© Interaction Design Foundation, CC BY-SA 4.0Īffinity diagrams help UX designers in the following ways: In UX design and user research, we use affinity diagrams to organize and make sense of qualitative data from research activities such as user interviews, observations, and questionnaires.Īffinity diagrams can help you go from a state of complete chaos with no overview of your information to a serene state of organized groups of information, which you have named and sorted into hierarchies that make sense and provide insight. The Importance of Affinity Diagrams in UX Design and User Research Due to its simplicity and effectiveness, UX researchers often use affinity diagrams in their work. Through an affinity diagram you can identify patterns and turn those patterns into valuable insights to apply in your work. You can do this physically with cards or post-it notes or with diagramming and brainstorming software.Īnyone can create an affinity map-whether on a team or individually.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “affinity” as “a similarity of characteristics suggesting a relationship, especially a resemblance in structure between animals, plants, or languages.” In an affinity diagramming session, participants group similar ideas, items, statements, or data with a “liking” or “similarity” to each other together.

Affinity graph