Voting on cards (dot-voting)

After collecting and grouping cards comes the voting phase. This is how the team decides together which topics are worth discussing in the actions phase.

How dot-voting works

Each participant gets a limited number of votes (dots) to spread across the cards or groups that feel most important. You can put all your votes on one card, or spread them out — that's up to you. The cards with the most votes rise to the top and become the focus for the actions phase.

The vote limit is server-enforced

The facilitator sets how many votes each participant gets. That limit isn't just shown visually — it's actually enforced on the server, so participants can't cast more votes than allowed, not even through a workaround. That guarantees a fair distribution of attention.

Why prioritizing matters

A retro with too many topics leads to shallow action items. Voting lets the team consciously decide where the energy goes, so the actions that follow stay concrete and achievable. See Action items and success criteria for the next step, and the phases of a retro for the full flow.