4.1Sorting & grouping ideas
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Convergence after divergence: after generating, you move from a mass of ideas to a few workable paths — you sort only after, never during.
- Group by affinity first: gather close ideas into themes and families, remove duplicates, surface trends.
- Dot vote next: each spreads limited votes to surface a fast collective first sort, the base for matrix 4.2.
Running case — Sara and her 80 sticky notes
Sara, a project officer in an SME in Algiers, comes out of a brainstorming on customer reception with 80 loose sticky notes on the wall. First urge: debate each idea one by one — she burns out in ten minutes. By applying two-step convergence, she groups by affinity into 6 families then runs a dot vote: 5 supported options emerge within minutes.
This same case runs through the lesson, the diagram, the script and the 48h challenge — and continues in 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5.
1. From abundance to paths
After good divergence, you have a mass of ideas — sometimes dozens of sticky notes. Convergence begins: moving from this abundance to a few workable paths.
First step before selecting: organize. Affinity grouping gathers similar ideas into themes and families, surfaces the main categories and removes duplicates. Sara thus moves from 80 loose ideas to 6 readable families.
2. Dot voting
Once organized, move to a first collective selection. Dot voting gives each participant a limited number of votes to spread on the most promising ideas.
You quickly and democratically visualize the ideas gathering the most support, without long debates. Collective intelligence serving a fast first sort.
3. Sort after, and in a structured way
These techniques turn the fertile chaos of generation into a structured, ranked set, the base for finer decisions to come with the impact/feasibility matrix in section 4.2.
The key principle: you sort only after generating, never during, and in a structured way rather than at random or by the loudest voice.
🔎 Concrete example — 80 notes, 6 families
You do not drown: you structure first.
80 loose ideas → affinity grouping → 6 big families.
Then dot voting (3 votes each) → the 5 most supported ideas emerge in 5 minutes.Result: chaos becomes a ranked, manageable set.
Reflex: rescue a bold little-voted but promising idea.
Section vocabulary
- Affinity grouping
- Gathering similar ideas into themes and families to see clearly and remove duplicates.
Simple example: Sara moves her 80 notes into 6 readable families on the wall.
What it is not: debating each isolated idea without ever grouping them.
Reflex: always group before any vote or ranking.
- Convergence (sorting)
- The selection phase: moving from a mass of ideas to a few workable paths.
Simple example: Sara moves from 80 ideas to 5 supported options to explore.
What it is not: sorting during generation, judging each idea as it comes out.
Reflex: diverge first without judging, converge next.
- Dot voting
- A technique where each spreads a limited number of votes on the ideas judged most promising.
Simple example: 3 stickers each on Sara's wall, counted in 5 minutes.
What it is not: letting the loudest voice impose its choice with no vote.
Reflex: a limited number of votes per person, always.
- Collective intelligence (sorting)
- Mobilizing the group's opinion to quickly surface the ideas gathering the most support.
Simple example: Sara's team surfaces trends with no endless debate.
What it is not: one single decision-maker sorting alone in a corner.
Reflex: have the group vote before any fine decision.
- Theme / idea family
- A category grouping close ideas, emerging from affinity grouping.
Simple example: at Sara's: reception, waiting, follow-up as families.
What it is not: one single pile of 80 mixed ideas with no categories.
Reflex: name each family in a few visible words.
In practice — Sorting and grouping ideas
- Group ideas by affinity: gather similar ones into themes and families, remove duplicates.
- Surface the main categories and trends from these groupings.
- Run a dot vote: each spreads a limited number of votes on the most promising ideas.
- Draw a fast collective first sort, the base for finer decisions (impact/feasibility matrix).
Ready-to-say script — launching the sort with no debate (30 s)
We judge nothing yet: we first group close notes into families, merge duplicates. Then each sticks 3 votes on the most promising. We keep the top 5 — plus one rescued bold one.
To say before the wall of ideas ahead of any debate: organize first, vote next.
Copy-paste template — affinity + vote sorting sheet
MASS OF IDEAS (number): _______________
AFFINITY FAMILIES (themes): _______________ / _______________ / _______________
MERGED DUPLICATES: _______________
VOTES PER PERSON: _______________
TOP 5 OPTIONS: _______________
RESCUED BOLD IDEA: _______________Small business / small team
With 2 or 3 people, same ritual in 15 minutes: a wall or a table, hand-moved notes, 3 votes each.
SME in Algeria
Team caught up in operations: sort on site at the end of the workshop, otherwise notes stay on the wall and die.
Remote / hybrid
Same logic on a shared board: group into columns, vote with digital dots, keep a screenshot.
Large group
Beyond 10 people: subgroups group first, then a common vote to avoid the dominant voice.
✓ Best practices
- Organize (group) before evaluating: you no longer drown in the mass.
- Use dot voting for a fast sort without endless debates.
- Deliberately rescue a few bold little-voted ideas.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Trying to finely evaluate every idea at once (overwhelm).
- Letting selection happen at random or by the loudest voice.
- Sacrificing boldness to soft consensus (voting favors the consensual).
Key takeaways
- After generation, convergence moves from a mass of ideas to a few workable paths.
- Affinity grouping gathers close ideas into themes and surfaces trends.
- Dot voting quickly and democratically surfaces the most promising ideas.
- You sort AFTER generating (never during) and in a structured way.
48h challenge — apply tomorrow
Take your loose ideas, group them into affinity families with the template above, then run a dot vote (3 votes each). Keep the top 5 + 1 bold one.
- I can explain affinity then dot voting in order.
- I know why you sort after generating, never during.
- I produced a collective first sort from a mass of ideas.
Frequently asked questions
How not to drown facing dozens of ideas?
Through affinity grouping, the first step of convergence. Facing a scattered mass, evaluating each idea one by one is discouraging. You organize before sorting: you gather close ideas into themes. Chaos becomes structure: categories emerge, trends appear, duplicates merge. Then dot voting surfaces the most supported paths.
Does dot voting not kill good bold ideas?
It is a risk: dot voting favors consensual ideas over divisive ones. To mitigate: treat voting as a first sort and rescue a few bold ideas, vote on several criteria, combine with the impact/feasibility matrix. Use it with discernment, as an aid, not a cleaver.
Sara has 80 loose notes on the wall. What does convergence start with?