The Psychology of Quality and More

A Toolbook for Quality Improvement and Problem Solving (contents)

Voting: How to do it

The Quality Toolbook > Voting > How to do it

When to use it | How to understand it | Example | How to do it | Practical variations

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How to do it

1. Identify the objective of selecting items from a given list. This may be for further investigation or for specific action.

 
2. Decide on the level of secrecy or anonymity that will be best for the voting session. Anonymity is important in groups where some individuals may be influenced by the actual or perceived power of others in the group.

Consider recruiting a facilitator to help run the voting session. This person will ensure voting is fair and will preserve any confidences and secrecy of votes, enabling each person in the group to have equal voting power.
 

3. Decide on how many items to select from the list. This may be just one item, the top three or a more vague 'top few', to be guided by the eventual distribution of votes.

 

4. Identify the criteria to be used when voting. These form the guidelines that everyone should use to judge the items when casting their votes and often contain considerations of both benefits and costs. For example, an item that achieves objectives very well may be judged to be less desirable if it is expensive and difficult to implement.

Where more than one criterion is identified, be clear about the relative importance of each. For example, 'Equal highest priority: Effect on revenue this year and time to implement. Of secondary importance: cost and people required'.

Display the criteria prominently, alongside the list of items for which votes are to be cast.
 

5. Agree on the method of voting to use. There are several common methods:
• One person one vote. This is simple, but does not allow a spread of opinion to be shown, especially in situations where the aim is to identify the top few items (not just the top one).
• Several votes each. This allows opinion to be spread, but makes a second choice equally as important as a first choice.
• Several weighted votes each. This gives several votes, each of different value, for example three votes of value 3, 2 and 1. Use the number of items being voted for to help decide on the number of votes to give each person.

 

A larger number of votes per person will result in an increase in the time spent in the process, both in deciding what to vote for and in interpreting the results afterwards.

 

6. Vote. There are three basic approaches that can be taken to this:

• Total anonymity. Write the choices, in order, on a slip of paper and hand it to the facilitator, who, when all votes are handed in, totals them up and writes them next to the items for which votes have been cast.
• Partial anonymity. People come out and write their own votes next to the appropriate items. This is okay for groups who work comfortably together and can be done where there is no neutral facilitator.
• Public voting. Use a show of hands or calling out votes one person at a time. This is quickest, but is also most likely to result in people being influenced by the votes of other people, rather than their own judgment against criteria.

7. Add up the votes and write these totals on the displayed list, next to the appropriate items.
   
8. Look at the distribution of votes. If there is not a Pareto distribution (most votes on a few items), then discuss why, bringing out different points of view that led to this diversity. If the spread is wide and viewpoints are changed by this discussion, repeat the vote.

 
9. Discuss each item which has received a significant number of votes, enabling everyone to agree with or accept the reasons for selecting it.

 
10. Verify the selected items. For example, if a solution was selected on its perceived low cost of implementation, work out the actual costs.

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