Lean Coffee - the "we're not dead yet" edition

2016? Agile? Like to prognosticate, expound or listen intently? We're there for you.

(Did you miss the last one due to some unfortunately hyper-confusing instructions? Ahem. That organizer has been taken out to the back shed for re-education. Let's do this right.)

We'll meet at 5pm, spend a few minutes gathering ideas and drinks, then roll right into the smooth easy cadence of lively discussion.

New to Lean Coffee? It's a great way to have real dialogue on topics, and we generally are discussing lean and agile. As far as the mechanics, here are the basics:

Step 1: Everybody writes down topics they'd like to discuss (anything goes) on stickies placing them in the center of the table. Take as much time as needed, but typically takes only 3-5 minutes.

Step 2: Each topic is briefly described by its writer (15-30 seconds typically per sticky).

Step 3: Each person gets three votes which they indicate by marking the voted-for sticky with their sharpie (they can put as many votes as they like on one sticky).

Step 4: The top stickies are placed in the ToDo column, ordered by the stickies with the most votes at the top.

Step 5: Each of these stickies are discussed for 5 minutes, based on prioritization. The facilitator takes a quick "Cesar" (thumbs up/down/meh) vote at the five-minute timer, and she moves on for two more minutes if the discussion still has majority interest. When complete, move the sticky over into a new column that represents 'done'. Repeat step until all done.

Step 6: If enough time is left over, do another sticky or two.

Step 7: wrap-up thoughts at the end - what one idea or person did you most enjoy, then break for home/drinks/cover.