1. Method Name

Lean Coffee

2. Alternative Names

Low-fat coffee

3. Brief Description

Lean Coffee is a structured meeting format with no pre-set agenda. Participants democratically propose, prioritize, and discuss the topics that interest them most, with the discussion taking place in time-limited blocks.

4. Purpose / When to Use

It is used for informal but productive discussions, knowledge sharing, problem-solving, or retrospectives. It is ideal for situations where a formal agenda is not necessary, but it is important for the meeting to be effective and focused on what is most relevant to the participants.

5. Procedure / How to Apply It

1. Preparation: All you need is a Kanban board (physical or digital) with three columns: “To Discuss,” “Under Discussion,” and “Discussed.” Each participant receives sticky notes and a pen.
2. Suggest Topics (2–5 min): Everyone silently writes down on the sticky notes the topics they want to discuss (1 topic per note).
3. Introduce and Consolidate (2–5 min): Everyone briefly introduces their topics so that others can understand them. Similar topics can be combined.
4. Prioritize (Dot Voting, 2–3 min): Each participant has 2–3 votes (dots) that they can assign to the topics that interest them most. Topics are ranked by the number of votes.
5. Discuss (time blocks): The highest-priority topic is moved to the “Under Discussion” column. A timer is set (e.g., 5–8 minutes).
6. Vote on whether to continue: Once the time is up, the team decides via a simple vote (thumbs up/down) whether to continue with the topic (another shorter time block, e.g., 3 minutes) or move on to the next topic.

6. A Real-World Example

The design team meets every week for Lean Coffee. The proposed topics are: “New trends in typography,” “Issues with our design software,” and “How to communicate better with developers.” Using Dot Voting, they determine that the most pressing issue is communication with developers, so they devote the most time to it.

7. Benefits

- Highly relevant content: Discussions focus only on what participants are truly interested in
.- A democratic and engaging format
.- Effective use of time: Time blocks and voting prevent endless discussions
.- No agenda preparation required.

8. Risks / Limits

- Not suitable for decision-making meetings: It is a discussion format, not a format for making binding decisions
.- Requires active participation: If participants do not bring topics to the table, the meeting is pointless.
- Can be superficial: Short time slots may not be sufficient for in-depth analysis of highly complex topics.

9. Practical Tips

- Start with shorter time blocks: It’s better to add time than to cut it short.
- Visualize: Use a Kanban board so everyone can see what’s being discussed and what’s coming next.
- Someone needs to keep an eye on the time: It’s a good idea to designate one person to watch the timer.