The Affinity Diagram
Posted: Sunday, April 19, 2009
by Chuck Clayton
http://www.inexpensive-vacation-ideas.com
The Affinity Diagram is one of several potent and easy to use brainstorming techniques. It helps sort seemingly random ideas of a subject into naturally related groups.
These diagrams are flexible and can be used for doing projects, and achieving objectives. They can be done in a simple brainstorming session or over a long period of time.
Note: This method can easily be modified for a simple 1-2 hour brainstorming session with colleagues or friends to collect ideas and create an Affinity Diagram.
Steps of setting up an Affinity Diagram
1. Capture ideas
Ideas come to us 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. In essence you are using your subconscious to keep you in a constant brainstorming mode.
An excellent way to capture these ideas is to write them down on a sheet of paper whenever they pop into your head. Scraps of paper can get cumbersome. So a better alternative is to use Post it notes.
I have found that the small Post-it notes (2" X 1.5") work well for capturing ideas and creating the diagram. You may decide that the larger ones are better for your task. Each person does it a bit differently.
You may want to consider leaving them several places around the house (for a home project). If it is a work project, you may want an ample supply of Post-it notes at your desk.
Note: When writing on the Post it notes use short descriptive sentences for the project or objective.
Only put down one idea per note. Collect these notes and attach them to an 8 " x 11" sheets of paper. As you fill up one 8 " x 11" sheet of paper with post it notes, start another.
Keep a file, or notebook with all your ideas so none get lost.
Your ideas will probably come slow at first, then grow and then taper off. Think of it as a bit like making pop corn. At first the ideas will be slow, then they will increase in frequency.
Next, you will get many ideas to capture. This may be over days, or weeks. For a large project it may be over months.
Depending on the size of the project or objective, you may have several ideas. For a large project or objective, you may have dozens, if not hundreds of ideas. Every project or objective is different.
Eventually your ideas will slow. Now is the time to start organizing the ideas.
2. Organize your ideas into Sub-Categories
Get all your of 8 " X 11" paper with all your notes on them. Also get several clean sheets of 8 " X 11" paper with nothing on them.
The clean sheets of paper will be used to put ideas on that have similarities.
Start looking for the Post it notes with natural categories. Put all similar ideas on a single sheet of paper. Some categories may take up multiple clean sheets of paper.
When completed you may have several sheets of paper with ideas on them. Looking at all of the ideas, decide on a logical title for that category of ideas on that sheet of paper.
Write that title on the top of the sheet of paper. If there are multiple sheets of paper with ideas, paper clip or staple them together.
When you are finished with categorizing your ideas you will probably have some left over. At the top of one of the sheets of paper, write "Miscellaneous."
Put all remaining ideas that don't fit into any of the other categories that you decided on this sheet of paper. You may categorize them lateror they may eventually get thrown out.
Note: You now have many great ideas to move forward on your project or objective.
Example:
How the Affinity Diagram can be used to do a project.
When writing my book: The Re-Discovery of Common Sense I used Post it notes extensively to come up with ideas for chapters and sections to write about.
It helped me categorize ideas. I used the Affinity Diagram to organize my ideas and streamline the writing process.
A side benefit of using this method for capturing writing ideas was that I almost never have had writers block.
With ideas organized this way, you may find the same benefit of being able to move forward because of the wide array of ideas that you have generated using the Affinity Diagram.
Chuck Clayton
Copyright 2009
All Rights Reserved
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