Every decision-making technique we've used at Symph

Whether a team has 2 people or 100, a brainstorm or a simple decision usually takes 30 minutes to an hour. It is also normal for people to go with the default option or get swayed by someone else's idea, when they would rather stick with what they want or pitch something new.

We have the same problem at Symph. We can decide quickly which program works for a web feature, but deciding where to eat is hard. Dave, Lotlot and Albert are the exception, because they know what NOT to eat.

Over time we have tried a lot of techniques to make working together more productive and engaging. Our team is our most important asset (yes, more important than the internet), and we believe everyone has good ideas to contribute. Their ideas made Symph what it is today. We also tried a lot of non-tech methods that we would rather not discuss.

Here is how our decision-making has changed over time.

1. Manual voting

"Raise your hands if you want to vote for X."

Manual voting is the cult classic. It makes us feel young (it is a lot like a classroom) and healthy (there is some light exercise involved), but it leaves everyone exposed, so people hesitate to choose.

Our verdict is that it works, but not for a team of more than 10.

2. Facebook polls

We try to keep a healthy work-life balance, which means keeping work out of our personal spaces like Facebook, Messenger and other social networks. We don't block these apps in the office, and we did try Facebook polls, but we got so distracted that we forgot why we had logged in, and decisions took twice as long.

Our verdict is that Facebook can stay the social network we procrastinate on.

3. Slack emojis

We love Slack because it makes working with the team more fun and productive, but it is not an efficient tool for decisions. We tried voting with emojis. Exhibit A:

Our verdict is that Slack is a great internal communication tool, but when we use it to decide something we end up with a long thread of messages and emojis.

4. Design Sprints

The Design Sprint is one of the most complex methods we use and one of our favourites. For projects and core team meetings we rely on sticky notes and stickers, and we often borrow and hack parts of the Design Sprint.

Our verdict is that we still love this process, but we feel bad about all the post-it notes and stickers. They are expensive, and throwing so many away is bad for the environment. It also suits major decisions that need a real process better than the small ones.

5. Decision Jam

Decision Jam came from the Lightning Decision Jam process, which we also use a lot at Symph. We built Decision Jam as a hack on Lightning Decision Jam so we could start a decision with the team quickly, and we built it with remote teams, introverts and trees in mind.

We create a Decision Jam room and invite everyone involved, and they pitch their ideas and vote from whatever device they prefer, laptop or mobile phone.

Everyone stays anonymous from pitching to voting, so more people pitch ideas on each topic (we call them Jams). Since we started using Decision Jam, our brainstorming sessions have gone from the usual 1 hour to 15 minutes or less.

Our verdict is that it feels good to make a decision without leaving anyone's ideas unheard, and to act on something we all agreed on. We save trees and time as well, so Decision Jam is staying.

Try Decision Jam and tell us what you think.