Nominal group technique is is a consensus planning tool that helps
prioritize issues. It is used to identify the major strengths of a department/unit/institution
and provide each participant with an equal voice. In the nominal group
technique, participants are brought together for a discussion session led
by a moderator.
The nominal group technique involves the following steps:
- Ask that all participants (usually 5-10 persons) write or say the problem
or issue they feel is most important.
- Develop a master list of the problems or issues.
- Generate and distribute to each participate a form that numbers in no particular
order the problems or issues. Request that each participant rank the top
five problems or issues by assigning a #5 points to their most important
perceived problem and #1 points the least important of their top five.
- Tally the results by adding the points for each problem or issue. The problem
or issue with the highest number is the most important one for the total
team. Discuss the results and generate a final ranked list for action planning.
