Method guide · Work with a structured grid
Confidence Voting
Show confidence in one proposal simultaneously, then use concerns and the distribution to proceed, revise, or defer.
- People
- 2–120
- Base procedure time
- 5 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Make a decision.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A judgement method in which everyone simultaneously shows 0–5 fingers for confidence in moving one proposal forward. Use it when yes/no hides the extent of uncertainty or loud voices pull the vote. Define 0 as a concern that stops progress and 5 as readiness to support proceeding, then reveal all values at once. Recorders count the people at 0 and at 4–5, and the facilitator uses the result to proceed, revise, or defer. The result is one sheet with the value distribution and next treatment. Do not use five minutes to settle legal responsibility or safety.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Fix the question0–1 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Fix. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Check the scale1–2 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Check. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Show simultaneously2–3 minutes from the start (1 minute)
Action: Show. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Decide what happens next3–5 minutes from the start (2 minutes)
Action: Decide. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 1 minute, read the proposal in one sentence and show everyone the scope this vote will decide.
- For 1 minute, explain that 0 means a stopping concern, 3 is conditional, and 5 is readiness to support proceeding.
- For 1 minute, allow 10 seconds to think, then signal everyone to show 0–5 fingers simultaneously.
- The recorder writes counts for 0–5 and reads out the counts at 0 and at 4–5.
- If anyone shows 0, each gives one sentence stating the stopping reason, and the facilitator records changes needed.
- For 2 minutes, choose whether to revise and vote again, assign owners and proceed, or defer.
If something changes
If
At least one person shows 0.
Then
Stop implementation and hear one sentence each from those at 0 about missing safety, authority, or implementation conditions.
If
Fewer than half of participants show 4–5 and none shows 0.
Then
Revise just one part of the proposal there and then, and vote again once only on the same scale.
If
After the repeat vote, fewer than half still show 4–5.
Then
Defer the decision and record one fact to check next and one owner.
Preparation
Materials
- One scale sheet for everyone, A3 or larger, explaining values 0–5
- One tally sheet per 30 people, approximately A5, for counts at 0–5
- One dark-coloured tally pen per 30 people
Room and setup
- Display one proposal and one decision criterion where everyone can see them
- With 31 or more, use groups of no more than 30 and one recorder in each
Adjust for people and time
With 2–30, show values simultaneously in one space. With 31–120, use groups of no more than 30, all voting on the same proposal and scale at the same time. Each recorder tallies 0–5 and reports only the counts at 0 and at 4–5 to the facilitator. The facilitator adds all groups' counts before applying branches, limiting speakers to those at 0 as numbers grow to retain the 5-minute frame.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Any 0 stops implementation for the stated safety, authority, or implementation concern. Apply the distribution across all groups, allow only the one specified repeat vote, and defer if the threshold remains unmet. This five-minute tool does not settle legal responsibility or safety.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- Counting, reasons from all zero-voters, and the permitted repeat vote have no separate minute allocations in the 5-minute procedure. No extra duration or speaking quota is invented.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Tim Beattie and Matt Takane: Confidence Voting
https://openpracticelibrary.com/practice/confidence-voting/
Adaptation under CC BY 4.0; changes made
- Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
CC BY 4.0
Current-page licence notice
A Taiwa no Fumen adaptation based on the Open Practice Library practice identified below. The manuscript's recorded references and the source page checked for this notice are shown separately.
Changes: explanations, timings, instructions, materials and branches were edited for this site. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the original practice.
The checked source footer names CC BY 4.0 but links to CC BY-SA 4.0. The official site source code contains the same mismatch. This has not been confirmed with the rights holders. This notice does not change the terms of the original material.
This site's contributions to the identified adaptation and English translation are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Credit the creators, identify the source and licence, indicate changes, and share adaptations under the same terms. This does not remove separate source terms or third-party rights.
This is not a blanket licence for the whole site, other original manuscripts, third-party photographs, logos, external templates or trademarks. The source's Except where noted qualification remains applicable.
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See the linked legal code for its no-warranty and other provisions.
The additional contributor names are handles from the fixed official practice source. They are not inferred real names or a reconstruction of collapsed editor labels. The earlier attribution limits remain recorded.
Credits on the checked source page
- Named contributors on the source page: Tim Beattie, Matt Takane
- Contributors listed in the official practice source (repository handles): @tdbeattie, @mtakane, @theisey, @shaypeleg
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Confidence Voting.
Source lineage
CC BY-SA 4.0 — this site's adaptation and translation contributions · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.