Affinity Diagram (DDN3-J02)

Affinity Diagram

Affinity diagram This job aid is a tool for organizing qualitative research data based on common themes in order to identify patterns and uncover common trends in respondents' attitudes and motivations.

Purpose

Use this job aid to group your respondent statements into easily manageable categories.

Desired outcome

Research data categorized into groups for easier identification of trends or common patterns.

When to use

Use affinity mapping at the research synthesis stage of the design process.

Pairs well with

• Identifying Common Product and Service Design Problems (DDN2-J02)
• Empathy Mapping (DDN2-J03)
• Journey Mapping: Visualizing the User Journey (DDN2-J04)
• How to Compose a Problem Statement (DDN2-J06)

How to use

Using the following template, group your research statements:

1. Look for statements that are similar or somehow related and place them side by side on the template.
2. After a while, you will notice themes forming for each group of statements. Give a title to each theme.
3. Move the statements from theme to theme to relate them more precisely.
4. In most cases, there are some statements that do not fit any theme. Place them into "Other" group to reflect on them later.

Tip for identifying themes

1. Collect your responders' statements from the interviews, focus group or other qualitative research methods you have done.
2. Look at the statements from different perspectives and go through your other findings. Ask the following questions while doing so:
   • Have any patterns emerged?
   • Is there a compelling insight you heard again and again?
   • What feels significant?
   • What surprised you?

Asking these questions will help you identify themes from respondent statements. Themes are bound to change, but as you move through the design process, continue looking for themes and sorting out what they mean.