<aside> ⭐ An affinity diagram is a powerful tool to organize your team’s ideas — and make them easier to act on. Affinity mapping (or diagramming) has long been used in business to organize large sets of ideas into clusters. In UX, the method is used to organize research findings or to sort design ideas in ideation workshops.

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https://youtu.be/C4nYxZxteJY

Affinity mapping is a quite simple method, it’s about grouping data, insights, ideas into similar clusters. In an ideal case, it should be done collaboratively in a workshop setting and offers a framework for grouping information, be it data, user needs, opinions, insights, or other data types.

Thematic analysis means you’ll be able to identify themes, patterns emerging across multiple datasets, e.g. across multiple user interviews. So for instance you’ll have many credibility-related insights, or a lot of data pieces about a certain functionality (e.g. search or a calculator).

You might ask: in what way are these two things connected?

• Well, as a result of affinity mapping, you’ll be able to synthesize research findings and distill some overarching patterns. These emerged patterns will support your cross-case analysis later on.
• But it also works the other way around: reading and coding e.g. all interview transcripts or notes beforehand is a great preparation for a collaborative affinity mapping session.

Additionally, you can apply affinity mapping for sorting ideas, too, so it can greatly support a brainstorming activity.

Invented by the Japanese anthropologist Jiro Kawakita in the 1960s, the diagram is an invaluable tool for idea creation. It allows teams to organize the large number of information found in the numerous phases of design thinking into their natural associative relationships.

Affinity diagramming is one of the Seven Management and Planning Tools used in Japan and worldwide to help organizations make better decisions. These tools include:

• The Affinity Diagram
• The Tree Diagram
• The Interrelationship Diagram
• The Matrix Diagram
• Prioritization Matrices
• The Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC)