Creative & Goals
KJ Method Affinity Board for Beginners: Write Notes, Group Them, Add Labels, Draw the Diagram
Beginner | 2 whiteboard pages · Task board: 5 columns (4 parent tasks, 12 subtasks)
Beginner: No technical terms. Just answer the whiteboard's questions, following the examples, and it takes shape.
Beginners who need to make sense of open survey answers or meeting comments use this KJ Method affinity board to move step by step from sticky notes to group labels and a finished diagram. The whiteboard uses two pages - on the left the rules for writing one fact per note, a 5W1H radial map, and four labelled island examples; on the right the four KJ Method stages, a three-by-three worked example, an arrow diagram of the islands, and three frames on common mistakes. The task board has five columns - notes written, grouping, labelled, diagram and write-up, done - and starts with 4 parent tasks and 12 subtasks, from setting the question to writing the final text, all not started. Even if you have only ever stuck notes on a wall and stopped there, the one fact per note rule and the worked label examples turn a pile of opinions into one diagram and a short text. The board follows Jiro Kawakita's original order, so it works as it is for training days and seminar group work.
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KJ Method Affinity Board
How to use: (1) Write one fact per note using 5W1H (frame 2 on the left) → (2) Bundle similar notes and add a label → (3) Link the islands with arrows (frame 9 on the right) → (4) Follow the diagram and write it up
1. Theme and Rules for Writing the Notes (one fact per note)
- Today's theme (the question) e.g. Find what first-year students struggle with, from the open answers of the new student survey Theme: ____ / Facilitator: ____ / Date: __/__ Time per stage: notes __ min / grouping __ min / diagram __ min / write-up __ min
- Rules for writing the notes 1. Write one single fact on each note 2. Write what you saw or heard as it was, do not summarise 3. Keep it to one sentence with a subject and a verb
- Examples of finished notes e.g. Waited ten minutes for a seat in the canteen just after noon e.g. Never saw the scholarship notice, because I did not know it was in Building 3
2. 5W1H Analysis (what, why, who, when, where, how / the centre is one event you want on a note)
- Theme
e.g. The day the canteen was packed
- What what happened e.g. Waited for a seat to free up Join the five questions other than Why into one sentence and you have one note
- Why why it happened e.g. Lunch breaks all fall just after noon Why is a guess. Keep it off the notes and use it when grouping
- Who who was there e.g. Me, a first-year, and two friends
- When when it was e.g. During the lunch break just after noon
- Where where it was e.g. In the student canteen on the ground floor of Building 3
- How how it went e.g. Sat down after waiting ten minutes
3. Label example / Having a senior to ask puts you at ease
- e.g. Asked a third-year about course choices and could finally decide
- e.g. A senior in the club shared their old exam papers
- What they share is that someone who had been through it was close by
4. Label example / The canteen is packed at lunch and there is nowhere to sit
- e.g. Waited ten minutes for a seat just after noon
- e.g. Could not match lunch times with a friend and ate alone
- What they share is that every lunch break falls at the same hour
5. Label example / Notices are hard to find
- e.g. Did not know the scholarship notice was in Building 3
- e.g. A cancelled class was announced differently on the board and the website
- What they share is that nobody decided where to look
6. Label example / Deadlines only surface at the last minute
- e.g. Heard about the course change deadline from a friend the day before
- e.g. Found out about the health check booking on the closing day
- What they share is that people hear about it at different times
7. How the KJ Method Runs (making notes → grouping → diagramming → writing up)
- 1. Making the notes Set the theme in one sentence and write what you saw and heard, one fact per note. If you go past a hundred notes, narrow the scope first.
- 2. Grouping (including the labels) Lay out every note, read them all, and bundle only the ones that feel alike into groups of two to four. Write in one line what each bundle has in common and put it on top. That is the label. Use the words on the notes, not a category name such as Facilities. A note with no partner may stay on its own.
- 3. Diagramming (Type A) Lay the labels out on the page and link them with arrows and lines. Use a single arrow from cause to effect, and a double-headed line for opposites.
