Reflecting on the Nominal Group Technique: Altering the basic procedure and its underlying assumptions

Practitioners often apply theories and techniques, but the results of their applications rarely inform the original theory. Consequently, theories and theory-based techniques are seldom altered on the basis of practice, even when such attention is appropriate. This article describes an application of the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) and suggestions for altering the technique on the basis of learnings from the application. The NGT was used in two decision-making meetings. On the basis of problems experienced with NGT during the first meeting, it was modified in ways that increased its ability to (1) achieve decision acceptance and (2) address ill-structured problems. The modified technique was used successfully during the second meeting. After describing the use of NGT, the article presents an expanded model of the technique and its underlying assumptions.