Affinity diagrams — what they are, how to build them, and more

As most marketing and project management leaders know from experience, gathering customer data and research is the first step toward better understanding behaviors and needs. Yet sifting through all of the information that comes in from various sources can be overwhelming, time-consuming, and unproductive when tackled disparately.

Fortunately, there are solutions available to help leaders make sense of customer and user experience data. One such method, the affinity diagram, helps users organize unwieldy research and develop clearer ideas for improving customer experiences as a result of better structured data.

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at affinity diagrams and how to use them to better approach research for more tangible results. To do this, we’ll cover:

• What an affinity diagram is
• When to use an affinity diagram
• How to create an affinity diagram
• How to use affinity diagrams
• Example of an affinity diagram

What is an affinity diagram?

An affinity diagram, also called an affinity map, is a method of organizing output from various sources by grouping them based on similar characteristics or relationships. Affinity diagrams serve to help leaders make sense of large amounts of data or feedback to better understand their importance within the larger context of a project or initiative.

Affinity diagrams got their start in the 1960s as a project management tool created by Kawakita Jiro. Originally used to sort through the ideas set forth during brainstorming sessions, these diagrams evolved to group like items together and help teams simplify issues, identify patterns, and solve problems without being overwhelmed by the information.

Affinity diagrams are helpful when faced with disordered or vast amounts of data points that are difficult to organize and develop conclusions from. They can also be extremely useful in group situations where there are a number of contributors or data sources (or both) coming together with little to no organization to them. Affinity diagrams can easily be created using on-hand office supplies, including whiteboards or Post-it Notes, to allow items to be jotted down and moved between categories as they are discussed.

A great way to picture an affinity diagram is an assortment of Post-it Notes, each with a different term or item listed, placed on a board and grouped together based on their similarities.

When to use an affinity diagram

Affinity diagrams are most helpful when dealing with a large number of ideas or issues that need to be organized to address them efficiently and productively. These maps are broken down into single items, tasks, ideas, or data points that can be rearranged under common headings or categories to make better sense of the patterns and approach needed.

This organizational method can also help with brainstorming sessions where ideas need to be seen clearly and structured based on a group consensus.

Here are some of the most common use cases for affinity diagrams:

• Organizing brainstorming sessions
• Sorting survey results
• Understanding customer data
• Gaining group consensus on a project
• Demystifying large or complex ideas
• Consolidating chaotic facts or feedback
• Creating product or project roadmaps

How to create an affinity diagram

While managers and leaders can create an affinity diagram on their own, some of the best results are achieved when working in pairs or groups.

When preparing to make an affinity map, make sure you have collected all the data points or information in advance for organization and processing during the creation phase. If pulling together a team to work on the effort, the group will want to designate a leader or point person to help document feedback and organize. And of course, managers or leaders should encourage everyone involved to contribute their ideas as the diagram develops.

Follow these steps to build an affinity diagram:

Step 1 — Create Post-it Notes for your ideas

Start by documenting every idea or data point that needs to be accounted for in your project. Each individual item should be written out on a Post-it Note or a note card so that it can be moved around as needed during later steps. Keep the ideas short and to the point so everyone knows what’s being listed. If working with a larger team, write large or with a marker to make sure everyone can see the items as they’re being written out.

The goal is to create a record of every contribution to the project. If brainstorming, these can be created in real time, noting each suggestion as it’s put forth and worrying about its place in the grand scheme of the project later. When dealing with data or survey feedback, each Post-it Note can reflect a single contribution and include the number of times it was put forth to avoid duplication.

Step 2 — Put the Post-it Notes into groups

Next, look for the affinities, or similarities, between the items that have been noted. Natural categories or groups should start to show themselves as the team reviews all the input. Look for patterns and organize the Post-it Notes into groups, sticking them together under headings on a board, wall, or large table everyone can see. Consider creating header Post-it Notes or cards that can be rearranged as the process progresses.

Feel free to shift the categories as you move forward. This is a fluid process, and new comparisons and connections might start to show as the team discusses the items at hand.

Step 3 — Reflect and discuss the groups of notes

With every item in its place, take the time to discuss the outcome of the process and where items have landed in the organizational process. Reflect on whether the categories need further refinement or subdivision to better group like items together. Remember that items can be shifted to new or different groups as the conversation progresses.

This stage is critical in that it can also identify gaps in the process. Keep the brainstorming going by creating new Post-it Notes that represent freshly generated ideas along the way.

Step 4 — Finalize and name the groups

Grouping the ideas is just the first stage. With the information organized in a more precise fashion, contributors and leaders alike may notice new patterns or dependencies between groups. Make sure that every item has been included in a category and that all headings are appropriate to the items placed underneath them.

The facilitator can draw arrows or lines between conditional or sequential groups to demonstrate their relationship. Leaders can also look for similarities between groups and create so-called supergroups that encompass multiple headings, ensuring like items are classified together.

With the groups finalized and named with broader categories, tasks can be better grouped together to address as actionable items. Be sure to save your work by taking a photo or migrating the final organized lists into a software system like Adobe XD Whiteboard, which can save your planning and make it accessible to all team members no matter where they are.

How to use affinity diagrams

With the affinity diagram in place, leaders can now put it to use. In many cases, these diagrams are used by marketing and customer experience personnel to identify trends and better understand their customer bases — and with good reason.

Consider that 80% of consumers think customer experience is as pivotal as the products on sale. Creating an affinity diagram is just one way to help break down customer data and feedback and to extrapolate key insights that can help brands improve their customer experiences.

Customer experience entails anything that contributes to the relationship between a company and its consumers, from the marketing they see online to the ease of use of a mobile shopping app.

It’s crucial for businesses to assess the success of their user experience (UX) through research, but this information is often difficult to distill into action items. UX designers will use affinity diagramming to simplify the inputs received into common categories that make it easier to identify usability trends or issues. This can also help the team prioritize improvements based on the frequency of consumer feedback or need.

Marketers can take advantage of affinity diagrams in a number of ways. Understanding the audience being marketed to creates great opportunities to develop better campaigns that are more effective. Marketers can evaluate and research different customer segmentations and divide their initiatives based on those target audiences. Out of this may also come new buyer personas or customer profiles that need to be addressed separately with personalized messaging and collateral.

Example of an affinity diagram

It’s important to note that, just like the data collected, affinity diagrams will vary from team to team and company to company. However, they all share the same attributes when it comes to taking individual inputs and categorizing them based on their similarities.

Consider the following example when putting together an affinity diagram. Here, a team has the task of sorting through customer data to better understand its segmentation efforts. After noting each data point on a Post-it Note, the items were reviewed by everyone on the team and then grouped together based on like attributes. The result is a clear picture of the data they have to work with.

Getting started with affinity diagrams

Affinity diagrams can be powerful organizational tools for leaders looking to make sense of data from any number or variety of sources. By better visualizing the information, leaders can identify relationships and determine the next steps (or new steps) for projects and initiatives.

When you’re ready to get started, collect your ideas and data from all the different sources you have available. This includes everything from key personnel to software platforms. Then, get your team together and begin sorting the information into groups, or supergroups, to start looking for patterns and making more informed decisions.

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