Dot Voting Template
Better prioritize items and make decisions as a group. The Dot Voting Template helps you bring teams to an agreement effortlessly.
About the Dot Voting Template
Dot voting (also known as “sticker voting,” “dotmocracy,” or “voting with dots”) helps teams improve decision-making, making sure every voice is heard and taken into account. A dot voting method is also an excellent tool when teams need to prioritize what action to take first when presented with many different options.
What is dot voting?
Dot voting is different from the default “one-share” or “one-vote” rule. Instead, each person in the group is given as many votes (or “points”) as can be filled. Those votes can either be cast for one idea or distributed among many ideas. Consider all votes equally since the aim is to reach an agreement quickly.
Think of dot voting as a survey or polling method to understand what ideas or tasks a team considers the highest priority. Cast votes by posting a dot next to the preferred option.
Everyone on your team must dot vote simultaneously rather than in turns. This helps reveal group priorities rather than the opinion of the most influential team member.
The dot voting facilitator or team manager counts the final votes at the end of the timed voting session. They can point to preferred ideas, ranking them in priority by going in the highest number of dot votes.
When to use a dot voting template
Many product and UX design teams use the dot voting template to prioritize tasks or agree on a direction to take for a high-stakes project. Other teams can also benefit from the dot voting method, especially when there is a need for consensus in a project.
To facilitate a dot voting session, you can copy this dot voting template and use it on a new board or add it to any other existing Miro board.
First, select all elements on the board using Ctrl+A/Cmd+A shortcut. Then you can copy and paste onto your preferred Miro Board (or any Miro Board element) using Ctrl+C (copy) and Ctrl+V (paste).
How to apply the dot voting method
Product and UX teams use dot voting during sprint retrospectives. This method can often lead to false or confusing results, so it’s best to keep a few tips in mind to make this method fair and valuable for everyone.
Avoid “group think” No dot voter should feel pressured to add dots to the most popular item – instead, they should vouch for what they think is worth prioritizing.
Look for the “lowest resistance” – not just the greatest approval The options with the highest acceptance level in the group are those with the highest acceptance dot votes and the lowest number of resistance dot votes (you can allocate a color, such as red, to represent negative votes).
Avoid similar-sounding options Try to spot these options earlier – ideally, combine specific and similar-sounding ideas to a single option. For example, instead of choosing between a fruit basket and six different cookies, turn the options into either a fruit basket or cookies.
Keep the number of options as low as possible Do an options audit before voting to avoid team or voter overwhelm.
Clarify expectations beforehand What are your goals and criteria for voting? Make sure everyone knows before dot voting.
Create your own dot voting exercise
Making your own dot voting exercise is easy. Miro is the perfect tool to create and share them. Get started by selecting the dot voting template, then take the following steps to make one of your own.
1. Be clear about your voting goals
Remind your team about why you’re voting and what you'll use the results for. Remind your team how many equal votes everyone has – remember, everyone always has more than one in a typical dot voting session.
2. Let your team know about voting criteria and constraints
Will the vote be going towards deciding potential product features? In that case, your developers may lean toward feasibility as criteria, whereas designers would vote based on user impact. Revisit the best practices listed in the “how to apply” section to ensure your ideas suit the criteria you’ll be voting for.
3. Vote as a team
Use it to give everyone a chance to vote in silence. The conversation should only restart after everyone has finished voting. No one should be influencing each other to vote a particular way during the quiet voting time, either.
4. Calculate the results
The manager or group facilitator can now count the votes after the team has voted. As a team, you can discuss why the most highly ranked ideas or solutions were picked and map out the next steps.
5. Narrow down your options and revote if needed
Noticed you have a tie between two ideas? Still, think you have too many options to choose from? To reestablish a clear winner, you can revote by distributing the same number of votes to narrow down your top options again.
How does dot voting work?
After you have all the options that need to be chosen or prioritized on the board, calculate how many votes each team member will have. A good practice is that the dots for each person equal 25% of the total options on the board. Then, set the rules for the voting. Afterward, set the timer and ask people to cast their votes. Finalize the session, counting the votes and discussing with your team the results of the voting session, e.g. what to prioritize based on the majority of the votes.
Which teams should use dot voting?
Dot voting is popular amongst UX designers and product teams, but any other team can benefit from it. This methodology is a great tool for making decision-making more equal, and it brings effectiveness to sprint planning and prioritization of tasks.
Get started with this template right now.
Icebreaker Template
Works best for:
Icebreakers
There’s no better way to kickoff a meeting or workshop than by building comfort and familiarity between your guests — to put them at ease and get them ready to participate and collaborate. That’s just the kind of human connection that icebreakers create, which make them great for remote gatherings or introducing new team members. There are many icebreakers to choose from, including: Describe yourself in one word. Share a photo of yourself as a baby. And if you were an animal, what would you be?
Parking Lot Matrix Template
Works best for:
Project Management, Ideation, Meetings
When the creative energy is flowing, a workshop or meeting will yield a lot of new ideas — but not all are on-topic or currently feasible. Roll them right onto a parking lot matrix, a simple, effective tool for separating the best ideas from those that are promising but could use more research or discussion. This template will let you easily make your own parking lot matrix, which will come in especially handy during long meetings (and when you have teammates who tend to go off-topic).
Start, Stop, Continue Template
Works best for:
Retrospectives, Meetings, Workshops
Giving and receiving feedback can be challenging and intimidating. It’s hard to look back over a quarter or even a week and parse a set of decisions into “positive” and “negative.” The Start Stop Continue framework was created to make it easier to reflect on your team’s recent experiences. The Start Stop Continue template encourages teams to look at specific actions they should start doing, stop doing, and continue doing. Together, collaborators agree on the most important steps to be more productive and successful.
OKR Planning Template
Works best for:
Strategic Planning, Meetings, Workshops
The OKR Planning template helps you turn exhaustive OKR sessions into dynamic and productive meetings. Use this template to make OKR planning more interactive, guiding your team through the session with creative Ice Breakers and Brainstorms, so you can co-create your OKRs and define the key results and action plans to achieve them.
Check-In Icebreaker Template
Works best for:
Icebreakers, Meetings
Run a dynamic online session with the Check-in Icebreaker Template. Use this icebreaker before your meeting to boost energy levels, connect people, and warm up the room.
Remote Design Sprint Template
Works best for:
Design, Desk Research, Sprint Planning
A design sprint is an intensive process of designing, iterating, and testing a prototype over a 4 or 5 day period. Design sprints are conducted to break out of stal, work processes, find a fresh perspective, identify problems in a unique way, and rapidly develop solutions. Developed by Google, design sprints were created to enable teams to align on a specific problem, generate multiple solutions, create and test prototypes, and get feedback from users in a short period of time. This template was originally created by JustMad, a business-driven design consultancy, and has been leveraged by distributed teams worldwide.