Affinity Map

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Group unstructured ideas into thematic clusters and label each theme.

Use it when: Use when a team needs to make sense of a large volume of brainstormed data or research findings.

Skip it when: Skip when you have fewer than 20 total ideas or when items already follow a predefined structure or numeric scoring system.

Group arrangement: Individual generation, whole-room physical sorting at a wall or table

Timing: Source allows up to 90 minutes. UWT standard run is 45 minutes for groups up to 20.

Materials and tools

• 1 pad of 3x3 sticky notes per participant
• 1 fine-tip marker per participant
• 1 flip-chart pad with prompt question displayed
• Wall space or whiteboard with blue painter's tape for boundary lines

Before participants arrive

1. Post a sheet of flip-chart paper with the focus question written at the top alongside a simple visual.
2. Clear a large flat wall or whiteboard surface visible to all participants.
3. Designate an area on the far right of the wall labeled 'Parking Lot' for unclustered notes.

Say this to open

Today we are organizing our ideas to find natural patterns. Write one distinct thought per sticky note in response to the prompt on the wall. Work silently. Do not worry about categories yet; just capture individual points in short phrases.

How to run it

1. Introduce prompt and explain silent writing 5 minutes

   Read the central prompt aloud. Give each person a pad of sticky notes and a marker. Instruct everyone to write one clear idea per note using broad marker strokes so notes can be read from a distance.

2. Generate ideas silently 10 minutes

   Participants write ideas individually without speaking. Aim for each person to produce at least 4 to 6 notes so the room exceeds 20 items total. Stop generation when the 10-minute timer sounds.

3. Post and sort into clusters 15 minutes

   Invite all participants to bring their notes to the wall. Direct everyone to cluster related notes into columns or loose groupings without discussing categories. If two notes say the exact same thing, keep both posted side by side to show weight. Move unclassifiable notes to the Parking Lot.

4. Label the categories 10 minutes

   Review clusters one by one as a whole group. Ask participants what single title describes each cluster. Write agreed names on distinct sticky notes and place them at the top of each column. If two titles compete, write both side by side rather than debating.

5. Debrief and conclude 5 minutes

   Lead a brief whole-room reflection on the cluster distribution. Hear from 2 or 3 participants to close the session.

Debrief questions

• Which clusters hold the highest concentration of notes, and why?
• Did any unexpected connections appear between notes that were written independently?
• What unresolved items remain in the Parking Lot, and what makes them outliers?

Finished output: A wall display of grouped sticky notes with agreed category labels and an identified parking lot of outliers.

Remote

Set up a shared digital whiteboard with the prompt at the top and a defined Parking Lot frame. In step 2, participants create virtual notes in private or directly on the canvas. In step 3, participants drag notes into groups simultaneously. In step 4, the facilitator or designated scribes type header titles in bold text above each cluster.

Hybrid

Remote participants type their ideas into a shared board or chat while a room co-facilitator transcribes them onto physical sticky notes. The in-person sorting board is filmed on an open camera feed. The facilitator reads aloud cluster suggestions so remote and in-person members contribute equally to cluster names.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to walk to the wall may hand their notes to a partner or facilitator to post.
• Anyone may decline to generate notes or choose to post only a subset of what they wrote.
• People who find silent writing difficult may dictate their points to the facilitator.

If the session gets stuck

The group gets stuck in an extended debate about naming a specific category.

Intervene immediately and write both proposed titles at the top of the column, separated by a slash.

Participants create massive mega-clusters that contain almost every note.

Ask the group to look for sub-patterns inside that large group and split it into two or three distinct sub-columns.

Terms used here

• Affinity: A natural relationship, likeness, or connection between two separate thoughts.
• Parking Lot: A designated area on the board reserved for single ideas that do not clearly connect to any emerging group.