Make workshop breakout groups that fit the room

Start with the people who are present and the space available. Random membership helps mix a workshop, but it does not account for roles or previous partners.

Choose groups from the activity’s constraints

If you have four tables, select Number of teams and enter 4 in the team generator. With 23 participants, the preview is three teams of six and one team of five: 6 + 6 + 6 + 5 = 23. Assign Team 1 through Team 4 to your tables yourself.

If the main rule is at most five people at each table, select People per team and enter 5. The same roster needs five groups, balanced as 5, 5, 5, 4 and 4. Four tables with a capacity of five each hold only 20 people; a random draw cannot resolve that capacity shortage. Add space or change the activity before assigning groups.

A complete 23-person roster and result

Our fictional roster is shown below in input order. Enter each name on its own line, without the table headings. Check the count is 23 before generating four teams.

This illustrative grouping is a valid example, not a recorded draw. Each of the 23 entries appears once; your generated membership may differ.

Brief the groups before they move

1. Verify every present participant has exactly one place. Distinguish labels before drawing if two people share a name.
2. Tell people which team goes to which room or table. The generator does not label physical locations.
3. Give the task, time limit and how to report back. Assign discussion roles within each group if needed.
4. Copy or download the teams before changing settings. Keep later manual changes in the workshop document.

The text export lists each Team heading followed by its members on separate lines. The first block above would be:

Team 1
Maya
Chen
Vera
Gabe
Priya
Alex

The full export continues with a blank line and Team 2, then Teams 3 and 4. It has no attendance tracking, room assignments or saved role information.

Facilitators and mixed experience need separate planning

If each of four tables needs one facilitator, reserve a facilitator at each table first. With 23 total participants including four facilitators, randomize the remaining 19 into four teams of 5, 5, 5 and 4. Adding one facilitator to each produces final sizes 6, 6, 6 and 5. Your workshop document must combine the manually placed facilitators with generated members; the tool export only contains the 19 entered people.

Random membership does not guarantee a mix of experience levels, languages or departments, or accommodate every access requirement. Review relevant constraints before announcing assignments. Describe manual adjustments openly instead of presenting the whole result as an unconstrained random allocation.

Late arrivals and departures

Before drawing, update the roster. Twenty-two people across four groups need sizes 6, 6, 5 and 5; twenty-four need 6, 6, 6 and 6. After the 23-person example has been announced, a late participant can join the five-person team under an agreed rule, bringing all four groups to six. This manual addition will not appear in the original export.

If somebody leaves while the groups are working, a complete redraw may cause unnecessary disruption. Decide whether to continue with a smaller group or make a specific transfer. Save final assignments separately; editing input or generating again clears the earlier result.

A second round can repeat partners

The generator has no memory of previous memberships. Shuffling again can put two people together again or return the same teams. If avoiding repeated partners is a firm requirement, compare rounds yourself and arrange a rotation manually. A second random split alone does not guarantee fresh partners.

Use labels appropriate for the workshop, leave device saving off on a shared computer, and clear the list when finished. Exported files and shared documents are separate copies. Read prepare and export a list for these details and the uneven teams guide for size rules.