1.5 - About University

7.8 A FFINITY D IAGRAMS: ORGANIZINGM OUNTAINS OF D ATAContributed by Diane MacDonald, and inspired Michael Brassard, Nancy Tague,and by many quality gurus and quality organizations, such as Goal QPC.Most of today’s management tools are reductionist in nature, breaking problems into smallerparts to analyze and solve them. But what happens when you are faced with making sense ofan overwhelming amount of information? Leaders have very few tools to help groups understandthe big picture, seeing the larger context of current problems, as well as seeing relationshipsamong the problems. The affinity diagram tool will help you organize a large number ofideas into logical groupings, ready for action. This tool is most useful when you:✔✔✔✔Have a large number of ideas to work with.Need to generate more ideas.Need to identify issues and themes prior to taking action.Are building consensus (especially when one person may dominate a discussion).The affinity diagram is a quality management tool commonly used in planning and problem-solvingsessions to help groups see new relationships and themes, and consequently newpossibilities for action.For example, a Community Leaders’ Executive Committee had solicited community residents’feedback and ideas on a 10-year future community direction. Overwhelming data frommore than 150 replies presented an organizational nightmare, with each member subjectivelyseeing certain data “jump out” at them for priority; for example, those with children saw “kids’programs” as a priority. Worried about the possibility that more forceful personalities woulddominate discussion and outcome, the Community President proposed using the equalizingand silent affinity diagramming process outlined here. As a result:• Participants experienced this process as affirming and inclusive, with all input havingequal value.• The process helped people develop their inductive thinking, learning how to movefrom the specific and particular to the general. (Being able to discriminate betweenthese levels of thinking is an invaluable skill for effective planning and problem solving.)SECTION 7 TOOLS FOR PROBLEM SOLVING, DECISION MAKING, AND QUALITY 227