Nominal Group Technique
Benefits of Using the NGT Compared to Brainstorming
In groups where some individuals are dominating, nominal group technique facilitates the participation of every member of the group. Nominal group technique gives every group member a chance to share their ideas and contribute to the discussion and therefore eliminate the likelihood of a few members taking control and dominating the group process.
In the case of controversial issues, the nominal group technique provides a pool of ideas quite faster. Typically, nominal group technique offers a great sense of closure as group members vote for the ideas and democratically prioritize solutions. While both nominal group technique and brainstorming are techniques involving groups, they differ slightly from each other. Nominal group technique is an advanced version of brainstorming as it enhances brainstorming with a process of voting for the purpose of prioritization or ranking the most superior ideas or solutions (Boddy, 2012).
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In a brainstorming session, many ideas are gathered, filtered, analyzed and then deliberated in another session which leads to the nominal group technique. In the nominal group technique, the group members identify a list of problems and generate the solutions required for decision making. The group member then deliberates on the recommended solutions. The advantages of nominal group technique over brainstorming include the incorporation of individual and group creativity as well as the equal contribution and participation of group members in decision making.
The steps of the Nominal Group Technique
Step 1: Issue Presentation
This step involves; informing the group members what is expected of them, presenting the topic of discussion, and ensuring that the group members clearly understand the issue of discussion and the questions involved (Delp, Thesen, Motiwalla & Seshardi, 1977). Usually, group members are provided with comprehensive information about the issue to be discussed beforehand so that they well prepared during the meeting.
Step 2: Brainstorming
Group members are given approximately five minutes to individually write their ideas for the question on the notepaper provided. Group members are encouraged to be creative when answering the question. Throughout this step, participants are required to remain silent since individual brainstorming would not require consultations.
Step 3: Idea Documentation
After the participants have individually brainstormed, every member is asked to give and explain one of the opportunities in their list. The explained opportunity is written down by the notes taker. In this step, group members are discouraged from extensively discussing an idea unless when asking for clarifications. Instead, members are encouraged to build upon the ideas of their colleagues and write down any new ideas.
Step 4: Compilation and Review of Generated Ideas
To avoid duplication and repetition of ideas, group members are called upon to point out any repeated idea from the statements documented on the flipchart placed in the meeting room. Ideas are prioritized, and each discussed extensively. The discussions will result in some opportunities being combined with one and others being discarded. To arrive at this, members engage in a voting process to ensure that the entire process is democratic and transparent.
Step 5: Ranking
In this step, group members vote for their most favored opportunities from the flipchart papers posted in the meeting room. Marks or colored strikers are used to rank the most preferred opportunities. Group members are requested to select half of the ideas generated and rank them in the order of superiority or importance. This process places emphasis on fewer ideas. When recording the vote, the facilitator writes down every single idea on a separate sheet of paper. After recording the actual votes, the facilitator record the scores assigned by individual members to the idea (Paulus & Yang, 2000).
References
Boddy, C. (2012). The nominal group technique: An aid to brainstorming ideas in research. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal , 15(1), 6-18.
Delp, P., Thesen, A., Motiwalla, J., & Seshardi, N. (1977). Nominal group technique. Syst Tools Proj Plan , 1, 14-8.
Paulus, P. B., & Yang, H. C. (2000). Idea generation in groups: A basis for creativity in organizations. Organizational behavior and human decision processes , 82(1), 76-87.
