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Affinity mapping exercise12/25/2023 In reality, you should conduct affinity mapping after brainstorming to organize groups of research findings into affinity maps. One of the misconceptions of the affinity mapping process is that it’s a brainstorming exercise. Importance of Affinity Map UX in the Design Process It’s used to thematically sort ideas into categories, organize complex tasks from various data sources, and bring order to what initially looks like chaos, allowing us to spot patterns and uncover actionable insights. What are Affinity Diagrams? An OverviewĪffinity diagrams, affinity mapping, affinity charts, collaborative sorting, snowballing, and even the K-J method are all ways to describe this planning and management method. In user research, we use affinity maps predominantly to discover patterns conducive to poor customer experience. In this case, it’s making order out of the myriad things necessary for decorating. Cleaning up and putting all tools and materials away.Īnd there, in effect, is our affinity diagram.Buying and re-instating new fixtures and fittings.Cleaning, finishing, and packing everything away.Shopping for equipment, paint, paper, and sundries.Do surfaces need preparing and priming?.What are the best ways to sand the woodwork and walls and strip old wallpaper?.How will I protect the carpets and furniture?.How easy will it be to empty the room of furniture, prepare fixtures and fittings?.How much sandpaper, solvents, or other supplies do I need?.Wallpaper – did we decide on a pattern?.Paint – do I have the correct color and quantity?.Brushes – existing ones are all stiff and dirty.Decorating the living room in my week off.If the players produce categories that are significantly different, pay attention to which category gets the most approval from the group and write that one.You’ll plan the task accordingly, with all the relevant steps and stages, to maximize your time efficiency. If there’s disagreement over “Facilities” versus “Infrastructure,” write them both. Don’t let the players spend an inordinate amount of time agreeing on a name for a category. Once the content is sorted, ask the group to suggest categories that represent the columns you’ve created and write the categories they agree on at the top of the column (or near a cluster if you chose a cluster rather than a column display).At this stage, ask the players to try to avoid searching for higher categories and simply to focus on grouping the information based on the affinities. It’s helpful to leave repeated ideas posted since it indicates to the group how many people are thinking the same thing. Redundancy in ideas is OK don’t discard sticky notes because they’re already represented. Create a sticky-note “parking lot” close to the display for ideas that don’t appear to fall into a natural category.Have the players approach the wall to post their notes-it saves time-and allow them to do an initial, general sorting in columns or clusters. Involve the group in the process as much as possible. Based on guidance from the players, sort the ideas into columns (or clusters) based on relationships.Collect the ideas from the group and post them on a flat working surface visible to everyone.Conduct this part of the process silently. Use index cards on a table if you have a group of four or less. Ask each player to take 10 minutes to generate sticky notes in response to the question.Conduct this game only when you have a question for the players that you know will generate at least 20 pieces of information to sort. On a sheet of flip-chart paper, write a question the players will respond to along with a visual that complements it.This exercise helps define categories and meta-categories within a cluster of ideas, and illuminates which ideas are most common within the group. It can also provide a sense of where everyone’s thinking is focused. This exercise can help your group discover embedded patterns (and sometimes break old patterns) of thinking by sorting and clustering language-based information into relationships. □ From 2 to 20 participants | ⏰ between 45 and 90 minutes Objectives of Affinity Mappingīrainstorming works to get a high quantity of information and ideas on the table, but the key is to gather meaning from all the data. Discover embedded patterns of thinking by sorting and clustering information into relationships and similar categories.
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