Affinity Diagram, widely known as K-J method variation, is a tool for problem-solving which is similar to mind mapping. In addition, you should collect ideas from other channels to expand the topic ideas, like searching archives, discussing with your mates, and interview experts etc. What is an affinity diagram? The Affinity diagram is one of the new Seven Management tools. To develop an Affinity Diagram from scratch may take some time. This is a great tool to use when sorting Voice of the customer data under broad 'Issues' categories. Choose from below a template close to your final design and customize it. By the 1970s, affinity diagrams were part of what's known as the Seven Management and Planning Tools, an approach to process improvement used in Total Quality Control in Japan. Read More. The affinity process is great for grouping data gathered during research or ideas generated during Brainstorms.The method is also called “Space Saturate and Group”. Why not start from a pre-made Affinity Diagram template? The Affinity Diagram is a tool used to … An affinity diagram is a diagram constructed out of a large set of ideas or opinions by grouping together similar or related ideas into logical groups. Affinity diagrams rely on Post-It notes to create the visual map. Affinity diagram, one step of the Six Sigma method, is originally developed by Japanese anthropologist Kawakita Jiro in the 1960s. After the end of thinking and exploring process, the most significant task comes that you need to list all the ideas but not to mind the order. 2. And this will inform you the next steps of Design Process. Affinity Diagram - A Six Sigma Tool for Prioritizing Ideas. Generate major categories for the information. Use affinity diagram as a lean six sigma tool for prioritizing ideas. It is the organized output from a brainstorming session. An Affinity Diagram is a tool that gathers large amounts of language data (ideas, opinions, issues) and organizes them into groupings based on their natural relationships (Viewgraph 1). under meaningful categories that are based on common relationships or themes. An affinity diagram is an excellent creativity and productivity tool – so long as you know how to use one effectively. Finally, analyze the results and prese… It is a project management technique that is very effective during brainstorming sessions in order to organize ideas. Teams use affinity diagrams as a way to see data come to life, and physically moving the data around helps immerse the team in it even more. When you record ideas, you must have a general overview of what you collect. Affinity Diagrams This quality improvement tool should be read in conjunction with: Brainstorming; Multi and Weighted Voting; The Affinity Diagram process follows brainstorming. After brainstorming the sticky notes are in no particular order. The affinity diagram organizes a large number of ideas into their natural relationships. Affinity diagrams help you organize information into groups of similar items to then analyze qualitative data or observations. The Affinity Diagram is a method which can help you gather large amounts of data and organise them into groups or themes based on their relationships. The affinity diagram is a business tool used to organize ideas and data. Benefits of using an affinity diagram Incorporate everyone’s perspective. 3. Affinity diagram. It is one of the most effective technique in Six Sigma method for organizing and prioritizing ideas. All rights reserved. The term “saturate” relates to the method in which everyone covers or saturates the “space” with images an… An Affinity Diagram is a tool and technique widely used in organizations that solicits and categorizes a large set of seemingly disparate ideas identified during a brainstorming session into natural groupings. This template shows a sample affinity diagram, demonstrating how ideas might be categorized in response to problem that needs to be addressed. Also known as KJ Method, it was invented in the 1960s by Kawakita Jiro, a Japanese anthropologist. Basic Symbols to Create Affinity Diagram After you drag an affinity diagram shape into the page, you can click the quick action button to add an item, or delete an item, or change the item style. Use it to generate, organize, and consolidate information related to a product, process, complex issue, or problem. Just try it, you will love it! Who invented affinity diagrams? Using affinity diagram software from SmartDraw ensures your chart looks great and is ready for a presentation or report. It is used to organize unstructured ideas and information and link up to form thinking model. So it is easy to come to this process which you need to refine keywords as categories. The method is reported to have been developed by Jiro Kawakita and so is sometimes referred to as the K-J method. At that time, exploring the mind and even brainstorming might contribute to abundant ideas. The following example comes from a … Why should teams use the Affinity process? This step is to integrate those ideas put forward in the first stage as many information and ideas might have the same meaning. Our affinity diagram templates are designed so no drawing is necessary. As each category or group has its own idea branches, this step is to bring each confirmed category together into a combination and name the whole diagram with a relevant and corresponding subject so as to describe the common theme of that supergroup. Then, prioritize the information, and put the ideas in descending order. The templates are fully editable so that you can change the color, size, and layout to fit your own needs. First, gather together a team of people with different areas of expertise for a brainstorming session. Discover why SmartDraw is the perfect affinity diagram software. Not only do affinity diagrams