Card activities vs Poll activities
A Stormz workshop contains activities. An activity is one part of the workshop, such as a brainstorm, a retrospective, or a quick check-in.
When you create an activity, the first important choice is what participants will contribute. Stormz has two activity families: card activities and poll activities.
Card activities
In a card activity, participants create their own contributions. A card might contain an idea, an answer, an image, or a completed sentence.
Use a card activity when you want an open question with many possible answers. For example:
- What could we improve in the next sprint?
- What are our customers struggling with?
- What should we stop, keep, and start doing?
Cards can be arranged in different views such as Kanban, grouped with questions or classifications, discussed, and prioritized with Dot Voting.
Poll activities
In a poll activity, you prepare the possible answers before participants respond. Stormz collects the responses and calculates the results.
Use a poll when participants should choose, rank, or rate something. For example:
- Which proposal should we discuss first?
- Which of these problems have you experienced?
- Put these priorities in order.
- How confident are you about the plan?
Stormz supports single-choice, multiple-choice, ranking, and scale-rating polls.
Which one should you choose?
Ask yourself where the answers will come from.
| If you want participants to… | Choose… |
|---|---|
| Write answers in their own words | A card activity |
| Contribute ideas you have not listed in advance | A card activity |
| Add images, documents, or locations | A card activity |
| Select one prepared answer | A single-choice poll |
| Select several prepared answers | A multiple-choice poll |
| Put prepared answers in order | A ranking poll |
| Choose a point on a five-point scale | A scale-rating poll |
For example, “What is slowing us down?” should usually be a card activity because participants create the answers. “Which of these three problems slows us down most?” can be a poll because the answers are already known.
Polls and Dot Voting are different
A poll collects responses to choices prepared by the facilitator. Each poll has its own question and results.
Dot Voting happens after participants have created cards. It helps the group prioritize those contributions. The available answers are the cards themselves.
Use a poll for a prepared question. Use Dot Voting to prioritize ideas the group has already contributed.
Where to go next
See Choose a poll format if a poll fits your question.
For open-ended participation, start with Fill-in Cards or learn how to organize cards with Kanban.