id: lean-coffee
title: Lean Coffee
description: >-
  A structured-but-agendaless meeting format where participants build the
  agenda collaboratively and discuss topics through timed votes. Originating
  in the Lean and Agile software community in Seattle.
source: Lean Coffee
source_url: https://leancoffee.org/
tags: [lean, agile, meetings, agendaless]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Generate topics
    description: >-
      Each participant writes topics they want to discuss on sticky notes,
      one topic per note, and posts them to a shared board.
  - headline: Dot vote
    description: >-
      Each person places dots on the topics they most want discussed, voting
      for their own and others. The board is sorted by dot count.
  - headline: Timed rounds
    description: >-
      Topics are discussed in order, each starting with a three-minute
      timer. A thumbs-up vote extends by two minutes; majority no-vote moves
      on.
  - headline: Review and capture
    description: >-
      At the end, the group reviews what was discussed, captures actions,
      and notes topics still open for next time.
outcome: >-
  The group discusses what the people present actually care about, in
  priority order, with no agenda imposed from above.
practice: >-
  The three-minute start is short by design — it forces focus. Don't skip
  the voting; it surfaces the real priorities without debate.