Relations Diagram (or Interrelationship Digraph)

 

• Relations Diagrams are drawn to show all the different relationships between factors, areas, or processes. Why are they worthwhile? Because they make it easy to pick out the factors in a situation which are the ones which are driving many of the other symptoms or factors. For example, a relations diagram of urban poverty might start out something like this:

 

 

Instead of one item following another in a logical sequence, each item is connected to many other pieces, showing that they have an impact on each one. Once all the relevant connections between items have been drawn, the connections are counted. Those with the most connections will usually be the most important factors to focus on. I in a fairly tangled situation, this is a powerful means of forcing a group to map out the interactions between factors, and usually helps bring the most important issues into focus.

 

To create a Relations Diagram:

 

1. Agree on the issue or question.

2. Add a symbol to the diagram for every element involved in the issue.

3. Compare each element to all others. Use an "influence" arrow to connect related elements.

4. The arrows should be drawn from the element that influences to the one influenced.

5. If two elements influence each other, the arrow should be drawn to reflect the stronger influence.

6. Count the arrows.

7. The elements with the most outgoing arrows will be root causes or drivers.

8. The ones with the most incoming arrows will be key outcomes or results.

Affinity Diagramming

 

§ Affinity diagramming is designed to sort a raw list, using "gut feel" to begin to categorize the raw ideas. It is a next step beyond you initial literature search where you have found a vast collection of ideas, results, and opinions.

 

§ The affinity diagram, or KJ method (after its author, Kawakita Jiro), diagram was developed to discovering meaningful groups of ideas within a raw list. In doing so, it is important to let the groupings emerge naturally, using the right side of the brain, rather than according to preordained categories.

 

§ Usually, an affinity diagram is used to refine an initial literature review into something that makes sense and can be dealt with more easily.

 

In Seven New QC Tools, Ishikawa recommends using the affinity diagram when facts or thoughts are uncertain and need to be organized, when preexisting ideas or paradigms need to be overcome, and when ideas need to be clarified.

 

A sample affinity diagram is show below. On the left side of the window is a list of ideas. On the right side is the affinity diagram, in which ideas have been grouped into affinity sets. In this case, the sorting is in an advanced state, and affinity sets have already been given titles. It's important not to add the titles early in the sorting process.