Delphi Technique
The Delphi technique consists of an anonymous survey of experts that is conducted in multiple rounds. In between each round, a facilitator summarizes the experts' opinions in the form of a statistical demand forecast and, based on this summary, creates a new questionnaire or survey. The panel of experts -- those who are surveyed -- are provided this statistical summary and the new questionnaire, which they review before the next polling round. In each round, an expert can choose to stick with his original response or alter his assessment based on the opinions of the other experts, which are presented in the summarized results. The process is repeated until an expert consensus is formed, which is indicated by a lack of significant change in the summary forecast from one round to the next. This demand forecast may influence small-business operations in a number of ways, including the stock the company keeps on hand and production levels.