Affinity diagram,

Definition of Affinity diagram:

1. Graphic tool designed to help organize loose, unstructured ideas generated in brainstorming or problem solving meetings. In this method, disparate but related ideas (collected in an idea generation session) are grouped (on cards or sheets of paper) into meaningful categories called affinity sets. These categories tie different concepts together with one underlying theme, clarify the issues, and provide a structure for a systematic search for one or more solutions. Known also as KJ Method after its inventor, the Japanese anthropologist Jiro Kawakita (born 1920). Also called affinity chart.