Affinity Map Guide

Affinity Mapping in UX is a practical, no-fluff guide that helps you convert scattered research notes into clear themes, strong insights, and prioritized actions.

Most designers collect interviews, surveys, and support tickets… then get stuck with a messy Notion page and no real direction. This guide gives you a repeatable workflow to go from raw quotes → patterns → insights → opportunities → priority list.

What you’ll learn

1. What an Affinity Map is (and why it’s the fastest way to find real patterns)
2. When to use it: interviews, surveys, usability tests, reviews, support tickets, sales calls
3. The correct mindset: evidence > opinions
4. A step-by-step process:
5. Dump raw notes
6. Silent grouping
7. Name clusters (Verb + Noun)
8. Convert themes into insights
9. Write HMW opportunities
10. Prioritize with a simple scoring method
11. A full worked example (food delivery app)
12. Common mistakes to avoid (so your map doesn’t turn into “random grouping”)
13. A ready-to-copy template (Research Dump, Cluster Card, Insight, HMW, Priority)
14. A 45-minute team workshop agenda to run this with PMs + devs

Who this is for

1. Beginner to mid-level UX/Product designers
2. Designers doing audits, redesigns, or new feature discovery
3. Freelancers who want to look more “strategy-led” in client work
4. Anyone who wants a clear method to justify decisions with research

What you’ll get

1. A clean guide document you can reuse for every project
2. Copy-paste templates you can drop into Notion/FigJam/Miro
3. A repeatable workflow you can use in interviews, case studies, and client projects

Outcome: You’ll stop guessing and start making decisions based on patterns like a real product designer.