---
title: "Lean coffee"
source: 18F Guides
source_url: https://github.com/18F/guides
licence: CC0-1.0
domain: engineering
subdomain: 18f-guides
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

## How to do it{#how-lean-coffee}

1. Give meeting participants two minutes to write what they would like to talk about on sticky notes (one idea per sticky note)
1. Have meeting participants review the topics generated and [dot vote]({{ "/methods/discover/dot-voting/" | url }}) on the topics they are most interested in
1. Decide how much time will be spent talking about each topic
1. Start with the topic that got the most votes
1. At the end of the allotted time, have meeting participants vote:
    - Thumbs up: Continue talking about the topic for a shorter set amount of time
    - Thumbs down: Move to the next topic

<section class="method--section method--section--18f-example" markdown="1" >

## Example from 18F{#ex-lean-coffee}

At 18F, Lean coffee is often used to facilitate community of practice meetings and team meetings when the objective is to provide a forum for the meeting attendees to raise issues that are of interest to them. This method provides structure to these meetings and ensures topics are democratically selected for conversation.

</section>

<section class="method--section method--section--government-considerations" markdown="1" >

## Government considerations{#con-lean-coffee}

No PRA implications. No information is collected from members of the public.

</section>
