Delphi Method and Nominal Group Technique

Alexander N. Christakis in his book "How People Harness Their Collective Wisdom and Power" discusses the Delphi and the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) consensus methods.

Delbecq in 1975 invented the NGT method. This method requires participants to put their responses in writing to what is termed a triggering question. These responses are then shared with the group at hand. There is similarity to traditional brainstorming techniques with an important difference.

By requiring the participants to write down their thoughts, this gives them more of a chance to better organize their responses when compared to brainstorming. NGT is used during the Structured Design Process (SDP) to slow down the speed at which ideas are generated, and it allows everyone, not just the dominate personalities, to present their ideas.

The Delphi method was invented in the 1960's by the nonprofit RAND Corporation.. This technique works well over globally dispersed teams of participants. During the SDP, Delphi is used during the design phase. Like NGT, it removes the effects of dominant personalities, and also allows anonymity. Due to the dispersed aspect, Delphi works well in the modern environment of global commerce.