Affinity diagrams

Competency Group: Business

Type: Map or Modeling

Description: A map or model for organizing customer needs data generated from any voice of the customer process. In this process the 'need' statements are organized into groups that go together in some logical means of organization.

Citation for Description: Affinity diagram. (2011). Retrieved from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinity_diagram.

Units: Collated information from all of the Voice of Customer Data that has been generated

Advantages: Method of organizing the needs of the customer into functional groups. Information is available to all members of the new product development team.

Limitations: Poor organization of the bundles can lead to misinformation about the actual needs of the customer.

Target Audience: Top management, Marketing, R&D

Relevant to Universal Design: Yes

Stages and Steps: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 4.11, 5.3, 6.1, 6.3

Free Resource: Leanyourcompany. (n.d.). Using affinity diagrams to make sense from brainstorming. Retrieved from http://www.leanyourcompany.com/methods/Using-Affinity-Diagrams.asp.