Dot Voting

Dot voting is a simple, visual prioritisation method where participants are given a set number of sticker dots (or virtual dots) to place on the ideas, issues, or needs they consider most important. It is mainly used in the Define Phase of co-design to help teams narrow down and agree on key problems or priorities emerging from the Discover phase.

 Application Example

In a study to conduct a multistage participatory iterative design sprint of a Goldilocks quality horizontal prototype for the Automated Food Imaging and Nutrient Intake Tracking (AFINI-T) system, dot voting was used during the first stage of a participatory design sprint to identify and prioritise user needs for the proposed AFINI-T system in long-term care settings. Twenty-one participants from 12 care and retirement homes, including personal support workers, nurses, dietitians, chefs, and food service managers, first completed a priority ranking survey about challenges with the current system. They then took part in a “Vote with Dots” exercise, placing sticker dots on large sticky notes representing different potential priorities (such as ease of use, accuracy, reliability, and integration with existing software). This visual and interactive process helped the group quickly see areas of agreement, and the top-voted priorities directly informed the design requirements for the AFINI-T prototype. (Pfisterer et al., 2019)