Nominal Group Technique-

Ranking Ideas from a

Brainstorming Session

© Quality Minds, Inc. June 2009

 Brainstorming as a Tool for
Measurement
• Brainstorming is a wonderful tool for
generating ideas
– Opportunities for process improvement
– Possible root causes to a problem
• Brainstorming is often used in the
Measure phase of a six sigma or lean
six sigma project
• Brainstorming is a valuable tool to
use in any problem solving process
 How to Brainstorm
1. Assemble a cross functional team of no more than six people
2. Make sure each person understands the subject to be brainstormed
3. Three roles must be established before brainstorming starts:
a) Facilitator: This person runs the session and must make sure the process is correctly
followed. This person does not need to be a member of the team
b) Scribe: This person records the ideas generated in the brainstorming session
c) Timekeeper: This person keeps track of time
4. Facilitator opens the floor for discussion
5. The first team member gives his or her idea. If no idea is given the person
must say pass.
6. The next person gives an idea or says pass.
7. Brainstorming continues until each person says pass.
8. The scribe should record each idea on a post it note
9. A Potential Pitfall:
a) Don’t comment on ideas as they are given. The facilitator must make sure that all
discussion is held until the end of the session
10. When the session ends (each member says pass), organize the ideas:
a) Discussion can now be held on the merits of ideas. If the group agrees that certain
ideas are not relevant, the idea or ideas can be removed from the list
Ranking the Ideas
Your brainstorming session generated
several ideas. That is the good news.
The bad news (it really is not bad) is
that the work is just beginning. The
team needs to prioritize the ideas in
order to take action. The nominal
group technique is a wonderful tool for
ranking ideas. The tool is often used in
the Analyze phase of six sigma and
lean six sigma projects.
Steps for Ranking Ideas:
3. Create a table (see table to right)
for housing the ideas and voting on
the ideas. It is best to create the
table on a post it flip chart sheet
and place the sheet on a wall.
4. Each member ranks the ideas
independently of the other teams
members. If there are, for
example, nine ideas, each member
ranks the ideas from one to nine
with nine being the favorite idea
and one being the least favorite
idea.
5. Each member writes his/her results
on the table
6. Sum the votes for each idea
7. The idea with the highest vote
total is the “winner”
8. If there is a disparity in votes for a
certain idea, the team can discuss
the reasons and possibly change
scoring.