How do you use the nominal group technique for group decision making?

1 What is the NGT?

The NGT is a facilitation technique that involves four main steps: brainstorming, ranking, discussing, and voting. The goal is to elicit and evaluate ideas from all group members, while minimizing the influence of dominant personalities, groupthink, or social pressure. The NGT is based on the assumption that the best decisions are made when everyone has a chance to contribute and evaluate the options independently and collectively.

2 How to use the NGT?

To use the NGT, you need a facilitator, a clear and specific problem statement, a group of 5 to 10 participants, and some materials such as paper, pens, and sticky notes. The steps to follow include brainstorming, ranking, discussing, and voting. During brainstorming, the facilitator presents the problem statement and each participant writes down ideas on separate pieces of paper. For ranking, the facilitator collects the papers and displays them; each participant is then asked to rank their top 5 ideas according to their preference or criteria. Afterwards, the facilitator leads a group discussion on the top-ranked ideas. Finally, the facilitator asks the group to vote on the final decision. Upon announcing the result and confirming agreement from the group, the NGT is complete.

3 What are the benefits of the NGT?

The NGT offers several advantages for group decision making, such as encouraging creativity and diversity of perspectives, reducing bias and conflict, enhancing participation and engagement, improving quality and efficiency, and fostering trust and commitment. By allowing everyone to generate and rank their own ideas, it minimizes the impact of social factors that can lead to bias or conflict. It also ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute to the outcome, while focusing on the most relevant and feasible solutions. Ultimately, it creates a sense of ownership and accountability among the group members that can help build trust and commitment.

4 What are the limitations of the NGT?

The NGT has some limitations that you should be aware of. Firstly, it requires a skilled and neutral facilitator to guide the process, manage the time, and handle any issues or challenges that may arise. Secondly, it depends on the clarity and specificity of the problem statement, which should be well-defined and agreed upon by the group before starting the NGT. Additionally, it may not suit all types of problems or situations, especially those that are complex, ambiguous, or controversial. Finally, it may not reflect the preferences or interests of all stakeholders who are not part of the group or have different criteria or expectations.

5 When to use the NGT?

The NGT is a versatile and flexible technique that can be employed for various purposes and contexts, such as generating and prioritizing ideas for new projects, products, or services, solving problems or issues that are simple, clear, and well-defined, making decisions or recommendations based on multiple criteria or factors, engaging and empowering diverse groups, and enhancing learning and reflection among groups that are interested in sharing and improving their practices.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?