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Nominal Group Technique

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The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is a structured method for group brainstorming that encourages contributions from all participants and facilitates quick agreement on the relative importance of issues, problems, or solutions. It is particularly useful in eliciting information from a group of stakeholders or experts when there is a need to generate a large number of ideas, prioritize them, and reach a consensus. In the NGT process, participants begin by writing down their ideas independently and silently. This promotes equal participation and reduces the influence of dominant individuals. After the silent generation phase, participants share their ideas in a round-robin fashion, with each person contributing one idea at a time until all ideas are recorded. The ideas are typically displayed on a flip chart or a whiteboard so everyone can see them. Once all ideas are collected, the group discusses each one to clarify meanings and explore the reasoning behind them. This discussion phase helps ensure that all participants understand each idea fully before proceeding to the next step. After the discussion, participants individually prioritize the ideas by ranking or voting. The collective results are then tallied to identify the most important or valuable ideas. NGT is effective because it balances the benefits of group discussion with the advantages of individual idea generation. It minimizes the impact of groupthink, where individuals might conform to dominant opinions, and it encourages quieter group members to contribute equally. In the context of business analysis, NGT can be used to elicit requirements, identify risks, or prioritize features and functionalities of a system. By using NGT, business analysts can efficiently gather a wide range of ideas and build consensus among stakeholders, leading to more comprehensive and agreed-upon requirements. It is a valuable facilitation technique because it provides a clear structure for elicitation sessions, ensures balanced participation, and produces quantifiable results that can guide decision-making in projects.

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PMI-PBA - Facilitation Techniques for Elicitation Example Questions

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Question 1

During a Nominal Group Technique session, when should participants share and explain their ideas to the group?

Correct Answer: After individual idea generation and before voting

In Nominal Group Technique (NGT), ideas are shared and explained to the group after individual idea generation and before voting occurs. This is a key step in the structured process of NGT. The correct sequence in NGT is: 1. Silent individual ideation 2. Round-robin sharing and explanation of ideas 3. Group discussion for clarification 4. Voting and ranking The other options are incorrect because: - Sharing during initial brainstorming would interfere with the independent thinking that NGT aims to promote - Sharing after voting would defeat the purpose of informed voting and group consensus building - Sharing before individual ideation would influence participants' thinking and reduce the diversity of ideas The proper sequencing ensures that all participants can think independently first, then share their perspectives in an organized manner, leading to better group decision-making.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes a key benefit of conducting voting in Nominal Group Technique?

Correct Answer: It reduces social pressure and power dynamics in decision making

The key benefit of voting in Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is that it reduces social pressure and power dynamics in decision making. Voting in NGT is done silently and independently, which allows each participant to express their true preferences free from influence of dominant personalities or hierarchical positions. This ensures more authentic and unbiased input from all team members. The other options are incorrect because: Collaborating and building upon ideas happens during the idea generation phase of NGT, not during voting. NGT specifically aims to give equal weight to all participants' votes, rather than giving more influence to experienced members. The voting process in NGT is actually done privately and silently, not through open discussion and debate - this is one of its key distinguishing features.

Question 3

What is the primary purpose of the silent idea generation phase in Nominal Group Technique?

Correct Answer: To reduce cognitive bias and peer influence during ideation

The primary purpose of the silent idea generation phase in Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is to reduce cognitive bias and peer influence during the ideation process. This allows participants to think independently and generate ideas based on their own perspectives and experiences. This phase is crucial because it: - Prevents groupthink and social pressure - Enables all participants to contribute equally - Maximizes creative thinking and diverse perspectives - Ensures ideas are generated before any evaluation occurs The other options are incorrect because: - Documenting research findings is not the focus of silent idea generation; this would occur before the NGT session - Analyzing previous project data is not part of the silent ideation phase; NGT focuses on generating new ideas - While NGT can help manage group dynamics, separating team members is not the primary purpose of the silent phase - the goal is to promote independent thinking from all participants

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