Every Wednesday afternoon we - Agilistc Sircle - hold an event called "Lean Coffee". But what's that?

Imagine you're having a coffee with your team, and instead of the usual chit-chat chaos, you want to have a structured, productive conversation. Here's how we do it!

• Idea Gathering: we have an open board where everyone, at any moment, can write down what they want to talk about on the next Lean Coffee. It could be anything - work stuff, ideas, problems, or even when to meet for the next Aperitivo.
• Topic Voting: democracy in action! Anyone votes on which topics are the most engaging
• Time Boxing: although the "standard" lean coffee wants each topic discussion to be time boxed (typically 15 minutes) we don't usually do that, but let our mind and talks flow - but we may decide to re-introduce them! If you do timeboxing, after it has expired you can choose - always by voting - whether to keep chatting. If not, wave it goodbye and shuffle to the next one.

Why use Lean Coffee?

• Focus: by using time boxing, Lean Coffee keeps things laser-focused. You're not wandering into the Bermuda Triangle of off-topic conversations
• Equal time for all: In regular chats some folks dominate, and others turn into simple listeners. Lean Coffee ensures everyone gets their moment in the spotlight
• Democracy: the voting part is like creating a playlist for your team's discussion, you talk about what most people want to dive into
• Adaptability: the agenda isn't set in stone, it depends on the team's needs
• Quick decision-making: Lean Coffee speeds up the decision-making process. No more endless debates!
• Continuous improvement: you can always tweak and improve the agenda on the fly
• Team building: teams that have coffee and talk together, collaborate better together. Lean Coffee isn't just about work, it's about building connections over shared ideas and a cup of virtual coffee.

Interested to learn more in Lean Coffee or other Agile practices? Reach out to our Sircle!