Affinity Diagram — Team 4
Research Method
Assignment 3: Affinity Diagram
Team 4: Junwoo Cheong, Eliza Pratt, Emily Zhou, Jennifer Lee, Davis Dunaway
Activity Preview
Yellow Post-Its:
Each key findings from secondary research and primary research are placed into a yellow post it.
Blue Post-Its:
Blue labels collect a coherent set of notes that represent a theme or a direction. These need to be written in the voice of the user. The first person voice is integral to this process.
Pink Post-Its:
The next level of the affinitization phase is the pink labels. These labels collect blue labels and place them under one common theme. The language of the pink labels is also in the first person.
Green Post-Its:
The highest level of the affinity process summarizes the pink labels underneath. These green labels may or may not be written in the voice of the first person and usually denote a bigger piece of the user story.
Overview
On top of the observational studies and cultural probes assignments, affinity diagram activity serves to provide a general overview of the key issues happening Construction Junction and a clear idea of hierarchy. Our group spent a fair amount of time to get together and do a thorough affinity diagram activity.
Overall steps we took are as listed —
- each teammate brought 20 affinity notes on yellow post-its.
- we put together the notes of the same context and organized notes all throughout the board.
- with blue post-its, we derived the first-person narratives that explain affinity notes.
- we put together blue post-its into groups of same or similar context.
- with pink post-its, we derived broader narratives for groups of blue post-its.
- we put together pink post-its into groups of general context.
- with green post-its, we defined each group of pink post-its with a phrase that overarches the larger themes.
End Product
Through affinity mapping activity, we successfully derived 4 majors themes.
Increased awareness and appreciation for forward thinking (Green)
Key points:
Strongest associations are with upcycling and reuse
The mission statement is clear
Successful brand image
(Pink 1): I support organizations that are sustainable + eco-friendly.
(Blue 1 for Pink 1): I think CJ is all about being Green!
Yellows:
- eco-friendly
- advertises environmental partners
- advertises donation / reselling process
- green is a common color
- promotes environmental mission
(Blue 2 for Pink 1): I can see that CJ is proud to be a non-profit org.
Yellows:
- being a non-profit limits advertising/marketing abilities
- advertises non-profit identity
(Pink 2): I appreciate stores with a non-commercial presentation.
(Blue 1 for Pink 2): I enjoy the unique vibe of CJ every time I come here.
Yellows:
- organic
- vintage
- factory-like vibe
- industrial vibe
- concrete floors = crafty / industrial
(Blue 2 for Pink 2): I find CJ’s duck mascot to be cute +fun.
Yellows:
- uses duck mascot in ads
- ducks!
Factors that facilitate disconnectedness (Green)
Key points
In-store interactions are not inherently friendly or welcoming experiences
Community/culture are uninviting
Poor location/irrelevance to daily lives
(Pink 1): CJ doesn’t feel very relevant in my daily life.
(Blue 1 for Pink 1): CJ doesn’t have as great a presence in PGH as it could.
Yellows:
- visibility/ popularity suffers from location
- customers are conscious of poor ads
(Blue 2 for Pink 1): Unless I have a very specific project, I don’t think I will come back.
Yellows:
- most shoppers go for art projects or renovations
- most shoppers are one timers/ don’t come back
- only one third of visitors return.
(Pink 2): I feel disconnected when the community is not outwardly friendly.
(Blue 1 for Pink 2): I feel a little uncomfortable to talk to employees (they look laid back/ unfriendly).
Yellows:
- employees no uniforms
- store space is quiet
- both employees and customers seem highly cynical on average
(Blue 2 for Pink 2): I find it difficult to be integrated into the CJ community.
Yellows:
- employees don’t seem to be aware of why we are here
- people are primarily disinterested in doing activities/probes
Difficulties in wayfinding (Green)
Key points
Not laid out to customer’s benefit
Clutter restricts visibility of any particular section
Inconsistent signage
(Pink 1): I find it hard to ship when I keep getting lost.
(Blue 1 for Pink 1): I get lost in the disorganization.
Yellows:
- customers often seem lost n confused
- cluttered environment
- there is an overcrowding of info in the space
- poor visibility in crowded store- hard for anything to stand out
- things get moved around a lot
Advertisements are not effective (Green)
Key points
Oversaturation of emails and social media posts
Lack of responses/reactions to social media posts
Lack of professionalism: hand drawn and “odd humor”
(Pink 1): I am turned off by ads that are incoherent/all over the place.
(Blue 1 for Pink 1): I see that a lot of photographs are used for advertising.
Yellows:
- Photos do not seem professionally taken
- uses the monitor to display ads in slideshow format
- web ads showcase items through video mediums
- website shows featured finds
- the website shows many photos of individual items
(Blue 2 for Pink 1): CJ’s ads try too hard to be funny, so I lose interest.
Yellows:
- online posts have a similar odd humor to in-store ads, just without the hand-drawn feels
- CJ uses humor in advertising online + in store
- in store ads use humor (sometimes)
(Blue 3 for Pink 1): I see lots of signs that don’t fit together.
Yellows:
- signages are unclear
- no visual consistency in signage
- uses large scale signage in store
(Blue 4 for Pink 1): I think CJ likes to be analog about ad-making.
Yellows:
- little connection between online and in store ads
- all ads seem to be drawn by the same person
- instore ads are often hand drawn
(Pink 2): When I get bombarded w/ ads, I don’t necessarily want to shop there.
(Blue 1 for Pink 2): most ads I see are for the big pour and not much else.
Yellows:
- advertises steel city big pour
- big pour is main advertising/fundraising event
- big pour is highly promoted — twitter is already active(next event is 9.28.19)
(Blue 2 for Pink 2): I feel like I know what is at CJ since all the ads are about their stock.
Yellows:
- advertises type/category of items (not individual)
- items on site are updated every few days
- uses #20coolest on social media
- #20coolest list is used to draw in customers.
(Blue 3 for Pink 2): I follow CJ on different social media platforms.
Yellows:
- instagram gets the most user engagement, likely because the good use of photos
- posts are repeated across social media platforms
- most social media posts have zero comments
- FB has over 25,000 followers yet get almost no user interaction
(Blue 4 for Pink 2): CJ sends me lots of promos.
Yellows:
- most advertising by social media and word of mouth
- mailing list attempts to keep you updated on what you find interesting
- newsletter attempts to keep previous customers interested
