The Delphi Technique

The Delphi technique is a group decision making technique that is used to systematically solve problems on a topic by a group in physically dispersed locations (Van de Ven & Delbecq, 1974). This technique involves group members that are physically separated that provide written ideas to solve a problem in a certain topic area. These solicited responses are then submitted to a collaborator that will include the various ideas of the group and redistribute them to all the members through designed sequential questionnaires. The process continues until uniformity of an answer is achieved.


The nominal group technique (NGT) is structured by having all group members in a round-table like scenario (Van de Ven & Delbecq, 1974). These members would then silently write down their ideas on a topic and individual present them to the group to be written on a board. Discussions continue after the presentations for clarification and evaluation purposes. The group then provides individual votes for the best idea and the winning idea is selected. These two techniques differ in the way they are executed but have many similarities. Both techniques in principal are the same in the way they utilize multiple individuals to provide solutions to problems that no one expert is sufficient to solve (Tersine & Riggs, 1976). Both techniques are used to come to a consensus decision that is representative of the collective knowledge of a group rather than the limitations of an individual. However, there are many differences as well. The Delphi technique can have advantages when personality or organizational bias come into play. The advantages of anonymous transaction of ideas from physically separated individuals allows the reduction of bias based on social and professional statuses. This is different than NGT because NGT involves face-to-face interactions of a group and may allow bias based on the presence of de facto leaders in the field. There are bias eliminators that exist in NGT as well. Even though NGT involves the group setting with individual identities known, the final selection process of NGT involves anonymous submission of votes to select the most agreed upon answer (Claxton, Ritchie, & Zaichkowsky, 1980). NGT has benefits over Delphi because the close quarter setting allows the free flow of ideas between the group members to better arrive at a group developed answer.

References

Claxton, J. D., Ritchie, J. R. B., & Zaichkowsky, J. (1980). The Nominal Group Technique: Its Potential for Consumer Research. Journal of Consumer Research, 7(3), 308-313.


Tersine, R. J., & Riggs, W. E. (1976). The Delphi Technique: A Long-Range Planning Tool. Business Horizons, 19(2), 51.


Van de Ven, A. H., & Delbecq, A. L. (1974). The Effectiveness of Nominal, Delphi, and Interacting Group Decision Making Processes. Academy of Management Journal, 17(4), 605-621. doi:10.2307/255641