Sense and decide
Dot voting
Everyone places a few marks on the options they favor, so the group's collective sense appears fast and the loudest voice does not decide.
Borrowed from design practice, popularized by the Google Ventures design sprint. Read the original source.
One session · Minutes to start · Anyone on the team can start it
Try this first
Lay out the options, give everyone a few dots, and look at the pattern.
Use it when
Prioritization is being captured by the loudest or most senior voice.
Skip it when
Use it when the group's preference should genuinely shape the choice. It does not suit decisions needing expertise, analysis, or one accountable owner. The popular option is not always the right one.
How to introduce it
When a group has to prioritize among options, give everyone a few dots to place on the ones they favor and let the pattern appear. Design workshops use it because it surfaces collective preference quickly, without a long debate and without handing the decision to whoever talks most.
How to show up
Lay the options out clearly, size the number of dots sensibly, and read the result as a prompt to discuss rather than a verdict. Watch for people following where the early dots landed.
How long it takes
A few minutes.
What makes it hard
Early dots pull later ones, so vote at once or in private to keep it honest. And treat a close or surprising result as a reason to talk rather than an automatic answer.
What it looks like when it's working
Priorities surface fast, quiet voices count, and the pattern gives you something to discuss. A few dominant people driving the choice regardless of the dots means the practice is not changing the outcome.
How long until it sticks
Expect a couple of uses before the group is comfortable reading and using the result well.
How you know it stuck
The team reaches for a quick visible vote instead of letting the loudest voice decide.
The idea behind it
A group's collective sense is often better than any one voice and stays hidden unless you surface it. Dots give the quiet the same weight as the loud.
Where it comes from
Design practice. Lightweight, visible group prioritization that isn't the loudest voice. Everyone gets a few dots to place on the ideas they favor. The group's sense becomes visible fast and cheaply.
Also fits: Decisions don't close, or nobody knows who decides