The d'Hondt system is the method which would be used to share out Northern Ireland's 10 new government departments on a cross-community basis, according to party strengths in the Assembly.
This means the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP would each be entitled to three ministerial seats, while Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists would have two seats each.
The formula used to calculate the order in which the parties choose their ministries is based on the number of Assembly seats divided by the number of ministerial offices that party already holds plus one.
Where this gives the same total for two parties, the one with the bigger number of first-preference votes in last year's Assembly elections picks first.
The Ulster Unionists are the biggest Assembly party with 28 seats, followed by the SDLP with 24, then the Democratic Unionists (20), and Sinn Fein (18).
Therefore the Ulster Unionists would get first pick of ministerial portfolios, then the SDLP, the DUP third and Sinn Fein fourth.
Under the formula, the UUP will have fifth choice, SDLP sixth and DUP seventh, but then the first-preference votes will come into play, giving the UUP eighth pick, Sinn Fein ninth and the SDLP 10th.
The First Minister and Deputy First Minister are not excluded from holding another ministerial office.
Chairs, deputy chairs and committees to help and advise each minister will then be appointed using the same formula, with regard to the balance of parties and ensuring each Assembly member has the opportunity to be on a committee.
A minister may not be the chair or deputy chair of a committee, and members can only hold one chair or deputy chair.