Understanding Your Users

APPENDIX F

AFFINITY DIAGRAM

INTRODUCTION

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE AN AFFINITY DIAGRAM?

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN USING AN AFFINITY DIAGRAM

CREATING AN AFFINITY DIAGRAM

Introduction

A Japanese anthropologist, Jiro Kawakita, developed a method of synthesizing large amounts of data into manageable chunks based on themes that emerge from the data itself. It is known as the “K-J method,” following the Japanese custom of placing the family name first. It has become one of the most widely used of the Japanese management and planning tools.

In the west, a very similar method known as “affinity diagramming” has been developed based on the K–J method. An affinity diagram is probably the most useful method for analyzing qualitative data including participant ...