Affinity Diagram

2.
Affinity Diagram
The Affinity Diagram is one of the Seven Management and Planning Tools. It is a
business tool used to organize ideas and data. The tool is commonly used within project
management and allows large numbers of ideas stemming from brainstorming to be
sorted into groups, based on their natural relationships, for review and analysis. It is
also frequently used in contextual inquiry as a way to organize notes and insights from
field interviews. It can also be used for organizing other freeform comments, such as
open-ended survey responses, support call logs, or other qualitative data. Quality
managers, project managers, marketing professionals, and anyone who uses
brainstorming to generate ideas can use an affinity diagram to distill a large number of
ideas to a refined set of related categories.
People have been grouping data into groups based on natural relationships for
thousands of years; however, the term affinity diagram was devised by Jiro Kawakita in
the 1960s and is sometimes referred to as the KJ Method.
The affinity diagram organizes ideas with following steps:
1. Record each idea on cards or notes.
2. Look for ideas that seem to be related.
3. Sort cards into groups until all cards have been used.
Once the cards have been sorted into groups the team may sort large clusters
into subgroups for easier management and analysis. Once completed, the affinity
diagram may be used to create a cause and effect diagram.

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. It is key that the ideas shouldn’t be discussed until the final affinity diagram
is complete and when the discussion is taking place, verbal data through spoken words
should also be recorded.
Some of practices to keep in mind when making an affinity diagram are as follows:
 Identify the purpose. Begin by deciding what issue or aspect of your
business you wish to focus on with your diagram. Place it at the top of the
page.
 Determine groupings. Decide on a logical set of related categories.
 Determine contributing factors. Make a list of ideas and issues generated
by the brainstorm.
 Organize. Place each factor or idea beneath a category. Try combining
duplicate issues to simplify.
 Analyze and share. Step back and look at the diagram. Analyze with
various other coworkers or team members and it should be able to help you
make a decision or see things more clearly.

Sample Affinity Diagram:
6. Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC)
The process decision program chart (PDPC) systematically identifies what might
go wrong in a plan under development. Countermeasures are developed to prevent or
offset those problems. By using PDPC, you can either revise the plan to avoid the
problems or be ready with the best response when a problem occurs.
The Process Decision Program Chart is ideally used in the following scenarios:
 Before implementing a plan, especially when the plan is large and complex.
 When the plan must be completed on schedule.
 When the price of failure is high.
PDPC Procedure
1. Obtain or develop a tree diagram of the proposed plan. This should be a high-
level diagram showing the objective, a second level of main activities and a third
level of broadly defined tasks to accomplish the main activities.
2. For each task on the third level, brainstorm what could go wrong.
3. Review all the potential problems and eliminate any that are improbable or
whose consequences would be insignificant. Show the problems as a fourth level
linked to the tasks.
4. For each potential problem, brainstorm possible countermeasures. These might
be actions or changes to the plan that would prevent the problem, or actions that
would remedy it once it occurred. Show the countermeasures as a fifth level,
outlined in clouds or jagged lines.
5. Decide how practical each countermeasure is. Use criteria such as cost, time
required, ease of implementation and effectiveness. Mark impractical
countermeasures with an X and practical ones with an O.
Sample Process Decision Program Chart
7. Prioritization Matrix
Many departments struggle to balance a growing list of new and pending projects
while the need for core services continues, often with less funding. Deciding how to
prioritize and separate the high priority projects from lower priority projects can be
daunting. Since emotions often run high when making these kinds of decisions, a
structured and objective approach can be helpful in achieving consensus and balancing
the needs of the department and its customers and stakeholders. Using a prioritization
matrix is a proven technique for making tough decisions in an objective way.
A prioritization matrix is a simple tool that provides a way to sort a diverse set of
items into an order of importance. It also identifies their relative importance by deriving a
numerical value for the priority of each item. The matrix provides a means for ranking
projects (or project requests) based on criteria that are determined to be important. This
enables a department to see clearly which projects are the most important to focus on
first, and which, if any, could be put on hold or discontinued.
A prioritization matrix supports structured decision-making in the following ways:
 Helps prioritize complex or unclear issues when there are multiple criteria for
determining importance
 Provides a quick and easy, yet consistent, method for evaluating options
 Takes some of the emotion out of the process
 Quantifies the decision with numeric rankings
 Is adaptable for many priority-setting needs (projects, services, personal, etc.)
 When used with a group of people, it facilitates reaching agreement on priorities
and key issues
 Establishes a platform for conversations about what is important

Sample Prioritization Matrix:

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2.

management and allows large numbers of ideas stemming from brainstorming to be

managers, project managers, marketing professionals, and anyone who uses

ideas to a refined set of related categories.

the 1960s and is sometimes referred to as the KJ Method.

The affinity diagram organizes ideas with following steps:

1. Record each idea on cards or notes.

2. Look for ideas that seem to be related.

diagram may be used to create a cause and effect diagram.

completed by a cross-functional team, including key stakeholders. The process requires

should also be recorded.

 Identify the purpose. Begin by deciding what issue or aspect of your

 Determine groupings. Decide on a logical set of related categories.

 Determine contributing factors. Make a list of ideas and issues generated

 Organize. Place each factor or idea beneath a category. Try combining

duplicate issues to simplify.

make a decision or see things more clearly.

go wrong in a plan under development. Countermeasures are developed to prevent or

problems or be ready with the best response when a problem occurs.

 When the plan must be completed on schedule.

 When the price of failure is high.

level of broadly defined tasks to accomplish the main activities.

whose consequences would be insignificant. Show the problems as a fourth level

linked to the tasks.

4. For each potential problem, brainstorm possible countermeasures. These might

outlined in clouds or jagged lines.

required, ease of implementation and effectiveness. Mark impractical

countermeasures with an X and practical ones with an O.

Sample Process Decision Program Chart

matrix is a proven technique for making tough decisions in an objective way.

first, and which, if any, could be put on hold or discontinued.

A prioritization matrix supports structured decision-making in the following ways:

 Takes some of the emotion out of the process

 Quantifies the decision with numeric rankings

 Is adaptable for many priority-setting needs (projects, services, personal, etc.)

 When used with a group of people, it facilitates reaching agreement on priorities

and key issues

 Establishes a platform for conversations about what is important

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