═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ DISCOVERY WAYPOINT — AFFINITY MAPPING Insight themes | 45–75 min | 3–10 people | Difficulty: Low discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/affinity-mapping ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ BEFORE YOU START Project / initiative: ___________________________________ Date: _______________ Facilitator: _____________________ Source evidence (interviews, notes, observations): _______ Decision this synthesis will inform: ____________________ ⚠ ONLY run this if you have raw evidence to synthesize. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ZONE 1 — EVIDENCE DUMP [0–10 min] ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── One observation or quote per card. Use participant language. Card: "[Exact quote or behavior]" | Source: ___ | Context: ___ Aim for 40–80 cards. No solutions. No opinions. If a card starts with "We should..." — remove it. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ZONE 2 — SILENT CLUSTERING [10–35 min] ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1. Everyone moves cards together — silently. 2. Group related observations. Do not name groups yet. 3. When time is up, step back and look at clusters. ⚠ IF YOU WANT TO TALK — PAUSE. Sort first, discuss second. Cluster count after sorting: ___ (aim for 5–12) ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ZONE 3 — THEME HEADLINES [35–55 min] ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Name each cluster with an insight — not a topic label. Format: "Users [verb] because [reason]" ✓ "Users abandon the form because they don't trust where data goes" ✗ "Form abandonment" — topic, not insight 1. _______________________________________________ | Evidence: ______ 2. _______________________________________________ | Evidence: ______ 3. _______________________________________________ | Evidence: ______ 4. _______________________________________________ | Evidence: ______ 5. _______________________________________________ | Evidence: ______ 6. _______________________________________________ | Evidence: ______ ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ZONE 4 — PRIORITY + NEXT ACTIONS [55–75 min] ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 3 votes each. Place on the most important themes. Theme | Votes | Drives which decision? ___________________________________| ___ | ____________________ ___________________________________| ___ | ____________________ ___________________________________| ___ | ____________________ ___________________________________| ___ | ____________________ Top 3 themes from this session: 1. _______________________________________________________ 2. _______________________________________________________ 3. _______________________________________________________ Key quote that best represents the synthesis: "_________________________________________________________" ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── QUALITY CHECK ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ☐ Every headline is an insight, not a topic label ☐ Each theme has at least 2 supporting evidence cards ☐ No theme is actually a solution recommendation ☐ Next actions have named owners and dates ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── NEXT STEPS ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Action | Owner | Date ______________________________ | ___________ | ______ ______________________________ | ___________ | ______ ______________________________ | ___________ | ______ Full facilitation guide: discoverywaypoint.com/techniques/affinity-mapping Discovery Waypoint — discoverywaypoint.com