methodatlas
Facilitation

Nominal Group Technique

Turns group contributions, selection, and decision-making into a tangible result by clarifying the question, collecting ideas silently, and evaluating options.

Core question
Which ideas, options, or priorities emerge when every voice gets equal space and scoring is done separately?
MediumWorkshop60-120 min
Open runsheetPlan sessionStart comparison
Purpose

The method helps clarify group contributions, selection, and decisions concretely. It turns individual contributions into a visible selection. The result is captured as Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, and Group Priority.

How it works

The team follows the steps: clarify the question, write ideas silently, collect ideas in rotation, clarify understanding questions, and perform evaluation. Each step is captured visibly. In the end, Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, and Group Priority are available so decisions, tests, or actions can follow directly.

Visual orientation

Method sketch for a quick mental model.

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Flow

  1. 1Clarify the question
  2. 2Write ideas silently
  3. 3Collect ideas in rotation
  4. 4Clarify understanding questions
  5. 5Evaluate

The runsheet guides execution with 5 phases, timeboxes, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.

Open runsheet

Ideal for

  • Inclusive Workshops
  • Prioritization
  • Problem Solving

Not good for

  • Very open ideation phases
  • Decisions without need for evaluation

Deep dive

In detail

Nominal Group Technique follows a clear working logic: clarify the question, write ideas silently, collect ideas in rotation, clarify understanding questions, and perform evaluation. This turns the method into a visible thinking process instead of only a conversation. The participants move step by step from raw material, observations, or options to a shared structure. As a result, Ranked Ideas, Clarified Options, and Group Priority support decisions, learning, or further planning.

Facilitation

Prepare a clear guiding question, the right information, and a visible workspace. Plan about 60 to 120 minutes with 5 to 12 people and run it in a facilitated workshop. The method needs clear structure and preparation; short timeboxes, visible intermediate results, and a parking lot for open questions help.

Output artifacts
Ranked IdeasClarified OptionsGroup Priority
Tags
facilitationprioritizationvotinginclusion

Sources

Nominal group technique - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Artifact templates
Nominal Group Technique Working TemplateCompact working template for Nominal Group Technique with silent idea generation, clarification, and ranking.
markdown

nominal-group-technique-working-template.md

Compact working template for Nominal Group Technique with silent idea generation, clarification, and ranking.

Nominal Group Technique Working Template

Goal

Collect ideas fairly, clarify them, and rank them with a structured group vote.

Context

What question should the group answer, and what decision follows?

Input

  • Focus question:
  • Group members:
  • Constraints:
  • Source notes:

Working area

  • Silent ideas:
  • Clarification questions:
  • Ranking or voting:
  • Priority themes:

Output artifacts

  • Ranked ideas:
  • Clarified options:
  • Priority list:

Open questions

  • ...

Decision / next step

Owner, date, and success signal.

When to choose differently

Short decision aid for existing alternatives.

Dot Voting

Statt Nominal Group Technique, wenn ihr schnell eine Gruppenpriorisierung braucht und Diskussionen kurz halten wollt.

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Turns group input, selection, and decisions into a tangible result by making options visible, explaining voting limits, and discussing outliers.

Statt Nominal Group Technique, wenn ihr schnell eine Gruppenpriorisierung braucht und Diskussionen kurz halten wollt.

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