Materials
Step-by-step instructions
Set up the Kanban board (2 min)
- Draw three columns on a flat surface: To Discuss | Discussing | Done.
- All topic cards start in "To Discuss." The active topic moves to "Discussing." Completed topics move to "Done."
Generate topics (5 min)
- Each participant writes one topic per post-it — whatever they want to discuss, learn, or get help with. 1–3 topics per person is the norm.
- Topics can be anything: a problem they're stuck on, a question about a shared project, a technique they want to explore, a concern about the team's direction.
- Working silently and individually ensures that everyone contributes, not just the vocal members.
Pitch topics (5 min)
- Each person briefly describes their topic cards (5–10 seconds each). No discussion yet — just enough for others to understand what the topic is about.
- Group similar topics together or combine them with the author's agreement.
Vote (2 min)
- Each participant gets 2 votes (dot stickers or drawn dots). They can distribute them however they like — both on one topic, or one on each.
- Sort topics by vote count, highest to lowest. This becomes the meeting's agenda.
Discuss with time-boxing (main part of the meeting)
- Move the top-voted topic to "Discussing." Set a timer for 7–8 minutes.
- Discuss the topic openly. The facilitator's only job is to keep time and ensure everyone can contribute.
- When the timer rings: thumbs up / sideways / down vote — do we continue this topic (2 more minutes), move on, or close it?
- If the majority votes to continue: set 2 more minutes and continue. If majority votes to move on: card goes to "Done" and the next topic moves to "Discussing."
- Repeat until time runs out.
Close (5 min)
- Quick round: what was most valuable? Any action items? Who owns them?
- Topics that weren't reached stay in "To Discuss" — they can become the seed of the next Lean Coffee.
Materials
Platforms
For virtual sessions or collaborative documentation.
Practical recommendations
Keep the 7-minute timer strict. The temptation to extend discussions is strong — but if you always extend, time-boxing loses its function and Lean Coffee becomes a regular meeting with colored cards. The constraint is what makes it work.
No pre-set agenda, ever. The moment a facilitator seeds the agenda with their own topics before the session, Lean Coffee stops being self-organized. Arrive with blank post-its.
For larger groups (15+): split into parallel circles of 8–10 rather than trying to run one large Lean Coffee. Large groups produce long pitch rounds and dilute the voting signal.
Use the "Discussing" column for accountability. Conversations in Lean Coffee often produce action items — writing them on a separate post-it and placing them below the "Done" topic makes them visible for the closing round.
For recurring team meetings: run Lean Coffee instead of a standing agenda every 2–3 weeks. Teams report that the rotating agenda surfaces issues that would never have made it onto a manager-drafted agenda.
Inspiration
- Software development teams: Weekly Lean Coffee replaces the "sync" meeting. Topics consistently include technical debt, process bottlenecks, and cross-team dependencies — things that never appear on manager-driven agendas.
- Professional learning communities: Teachers use monthly Lean Coffee to share teaching challenges and explore new methods — without a facilitator dictating what "professional development" should address.
- Conferences and unconferences: Lean Coffee is a standard format at Agile, education, and innovation conferences. Participants arrive without sessions planned; the first 15 minutes build the program collaboratively.
- Community organizations: A neighborhood association replaces its monthly meeting (usually dominated by the same 2–3 voices) with Lean Coffee — resulting in broader participation and more diverse topics reaching the agenda.
Consulted sources
- Benson, J. & Lightsmith, J. (2009). Lean Coffee: A Structured, But Agenda-less Meeting. Original format documentation at leancoffee.org.
- Benson, J. & Barry, T. (2011). Personal Kanban: Mapping Work | Navigating Life. Modus Cooperandi Press.
- Derby, E. & Larsen, D. (2006). Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great. Pragmatic Bookshelf.
