The “Lean Coffee” voting method is a collaborative decision-making process often used in meetings or discussions, particularly in agile and lean project management contexts. It’s a simple and effective way to prioritize topics and ensure that the most relevant or important ones are discussed.
Here’s a brief description of how Lean Coffee voting works:
📝 Topic Generation: Participants write down discussion topics or questions on sticky notes, each representing a specific issue, idea, or concern.
📌 Topic Presentation: One by one, each participant briefly presents their sticky note topic to the group. This presentation should be concise and may include a short explanation or context.
👍 Voting: After all topics have been presented, each participant is given a certain number of votes (e.g., using dots or marks). The number of votes may be limited to ensure that people prioritize the most important topics. For example, each person might have three votes.
♷ Voting Round: Participants place their votes on the topics they find most interesting or important. They can distribute their votes in any way they like, including putting multiple votes on a single topic if they feel it’s a high priority.
🚀 Topic Prioritization: The topics with the most votes are prioritized for discussion. These are the ones the group will focus on first, and the facilitator can guide the conversation accordingly.
⏳ Time-Boxed Discussions: Once the topics are prioritized, the group sets a time limit for discussing each topic. This keeps the discussion on track and ensures that all topics are addressed.
♻️ Repeat as Needed: After the time-boxed discussion for a topic, the group can decide whether to continue discussing it or move on to the next prioritized topic. The process can be repeated until all important topics are discussed or the meeting’s time is up.
Lean Coffee voting is effective because it allows participants to have a say in the meeting’s agenda and ensures that the most relevant and pressing issues are addressed first. It promotes active engagement and collaboration in a structured and time-efficient manner.