Nominal Group Technique

Nominal group technique was developed to involve all members in determining group goals. The technique is termed "nominal" because much of the work is done independently by group members. Though conducted in a group setting, a good deal of the discussion that is part of normal group meetings is avoided. Since members work individually and are not influenced by group discussion, a broad range of ideas may be suggested.

By involving all members in a highly structured exercise, the technique tends to reduce the influence of dominant individuals. No one is permitted to lobby for a particular position. Criticism of others ideas is prohibited. Thus a safe group climate is created in which all members feel free to express themselves.

Involvement of all members in the goal setting process acts to motivate the members to accomplish the selected goals. Because everyone had a hand in determining the goals, they are more likely to work toward accomplishing them.

The technique is not a magic solution that will solve all the problems of a struggling group. High power individuals may object to a technique that reduces their influence. If significant interests are not represented at the session, the validity of the results will be questionable. The technique does not use in-depth discussion of recommendations nor careful analysis of background information. It does involve all members in generating a large number of alternatives and then reducing them to a manageable number of priorities in a minimum period of time.

Steps:

1 . Break group down into groups of 6-1 0 to facilitate discussion and recording.
2 . Participants write on note cards all the ideas they can think of in response to the task question. The task question needs to be carefully worded to focus thinking on the proper issue. Members work individually and silently.
3. A recorder for each group writes down all the ideas on newsprint and numbers them. This is done in a round-robin fashion, taking one idea at a time from each member until all ideas are recorded. No lobbying or criticism!
4. The group examines its list to see if any ideas can be combined.
5. Individual members vote for the ideas they feel are most important by writing the numbers of the ideas on their cards. The number of ideas each selects should be based on the total number of ideas; choose three ideas from a total of up to 15, four from a total of 15-25, five for a total greater than 25.
6. Recorders tally the number of responses for each item.
7. Results from each small group are reported back to the whole group.
8. A second round of voting on the top priorities is done by the group as a whole.
9. The total number of ideas to be acted upon depends on the number of priorities the group feels it can pursue.