Lean Coffee Retrospective

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Democratically prioritize and discuss retrospective topics within strictly bounded time intervals.

Use it when: Use during retrospectives or team reviews when the group needs to address emerging concerns without a rigid preplanned agenda.

Skip it when: Skip when a crisis requires a fixed sequence of decisions, or when mandatory regulatory topics must be audited in full.

Group arrangement: Single group for 4 to 8 people; split into parallel tables of 4 to 6 people for 9 to 24 participants.

Timing: UWT standard 45-minute block. Sources specify 5 minutes for topic writing, followed by dot voting and timeboxed discussions ending with a recap.

Materials and tools

• Pad of 3x3 inch sticky notes per person
• Fine-tip marker or sharpie per person
• Visible countdown timer or stopwatch per table
• Three column header cards labeled To Do, Doing, Done
• Flat table surface or wall space

Before participants arrive

1. Label three columns on the wall or table surface: To Do, Doing, Done.
2. Distribute sticky notes and markers to each participant.
3. Set up the visible timer.

Say this to open

Welcome to our Lean Coffee retrospective. We will build our agenda together right now. You will write topics you want to discuss, vote on which matter most, and talk through them in fixed timeboxes. You decide when we move to the next item.

How to run it

1. Generate topics 5 minutes

   Ask participants to write discussion topics on separate sticky notes. One idea per note. Example: 'Need clearer handoffs between design and engineering.' Participants who prefer not to submit may pass. Place notes in the To Do column as written.

2. Dot vote priorities 5 minutes

   Give each participant three votes. Participants mark dots on sticky notes in To Do they want to discuss. They may place all three dots on one note or split them. Sort notes in To Do descending by vote total.

3. Run timeboxed discussions 30 minutes

   Move the top note to Doing. Start a 5-minute timer. The author introduces it; if absent or anonymous, read it aloud. When the timer sounds, Roman vote: thumbs up to continue, sideways neutral, thumbs down to move on. If more than half vote thumbs up, add 3 minutes. Otherwise move the note to Done and pull the next top card. In a tie, move to the next topic. Repeat until the timebox ends.

4. Review actions and close 5 minutes

   Review cards in Done. Note any agreed next steps or volunteer owners. Participants may pass on taking action items. Leave remaining To Do cards visible as potential inputs for future retrospectives.

Debrief questions

• Which topic yielded the clearest insight or action today?
• How did the timeboxes affect the focus and quality of our discussions?
• What unresolved topic from the To Do column should we prioritize next time?

Finished output: A prioritized Kanban board showing discussed items in Done and remaining items in To Do, plus documented action items agreed upon during discussions.

Remote

Create an online whiteboard with three columns labeled To Do, Doing, and Done. Give participants 5 minutes to type sticky notes. Use digital voting tokens or built-in dot voting (3 votes per person). Sort notes descending by votes. Run a screen-shared timer for 5-minute intervals. Conduct Roman voting using webcam thumbs or chat reactions (+1, 0, -1).

Hybrid

Run a single shared digital board projected in the room and shared on screen. In-person and remote participants both submit digital sticky notes and cast digital votes. Use an open room microphone and chat box for discussion. For Roman voting, remote participants use webcam thumbs or chat symbols alongside room hand votes.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may silently submit notes or choose not to submit notes at all.
• Speaking during the discussion is voluntary; participants may listen or use written chat.
• Anyone may cast a neutral sideways thumb during Roman voting without explaining their stance.

If the session gets stuck

One person dominates the discussion timebox.

Intervene when the timer hits the halfway mark. Invite others by asking: 'Let us hear a perspective from someone who has not spoken on this card yet.'

A tie occurs between multiple cards during dot voting.

Facilitator breaks the tie by flipping a coin or conducting a fast show of hands between the tied items.

Roman voting results in a tie or equal split.

Default to moving the card to Done and pulling the next topic, ensuring broader coverage of the agenda.

Terms used here

• Personal Kanban: A simple visual system organizing work into To Do, Doing, and Done columns.
• Roman Voting: A fast group voting technique using thumbs up to continue, thumbs sideways for neutral, and thumbs down to move on. Continuing requires a strict majority (over 50 percent of active votes).