dot-voting-web

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.

Keep reading to learn more about the Dot Voting Template.

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’s whiteboard tool is the perfect canvas 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.

FAQ about the dot voting method

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.

Dot Voting Template

Get started with this template right now.

Related Templates
Mind Map Thumbnail
Preview

Mind Map Template

Works best for:

Planning, Mind Mapping, Education

We see you, visual learners. You grasp concepts and understand data easier when they're presented in well-organized, memorable graphics. Mind mapping is perfect for you. This powerful brainstorming tool presents concepts or ideas as a tree — with the central subject as the trunk and your many ideas and subtopics as the branches. This template is a fast, effective way for you to start mind mapping, which can help you and your team become more creative, remember more, and solve problems more effectively.

Mind Map Template
Daily Standup Thumbnail
Preview

Daily Stand-up Meeting Template

Works best for:

Agile Methodology, Meetings, Software Development

The entire team meets to review the day before and discuss the day ahead. These daily meetings, also known as “scrums,” are brief but powerful — they identify roadblocks, give each team member a voice, foster collaboration, keep progress on track, and ultimately keep teams working together effectively. This template makes it so easy for you to plan daily standups for your sprint team. It all starts with picking a date and time, creating an agenda, and sticking with the same format throughout the sprint.

Daily Stand-up Meeting Template
draw-thumb-web
Preview

Character Drawing Template

Works best for:

Icebreakers

Transform the traditional meeting introduction rounds with a Character Drawing Template. Ask people to draw themselves and have some fun.

Character Drawing Template
Start Stop Continue Retrospective Thumbnail
Preview

Start, Stop, Continue Retrospective 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.

Start, Stop, Continue Retrospective Template
Event Brief Thumbnail
Preview

Event Brief Template

Works best for:

Meetings, Workshops, Project Planning

For most any organization, throwing a big deal event is…a big deal. An event can bring in publicity, new clients, and revenue. And planning it can require a substantial chunk of your overall resources. That’s why you’ll want to approach it like a high-stakes project, with clearly outlined goals, stakeholders, timelines, and budget. An event brief combines all of that information in a single source of truth that guides the events team, coordinator, or agency—and ensures the event is well-planned and well-executed.

Event Brief Template
Warmup-web
Preview

Warm-ups and Wake-ups Template

Works best for:

Icebreakers, Team Meetings

Start your workshop or meeting getting everyone active and energized with these 5 warm-up exercises. Never let boredom invade your sessions again.

Warm-ups and Wake-ups Template