Nominal Group Technique: When to use it

The Quality Toolbook > Nominal Group Technique > When to use it

When to use it | How to understand it | Example | How to do it | Practical variations

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When to use it

• Use it when a problem is well understood, but knowledge about it is dispersed amongst several people.
• Use it when a rapid consensus is required from a team, rather than a more detailed consideration.
• Use it when the team is stuck on an issue, for example when they disagree about something.
• Use it when the group prefers a structured style of working together.
• Use it, rather than Brainstorming, when a limited list of considered opinions is preferred to a long list of wild ideas, or when the group is not sufficiently comfortable together to be open and creative.

Fig. 1.  Using the Nominal Group Technique in problem solving

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