HKSM

A method for organizing many ideas into meaningful categories so they can be reviewed and analyzed more effectively.

Key Points

• Clusters a large volume of ideas into natural themes or categories.
• Commonly used after brainstorming or data collection to find patterns.
• Encourages team collaboration using notes or cards moved into groups.
• Helps reveal insights that guide analysis, prioritization, and decisions.

Example

After a requirements workshop generates over 100 ideas, the team writes each idea on a sticky note and groups them into themes such as security, usability, performance, and reporting. These clusters highlight the areas needing the most attention in the next phase.

PMP Example Question

During a workshop, the team places ideas on sticky notes and clusters them by theme on a whiteboard to identify patterns. Which tool are they using?

1. Affinity diagram
2. Cause-and-effect diagram
3. Control chart
4. Scatter diagram

Correct Answer: A — Affinity diagram

Explanation: Affinity diagrams group many ideas into related categories, unlike cause-and-effect (root cause analysis), control charts (process control), or scatter diagrams (correlation).