The nominal group technique was developed and conceptualized by Delbecq and VandeVen. Simply put, it's a decision making process and method, and it can be used for groups that are small or large. It's helpful when decisions need to be rendered in a timely manner, yet the company wants all of the opinions of the individuals in a group to factor within the decision in a bigger way than a simply "majority rules" voter pool.
It's the method tallying and coming to a result conclusion that sets the nominal group technique apart from other methods. The initial stage of the technique gives each individual a chance to state his opinion on what the solution should be. He's also allowed to elaborate slightly with a brief accompanying explanation for why he chose the way he did.
Duplicate solutions are then eliminated from the pool, leaving only original solutions behind. The individuals then rank the remaining solutions according to numerical preference. All of these preferences are tallied and considered to render the most accurate results. While there are other variations on achieving this result in a nominal group technique, that's how it's traditionally done.