generate ideas, but ideas will be organized into groups for further analysis. After generating ideas, group them according to their affinity, or similarity. Have these people write ideas on notecards. An affinity diagram is a method of brainstorming, in which seemingly random ideas or suggestions are eventually organized within natural groupings. All these lead to a systematic analysis of the issue. EdrawMax is an advanced all-in-one diagramming tool for creating professional flowcharts, org charts, mind maps, network diagrams, UML diagrams, floor plans, electrical diagrams, science illustrations, and more. It is one of the most effective technique in Six Sigma method for organizing and prioritizing ideas. An affinity diagram gives each team member the opportunity to share their thoughts... Find connections between ideas. The team needs to sort them into categories. So whether you are working on a Lean Six Sigma project or simply brainstorming a new concept or an existing business process, SmartDraw is the best affinity diagram software available. After deleting all the repetitive ideas, you should place the rest of ideas into their belonging categories. You can quickly add or remove rows and columns just by pushing a few buttons. Although you have already finished the affinity diagram to some extent, you still need to set priorities for them by analyzing three main important and urgent groups, voting for the most important group, and ranking main focuses with labels to highlight. You can also export it to any Office® or Google Workspace™ application in just a few easy clicks. An affinity diagram is a tool often used to organize data and ideas. If categories are fixed, the structure of the diagram is formed. An affinity diagram is a tool used in project management to organize a large amount of ideas and data which are often results after brainstorming. This was first created in 1960 by Jiro Kawakita and that is why it is also called the KJ diagram. An affinity map or an affinity diagram is a widely used management tool that helps participants organize information generated during a brainstorming session, by sorting it into groups based on their relationships for review and analysis. An Affinity Diagram is an analytical tool used to organize many ideas into subgroups with common themes or common … The Affinity process is often used to group ideas generated by Brainstorming. Affinity diagrams help to unify large amounts of data by finding relationships between concepts or ideas. Use an affinity diagram to gather large numbers of brainstorming ideas and put them into logical groups. 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. Affinity Diagrams are widely utilized in the fields like business analysis, project management, scholar research, and product management etc. You and your team can work on the same affinity diagram by saving it to a shared SmartDraw folder or by using your favorite file sharing apps like Dropbox®, Google Drive™, Box® or OneDrive®. It is also called the KJ Method (Named after Jiro Kawatika). The Affinity Diagram tool is built around drag-and-drop and comes with a rich set of symbols for creating any kind of Affinity Diagram. However, if your team is distributed, Conceptboard’s online whiteboard and digital sticky notes is the perfect tool to ensure your team can collaborate just as effectively online. Steps: Combine groups into supergroup with a corresponding subject. While completing an affinity diagram, you would typically use the following 5 steps: 1. The process involves recording thoughts and ideas onto sticky notes and placing them together into like groups and sorting the ideas. The affinity diagram tool comes with an extensive collection of shapes and connectors. The Affinity Diagram tool is used to consolidate a large amount of information into groupings or clusters of ideas that have a natural 'affinity', i.e., that have a common thread running through them. The last step of designing an affinity diagram is to analyze and prioritize groups of ideas. An affinity diagram is the organized output from a brainstorming session. 4. An Affinity Diagram is a process of segregating the ideas, facts, the processes, complex issues, or problems into their natural relationship. A versatile cross-platform mind mapping tool. Merge recorded ideas into each category. Also known as the K-J method, affinity chart, and affinity mapping, an affinity diagram is a tool that is used to organize data gathered from a brainstorming session, research, meeting, etc. The affinity diagram is a convergent thinking tool used to organize or "cluster" ideas and data. Just open one of the many affinity diagram templates included and type in your ideas or information. It is one of the Seven Management and Planning Tools. Also known as the KJ method or a tree diagram, the affinity diagram is a very effective way to manage the brainstorming process and create a more organized approach to the problem at hand. It is being widely used for its simplicity and perfectness for creating and organizing ideas in various categories. These themes are referred to as affinity sets or affinity groups. Online Affinity Diagram mapping process. Organizing data in a logical way is never easy, especially when you’ve got a lot of it (after a brainstorming session or survey, for example). Just open one of the many affinity diagram templates included and type in your ideas or information. Among the many tools available to Six Sigma project teams, the one that consistently is used successfully by all types of teams is the affinity diagram. Then, identify the purpose for brainstorming. Affinity diagrams are easy to make with SmartDraw. Professionally designed themes let you change the look of your affinity diagram with a click. 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