For our in-class practice for this technique, we will make two different affinity walls.

First, we’ll generate some quick-and-dirty data ourselves. Each member of the class will write down 6 words or short phrases to describe the painting From the Lake by Georgia O’Keeffe. Each word/phrase will go on a different post-it. We’ll then take our post-its and make an affinity wall out of them.

Then, once we’ve had a chance to get used to how the technique works, we’ll apply it to some real-world data, specifically, some on-line customer reviews for a microwave available through BestBuy.com. I will print each comment on a square of paper, so we can stick them all up on the wall and see what patterns we can find!