Agile Retrospectives

6.6 Activity: Prioritize with Dots

Use this in the Generate Insights or Decide What to Do phase in an iteration release or project retrospective.

Purpose

To gauge how the group prioritizes a long list of candidate changes, proposals, and so forth.

Time Needed

Five to twenty minutes depending on the number of options and the size of the group.

Description

Team members prioritize the top issues, ideas, or proposals.

Steps

Introduce the activity by saying “We have a great list; we can’t pursue all of the items, so let’s see what the group views as the top priorities.”

1. Give each team member ten 1/2" or 3/4" colored sticky dots. Post a legend allocating the dots as follows:

   • #1 priority receives four dots.

   • #2 priority receives three dots.

   • #3 priority receives two dots.

   • #4 priority receives one dot.

   Read the dot allocation scheme. Review the items under consideration.

2. Allow a few minutes for people to place their dots next to the items under consideration (see Figure 15, ​Prioritizing with dots​).

3. Count the number of dot on each item. Write the number next to the item.

4. When there are clear winners, ask the group whether they want to proceed with these items.

   When there’s a tie at the top (four or more items receive the same number of dots) and it’s not feasible to pursue all the top issues, ask the group to discuss why they see each one as a top priority, and then revote (preferably with a different colored dots).

Variations

Rather than provide ...