- 4. Writing up (Type B) Follow the relations between the islands in order and turn the diagram into text. Anywhere you cannot write is a place where the relation is not settled yet.
8. Worked Example (notes and labels from one theme)
| Original comment (open answer) | The note, in one sentence | The label it got | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example 1 | The canteen is far too crowded. Please add more seats. | Waited ten minutes for a seat in the canteen just after noon | The canteen is packed at lunch and there is nowhere to sit |
| Example 2 | They tell you to check the notice board, but I have no idea where it is. | Never saw the scholarship notice, because I did not know it was in Building 3 | Notices are hard to find |
| Example 3 | I always hear about a deadline right before it closes. | Heard about the course change deadline from a friend the day before | Deadlines only surface at the last minute |
9. Type A Diagram Example / Link the labelled islands with arrows
- What students struggle with
- Notices are hard to find The cause side. Draw an arrow from here to the deadline island
- Deadlines only surface at the last minute The effect side. It receives the arrow from the notices island
- The canteen is packed at lunch and there is nowhere to sit A standalone island. Timetables all cluster at the same hour
- Having a senior to ask puts you at ease The island that eases the other three. More of it lightens the whole
10. Mistake 1 / Building the boxes first
- e.g. Making Facilities and Relationships boxes, then sorting notes into them
- In the KJ Method notes come first and labels second. Boxes stop new views appearing
- The fix is to throw the boxes away and start again with every note on the table
11. Mistake 2 / Labels that are only category names
- e.g. A label that says only Canteen issues, so the contents are lost
- If the label alone does not bring the notes to mind, that is the sign to rewrite it
- The fix is to read the bundle out loud and use those words in one line
12. What Makes It Work
- Do not force a note with no partner into a group. An island of one is fine
- When in doubt go back to the notes. Rereading beats agonising over a label
- e.g. Once you are down to four to six islands, that is the sign to start the diagram
Task board contents
Notes written 16 items
Set theme and input
The preparation before you write a single note. Put in one sentence why you collected these opinions, then fix the material and the time you will use.
Write the question
Write what you want to find out in one sentence and stick it in frame 1. Once the question is set, it is clear which comments become notes.
Gather the material
Bring the open survey answers, meeting notes and interview records that will become notes into one place.
Plan steps and time
Decide who facilitates, who records, and how long each stage gets. Split the time across the four stages in frame 7 and nobody stalls on the day.
Write the notes
Stage one of the KJ Method. Write one single fact on each note, so that nothing is summarised or sorted before you start.
One fact per note
Write what you saw or heard as one sentence with a subject and a verb. If a note holds two things, split it. Fill in the what, who, when, where and how in frame 2 and join them into one sentence; why is a guess, so it never becomes a note.
Split fact and view
"It is annoying how crowded it gets" is an interpretation; "waited ten minutes just after noon" is a fact. Write the fact notes first and keep the interpretations aside.
Read out and spread
Read every finished note out loud, then spread them on the table. Stage one is done the moment the reading is over.
Group and label
Stage two of the KJ Method. Bundle notes that feel alike into small groups, put a label on each, then merge the labels into larger islands.
Make small bundles
Bundle only the notes that feel alike, two to four at a time. A note with no partner stays on its own rather than being forced in.
Write the labels
Reread the bundle and write what it has in common in one line on top. It is done when the words come from the notes, not from a category name.
Form mid groups
Compare the labels, bundle the close ones again into mid-sized groups, and move on once you are down to four to six islands.
Diagram and write up
Stages three and four of the KJ Method. Lay out the islands and link them with lines (Type A diagram), then follow that order and write it as text (Type B).
Lay out the islands
Place the mid-group labels on the page, keeping related islands close together and opposing ones far apart.
Link with arrows
Draw a single arrow from cause to effect and a double-headed line for opposites. An island you cannot link is one whose relation is not visible yet.
Turn it into text
Follow the relations between the islands in order while looking at the diagram and write them as text. It is done when no gap is left unwritten.
