Using Quality Improvement Tools
Affinity Diagrams
What: A pictorial representation of the relationships between ideas and concepts
When: Useful when issues are large and complex; when numerous facts and ideas don't exhibit any relationship or pattern
Why: Helps to organize brainstorming ideas into themes; helps to organize non-numeric and qualitative data
How:
- Collect all ideas generated by your initial brainstorming session, written on cards or adhesive notes
- Place them randomly on a table or whiteboard
- Without conversation, allow each team member to review the cards, identify related ideas and place them in a separate area
- Set contentious ideas aside [ones that individuals repeatedly re-categorize]
- Continue until all items have been grouped
- Discuss each grouping with aim of identifying a short descriptive sentence for each group
- Move items into appropriate groups if consensus emerges about their appropriate categorization
- Combine groups into a second level if appropriate
- Initiate discussion on the contentious items with the aim of finding an appropriate category or starting a new one ["orphan" groups may not be useful but may also be unavoidable in some circumstances]
Here is an IHI document describing these steps.
A link to a manufacturing example from the American Society for Quality