Stop Light / Traffic Light

Purpose

The Stop Light (Traffic Light) method provides an instant visual health check. By rating items as green (on track), yellow (at risk), or red (blocked/critical), the team creates a dashboard that focuses discussion on what needs attention. It works for project status, risk reviews, team morale, and feature readiness.

At a glance

How to run

1. List the items (3 min): Write the items to be assessed (project milestones, risks, team areas, features) on a board.
2. Rate each item (5 min): Each participant places a green, yellow, or red dot next to each item. Or vote with coloured sticky notes.
3. Focus on reds and yellows (5 min): Discuss each red item: What is blocking it? What is needed to move it to yellow or green? Then address yellows.
4. Agree on actions (2 min): For each red/yellow, assign an owner and a next step.

Materials needed

• List of items to assess
• Green, yellow, and red dot stickers (or sticky notes)
• Whiteboard or digital board

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Everything is green: If no one marks red, psychological safety may be missing. Normalise reds.
• No discussion of reds: The colours are a starting point, not the end. Always follow up.
• Overcomplicating: Three colours is the maximum. Adding more levels defeats the simplicity.
• Using it punitively: Reds should trigger help, not blame.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Add text labels (Green/Yellow/Red or Go/Caution/Stop) for colour-blind participants.
• Allow anonymous colour assignment for sensitive topics.
• Use digital tools with accessible colour alternatives.

Variations

• Personal Traffic Light: Each team member rates their own wellbeing as green/yellow/red.
• Feature Traffic Light: Rate features by launch readiness.
• Risk Traffic Light: Rate risks by likelihood × impact using the three colours.

When NOT to use this

• When a more nuanced scale is needed (e.g., 1–10 scoring).
• When the team is too small for anonymity to matter.
• When status is already tracked in a tool that provides better granularity.

Source & further reading

• Standard project management technique (PMI, PRINCE2)
• Agile retrospective adaptations
• Gamestorming: Red Light, Green Light