Two numbers decide whether an ideas vote gives a clear answer: how many ideas are on the table when people arrive, and how many people vote. Neither has a hard rule, but there are sensible ranges.
Starter ideas: enough to compare, not so many that it overwhelms
Voting works by showing two ideas at a time. That only works if there are enough ideas to make interesting pairs.
- Too few (a handful): people see the same pairs again and again, and the vote feels thin.
- A dozen or so: a good place to start. The first people to arrive have real choices, and the ranking begins to form quickly.
- Far more than that at the start: people can feel they are joining a project that is already finished, and may add less.
Starter ideas should be different from each other. If they all say the same thing, the vote tells you little. Write them from what you have already heard in conversations, and keep them short.
Your group will add their own. Writing an idea is harder than choosing between two, so expect most people to vote and fewer to write. That is normal, and the voters count just as much.
How many people: more is clearer
We recommend 25 or more for a clear ranking. With fewer people, the result is still useful as a quick test, but a few strong views can swing it.
A rough guide:
- Under 25: a quick test. Read the top ideas as a conversation starter, not a verdict.
- 25 or more: a clear ranking you can act on.
- Hundreds or thousands: a detailed picture, including themes and differences between groups.
You do not need everyone. In a large organisation, a good share taking part is enough to give a picture that people recognise as theirs.
Small groups inside a big project
If you split results by team or office, groups of fewer than five are never shown, so no one can be picked out. If a team you care about is small, look at the whole group's result instead, or combine teams.
How to read the confidence
Each idea shows how often it was chosen and how many comparisons that rests on. A result from a few dozen comparisons is a hint. A result from thousands is solid. When two ideas are close, look at how many comparisons sit behind each before you decide between them.
If you cannot reach 25
- Make the window longer, and send a reminder halfway.
- Share the link in more than one place.
- Ask the person your group trusts most to send it.
- Or accept a smaller result and use it as a starting point for a conversation.
A simple rule
Start with a dozen ideas. Aim for 25 or more people. Check the comparison counts before you decide between two close ideas.