Affinity diagrams organize ideas, data, and concepts to help people process them. Developed by Kawakita Jiro, the KJ method involves writing concepts on note cards and silently grouping them into related clusters. This method is useful in business, research, and other activities.
An affinity diagram is a method for organizing ideas, data, and concepts in a meaningful way to help people process them. When working in a group, affinity diagrams can be critical in ordering information from all group members and organizing information in a productive and useful way. This method can be useful in business and also when people are getting ready to write research papers, design scientific experiments and engage in other activities.
A Japanese anthropologist, Kawakita Jiro, first developed the affinity diagram, and some people refer to this technique as the KJ method, referencing it. The first step is to write down the concepts on note cards or, for people who make an affinity diagram on the computer, use a program capable of generating notes or moving pads to record the information. In a group, people should not talk during this process.
People start with a prompt to know what kind of information they should be thinking about. For example, an advertising company might ask team members to think about a new advertising campaign for an automobile company. Team members jot down thoughts about the company’s current image and brand, product line, and other topics that come to mind.
Once a stack of idea cards is available, people can start linking like with to create an affinity diagram. In groups, people don’t talk during this process and silently move cards or notes around to create a series of related clusters. In cases where information appears to belong to multiple clusters, second copies of the original card can be made to fit the new cluster. Each group of related items can have a header to summarize the content, and the end result will be a series of grouped items.
Groups can use the affinity diagram to divide tasks, assigning each group of cards to a committee so they can work with them. When individuals are using an affinity diagram, groupings can help them organize their thoughts and develop a plan for moving forward on a project. They can sort groups by priority or time; in an experiment, for example, the cards referring to how to objectively evaluate the results would end last, whereas the cards in the experimental design are first, because the researcher needs to come up with a plan for the beginning of the experiment.
This can also be useful for tasks like data processing, where raw data can be overwhelming and may be more digestible when broken into smaller chunks. The affinity diagram will allow people to identify patterns and areas of interest that might otherwise not be apparent.
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