Complete firstRaw notesnot in catalog
A meaningful set of observation notes, interview notes, support tickets, or workshop cards is available.
Without: Without enough raw material, the session turns into brainstorming instead of synthesis.
RunsheetUX Research
Affinity Diagramming
ComplexityLow
Time45-90 min
Participants3-10
FormatWorkshop
MaturityCanonical
01
Prerequisite
What needs to be finished first
02
Preparation
What needs to be ready before start
Materials
Sticky notes or digital cards, markers, a large wall or board, a timer, and space for named clusters.
People / roles
One facilitator, 3-10 people who know the material, and optionally a scribe for final labels.
Pre-read
The synthesis question, the source note set, and the desired output type such as themes, insights, or opportunities.
Time needed
45-90 min
Setup
Clear one large surface, keep one idea per card, and make silence the default at the start so the notes stay readable.
03
Core question
The one question this method answers
What patterns, themes, and implications emerge when the raw notes are clustered by similarity?
04
Flow
Marker: Minute
| Step | Duration | Action | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
10-10 min | 10 min | Review the source notes and make sure each card contains a single observation or idea. | If cards mix multiple ideas, they will be impossible to cluster later. Split them first. |
210-25 min | 15 min | Place the notes on the board silently and group items that feel related without naming the groups yet. | If discussion starts too early, the loudest interpretation wins. Let the wall do the first pass. |
325-40 min | 15 min | Refine the clusters and move notes until the grouping reflects the shared meaning of the material. | If a note keeps bouncing between clusters, the cluster names are probably too abstract. |
440-60 min | 20 min | Name each cluster with a short theme label and write one insight sentence per cluster. | Do not use labels that only restate the notes. The name should say why the cluster matters. |
560-90 min | 30 min | Prioritize the implications and mark which themes need follow-up, validation, or decision-making. | If everything looks urgent, force a short ranking step so the team leaves with a clear next move. |
05
Artifact
What comes out at the end
Form
A cluster wall with named themes, insight statements, and a ranked set of implications or opportunities.
Versioning / ownership
Record the date, research question, source set, and note count. Keep a photo or export of the final cluster layout because the spatial arrangement carries meaning.
Tool alternatives
- Miro board with cluster frames
- FigJam board with sticky notes
- Whiteboard with photographed clusters
- Notion page with theme columns and bullets
affinity-diagramming-working-template.md
Compact working template for Affinity Diagramming with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
Affinity Diagramming Canvas
Context
What is this method used for?
Core question
Which question should be answered at the end?
Input
Which data, observations, or materials are available?
Working area
- Area 1:
- Area 2:
- Area 3:
- Relationships / patterns:
Output artifacts
- Theme Clusters:
- Insight Statements:
- Opportunity Areas:
Open questions
- ...
Next step
Owner, date, success signal.
06
Example output
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
affinity-diagramming-beispiel.md
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Affinity Diagramming - onboarding research synthesis, 2026-07-01
Source set: 28 interview notes from five customer calls and one support review.
Themes
- Getting started is unclear
- Terminology differs across screens
- Users need faster confirmation after each action
Insight statements
- First-time users do not know which screen owns the next step.
- Support tickets cluster around labels that mean different things in different contexts.
- Confirmation feedback needs to arrive before the user changes focus.
Implications
- Rename the first-run guidance step.
- Create a shared terminology glossary.
- Add explicit feedback states for every major action.
07
Pitfalls
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
Trap
Too little raw material
Symptom
There are only a few cards, so the clusters are thin and obvious.
What to do
Add more source notes first or shrink the research question.
Trap
Multiple ideas on one card
Symptom
Cards are hard to place because they contain a bundle of different observations.
What to do
Split the content into one idea per card before clustering.
Trap
The team argues before sorting
Symptom
Conversation dominates and the wall never gets a first pass.
What to do
Restore silence for the first sorting round and let the group refine after the pattern is visible.
Trap
Cluster names stay generic
Symptom
Labels such as "miscellaneous" or "other" hide the actual pattern.
What to do
Rename the cluster until the label explains the shared meaning and the consequence.
Trap
Implications are skipped
Symptom
The board is full, but nobody says what should happen next.
What to do
End with a short prioritization pass and convert the strongest themes into concrete follow-up items.
08
Stop criteria
Done signals checkable in under a minute
The source material is too small to support real clustering.
The notes are still being written and the input set is not stable yet.
The team is trying to generate ideas instead of synthesizing evidence.
The resulting themes cannot be turned into any decision or follow-up.
The participants cannot agree on the synthesis question.
The notes are so sparse or repetitive that clustering adds no value.
Finished the runsheet?
Go to the profile for purpose, similar methods, and sources or continue to the next method in the catalog.