If a note seems to belong in two groups, make a second note. It is also okays to move a note someone else has already moved. It’s okay to have “loners” that don’t seem to fit a group. Step 2: Look for ideas that seem to be related in some way and place them side by sideĪttempt to look for relationships between individual ideas and have team members simultaneously sort the ideas (without talking) into five to 10 related groupings. Written ideas should be between three and seven words long. With regular pens, it is hard to read ideas from any distance. Tips: Use markers so words can be read clearly even from a distance. The entire team gathers around the notes and participates in the next steps. (During a brainstorming session, write directly onto sticky notes or cards if you suspect you will be following the brainstorm with an affinity diagram.) Randomly spread notes on a large work surface so all notes are visible to everyone. Step 1: Record each idea with a marking pen on a separate sticky note or card Materials needed: Sticky notes or cards, marking pens, and large work surface (wall, table, or floor). Affinity diagrams tend to have 40 to 60 items however, it is not unusual to see 100 to 200 items. This technique accesses the great knowledge and understanding residing untapped in our intuition. The affinity diagram process lets a group move beyond its habitual thinking and preconceived categories. When reducing attributes to categories that can be addressed at a higher level.When developing relationships or themes among ideas.When collecting and organizing large data sets.When analyzing verbal data, such as survey results.When issues seem too large and complex to grasp.When you are confronted with many facts or ideas in apparent chaos.It was created in the 1960s by Japanese anthropologist Jiro Kawakita. This idea creation method taps a team’s creativity and intuition. After generating ideas, group them according to their affinity, or similarity. Use it to generate, organize, and consolidate information related to a product, process, complex issue, or problem. It is the organized output from a brainstorming session. The affinity diagram organizes a large number of ideas into their natural relationships. Affinity diagramming is typically used in user experience design, UX research, and design thinking industries, but the practice can be implemented by any team that wants to distill information.Quality Glossary Definition: Affinity diagramĪlso called: affinity chart, affinity mapping, K-J Method, thematic analysis The activity sparks initial discussion on problems that are best solved by many minds coming together and agreeing on a course of action. A project or product is in a state of chaos.Data or survey results need to be analyzed.Large amounts of data need to be sorted.You need to reach one solution that everyone on the team will buy into.There’s an issue or problem that’s too complex or tough to grasp.The team has struggled to reach a consensus.A problem needs to be solved as a group.Everyone involved in the session is able to see various paths forward, which can be discussed and narrowed down to the best solution. The team groups similar solutions until natural relationships form. Typically, affinity mapping occurs after a large group brainstorming exercise during which many team members and sometimes clients or stakeholders have given their input.Īll of the team's ideas are added to sticky notes, which are organized somewhere for everyone to see. The exercise is designed to quickly get teams on the same page about a problem that needs to be solved. Affinity mapping is an agile technique used to solve problems by distilling many ideas into the best solution or path forward.