Affinity diagram

The affinity diagram is a business tool used to organize ideas and data. It is one of the Seven Management and Planning Tools.

The tool is commonly used within project management and allows large numbers of ideas stemming from brainstorming^[1] to be sorted into groups, based on their natural relationships, for review and analysis.

Once the cards have been sorted into groups the team may sort large clusters into subgroups for easier management and analysis.[4] Once completed, the affinity diagram may be used to create a cause and effect diagram.[5]

In many cases, the best results tend to be achieved when the activity is completed by a cross-functional team, including key stakeholders. The process requires becoming deeply immersed in the data, which has benefits beyond the tangible deliverables.

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AFFINITY DIAGRAM

The affinity diagram organizes a large number of ideas into their natural relationships. This method taps a team’s creativity and intuition. It was created in the 1960s by Japanese anthropologist Jiro Kawakita.

When to Use an Affinity Diagram
When you are confronted with many facts or ideas in apparent chaos
When issues seem too large and complex to grasp
When group consensus is necessary

Typical situations are:
After a brainstorming exercise
When analyzing verbal data, such as survey results.
Affinity Diagram Procedure

Materials needed: sticky notes or cards, marking pens, large work surface (wall, table, or floor).
Record each idea with a marking pen on a separate sticky note or card. Randomly spread notes on a large work surface so all notes are visible to everyone. The entire team gathers around the notes and participates in the next steps.

It is very important that no one talk during this step. Look for ideas that seem to be related in some way. Place them side by side. Repeat until all notes are grouped. It’s okay to have “loners” that don’t seem to fit a group. It’s all right to move a note someone else has already moved. If a note seems to belong in two groups, make a second note.

You can talk now. Participants can discuss the shape of the chart, any surprising patterns, and especially reasons for moving controversial notes. A few more changes may be made. When ideas are grouped, select a heading for each group. Look for a note in each grouping that captures the meaning of the group. Place it at the top of the group. If there is no such note, write one. Often it is useful to write or highlight this note in a different color.

An Example from the Hotel Industry

Information about customer wants/needs regarding service and room quality was gathered from several sources. The data before affinitizing are shown below:

The same data after affinitizing: