Toward a Group Facilitation Technique for Project Teams

Abstract

This article presents the development of a group facilitation technique (PROMOD — Procedural Moderation). The author points toward the importance of integrating theoretical assumptions, theory testing and basic empirical research with practical application. The results are based on the observation of various three-member task groups faced with a complex non-heureka problem. These comprise naturally interacting groups, simple arithmetic assembled groups of individuals without any interaction (synthetic groups), and groups in which a group technique of reduced interaction which focuses on individual contribution through facilitated knowledge elicitation is applied.The task involves decisions on what to do after a plane crash and ranking objects with regard to their importance for survival in an alarming situation (Lafferty & Pond, 1974). The group decision quality is determined by relating to conclusions reached by an independent expert. Results indicate that the observed teams performed best when the PROMOD procedure was applied.