there are probably hundreds of DRIs in the huge Apple Park. It is a term invented by the company itself during the time of Steve Jobs, in order to create an infallible formula with which locate the main person responsible for a project. For the better of course, but also for the worse.

However, beyond the simple fact of being responsible, the idea of ​​having a DRI goes much further, since it also has other essential leadership tasks within the team. He is not only the visible face of a development, but is also entrusted with other small, very important tasks of cohesion and communication with the group.

Who is designated DRI and what are their functions?

At Apple and in virtually every company with different projects and/or departments, there is always a team leader, director, manager, coordinator or whatever we want to call them. In the Californian company too and it’s not that DRI is just the term guys to appoint this manager, but he is given even greater responsibilities and is not always a high-ranking manager.

The central axis of this idea is to assign a DRI to each project. A person who may or may not be the head of a certain department, but who is entrusted with the task of making sure everything runs smoothly and taking on all responsibilities in the first place. We therefore also expect their involvement to be even greater.

Here we find one of the keys, since Within each project, there may be different DRIs, especially when they are large and cross different departments. To give an example, imagine the development of an iPhone. There is not just one team in charge, but a division in which the different parts that make up the creation of the device are distributed.

It is not known for sure to what extent there is a division, but to continue with this example of the iPhone, we could find a team aimed at making the software compatible, another for the sound section, another for the design , another for the cameras and so on. Although it is possible that in the end they all report to one or more managers, each of these tasks is a sort of “mini-project” with its own DRI.

The DRI is therefore a worker more involved in the project, but with the idea of ​​bringing together all the work of his colleagues. In this way Responsibilities are transferred to the rest of the workers. To continue with the iPhone example and put the sound team at the center, we would have a worker responsible for ensuring that the speakers are effective while we would have others concerned that the microphone is also of quality . Well, there is no need for the person with the microphone to worry about how the speaker is doing and vice versa, since the DRI character is the one who will ensure that in the end everything is consistent and will take responsibility for any failure in the first person. in one of these two subtasks. .

The skills a good CIO must have

In CloudTutorial they describe what a good DRI should look like, whether for Apple or for any company wanting to apply this formula. To do this, they use a series of adjectives which not only serve to describe the professional skills of the manager, but also serve to understand a little better what their mission is:

• Patience and resilience know how to work under pressure and respect work delivery deadlines.
• Meticulousness to ensure that you are a person who can not only pay attention to details, but also have the skills and ability to work on them.
• Organization of team workhave the ability to organize work in the most efficient way possible, to give appropriate directives to each worker and to be able to unite them all.
• Empathy and assertiveness not only being interested in the concerns of workers when they come, but also having the initiative to approach them and ask them how they are, also being able to reorient the group in a non-hurtful and always motivating way.
• Communication continues both with your team and with the rest of the services, regardless if you have to go to a junior oh one senior.
• Visionbut not so much in the sense of being a visionary with ideas (that too), but rather as having the ability to foresee possible problems and knowing how to solve them when they arise.
• Trust in his work and that of the team, always remaining firm on the set roadmap, and weaving with what precedes, being flexible to make previously planned changes of course in the face of difficulties.
• Motivation with the ability to apply it not only to himself, but also to the group, thus allowing everyone to row in the same direction and feel part of the project.

The advantages of integrating a DRI into projects

Aside from the fact that senior leaders then have someone to turn to for explanations, the truth is that adding DRI into companies also offers other interesting benefits. Once again, thanks to CloudTutorial’s schematic article, we can extract some more than obvious ones:

• Reduction of repetitive tasks Since a single person is responsible for supervising everything and allowing each worker to concentrate solely on their task, the mission of the DRI is to check whether the work is consistent between the different workers.
• Proof of responsibilities preventing workers from avoiding them or not knowing who to blame for problems. The DRI is responsible for ensuring the good work of everyone and, even if it is not him directly who made a mistake, he will be the only one responsible for the fact that this work was not done correctly, since he would have should have seen it before and applied it. the necessary corrections.
• Making decisions is faster, since ultimately it is the DRI which must direct them. He can consult other CIOs and even his own subordinates on the project, but he must always make the decisions, because he is trusted enough to believe that he will always make the best choice.
• saving time and money in all aspects, including requests from other departments. If anyone wants to know the progress of the project or ask questions, they know that they must contact the DRI, thus avoiding having to solicit several workers and allowing them to continue to devote themselves fully to their work. task, thus gaining efficiency and saving money. because these types of problems do not affect their productivity.

If something works, it’s best not to touch it.

That being said, it is a formula that must work. It is not for nothing that it is said that it has been applied at Apple for years, given that it was in the last stage of Steve Jobs when it was implemented. We do not know if the one who was one of the founders of the company was also the ideologue of this idea, but it was ultimately he who decided to apply it.

In today’s Apple, opting for formulas like these is a necessity. The Apple that only designed computers was already far away. As you know, the company now sells many products, not to mention that it also offers services like Apple TV+ or Apple Arcade, in addition to the software design of each device and the many secret projects it is working on.

Cover image | Álvaro García M. with DALL-E 3

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