Dot voting sets itself apart from the standard "one-share" or "one-vote" rule. Instead, each member of a group is provided with as many votes (or "points") as possible to allocate toward their preferred ideas or tasks. These votes can be cast for either one idea or multiple ideas. It's essential to consider all the votes equally since the primary goal is to arrive at a consensus quickly.
Think of dot voting as a polling or survey method utilized to understand which ideas or tasks are deemed most important by your team. To vote, simply place a dot beside your favored option.
To reveal group priorities instead of an individual's opinion, everyone in your team must dot vote simultaneously rather than taking turns.
The final votes are counted by the dot voting facilitator or team manager at the end of the timed voting session. They can indicate preferred ideas and rank them in priority based on the highest number of dot votes received.
When to use a Dot Voting Template
The Dot Voting Template is frequently utilized by product and UX design teams to prioritize tasks or reach an agreement on the direction for a high-stakes project. However, other teams can also benefit from this method, particularly when consensus is necessary in a project.
To facilitate a dot voting session, you can duplicate the Dot Voting Template and add it to a new board or any existing FigJam board.
Begin by selecting all elements on the board using the Ctrl+A/Cmd+A shortcut. Then copy and paste them onto your preferred FigJam Board (or any other FigJam Board element) using Ctrl+C (copy) and Ctrl+V (paste).
How to apply the dot voting method
Better prioritize items in order to make decisions within the group. The Dot Voting Template helps teams come to an agreement.
UX and product teams use Dot voting during sprint retrospectives. This method can often lead to confusing or false results. The best thing to do is keep a few tips in mind to make this method valuable and fair for every person. Avoid any group thinking.
No dot voter should ever feel pressured to add dots to the most popular item. Instead, you should ensure that they vouch for what they find is worth prioritizing. Look for the lowest resistance as opposed to looking at only the greatest approval.
You should also avoid similar-sounding options. Clarify all of the expectations beforehand. What are the goals and criteria for voting? You need to ensure that everyone knows before dot voting.
Create your own Dot Voting exercise
Creating a dot voting exercise is a simple process that can be accomplished with ease. FigJam's whiteboard tool provides the perfect canvas for designing and sharing these exercises. To get started, select the Dot Voting Template and follow these steps to create your own.
1. Define your voting objectives
It's crucial to communicate to your team why you are voting and how you intend to use the results. Additionally, it's essential to remind everyone that they have multiple equal votes in typical dot voting sessions.
2. Communicate voting criteria and limitations to your team
Will the vote be utilized to determine possible product features? If that's the case, developers may prioritize feasibility as a criterion, while designers would focus on user impact when casting their votes. It's crucial to review the best practices listed in the "how to apply" section to ensure that your ideas align with the criteria you'll be utilizing for voting.
3. Vote together as a team
Utilize dot voting to allow each team member an opportunity to vote in silence. Once everyone has finished voting, the discussion should resume. During the quiet voting period, no one should influence others to vote in a specific direction.
4. Tabulate the results
After everyone has voted, the manager or group facilitator can count the votes. The team can then discuss why certain ideas or solutions were chosen and outline the next steps together.
5. Refine your options and revote if necessary
If you notice a tie between two ideas or feel that you still have too many options to make a decision, you may redistribute the same number of votes to narrow down your top choices again. This will help to establish a clear winner and refine your options further.
