Decide
Dot voting
Also called Dotmocracy, Voting with dots
Everyone gets a few votes to place on the options they prefer, which shows where the group leans in a couple of minutes.
- Time5 to 10 minutes
- People3 to 50 people
- Steps3
What it's for
Dot voting is the quickest way to narrow a long list. Limited votes force people to choose, and the result is visible at a glance. It shows preference, not a decision: use it to decide what to discuss, then discuss.
Hide the counts while people vote. When the first votes are visible, everyone else piles onto them.
How to run it
Agree the question2 min
Vote for what, exactly? Most valuable, most urgent, most surprising?
Vote5 min3 votes each
Each person places their votes. Counts stay hidden until everyone has voted.
Reveal and discuss8 min
Reveal the counts. Talk about the top few and anything with a split vote.
Tips
- Give each person about a third as many votes as there are options, up to five.
- Let people stack votes only when strength of feeling matters. Otherwise one vote per option.
Where it comes from
Facilitators have voted with sticky dots for decades and the exact origin is unclear. Jason Diceman's Dotmocracy handbook (2006) set out one well-known version.
Pairs well with
$100 test
Each person splits an imaginary $100 between the options, which shows not just what people prefer but how strongly.
Impact and effort matrix
Place each option by how much difference it would make and how hard it would be, to find the quick wins and the big bets.
Affinity mapping
Group a pile of notes into themes by moving similar ones together, then name each theme to see what the pile is telling you.