He said that to really understand the KJ method, you need experience in putting together 100 or more labels. This matches Nishio’s personal realization.
Even in individual work, when the number of labels is small, beginners fall under the illusion that they have done a good job, even if they have to cheat. However, when the number of labels reaches 100 or more, it is impossible for a beginner to do so with his or her own good sense. In other words, there is no deception. There is no other way but to listen to what the data says and summarize it. This means a lot of hard work, but it is a good way to learn, and it gives you a chance to really understand the KJ method. (let chaos be made to speak p.211)
In The Engineer’s Art of Intellectual Production, on p. 147, he writes that you should try the writing out method with a goal of 100 sheets, and if you don’t come up with 100 sheets, you are probably not gathering enough information.
I used to require first-time experiencers to do it in 100 sheets, but now I’m starting to think that 25 sheets might be fine as a real first step. Because first you need the experience of accomplishing a task at a minimal cost.
relevance - Maybe 25 sheets would be a good first step to experience the KJ method. - Number of KJ method sheets
This page is auto-translated from /nishio/KJ法がほんとうにわかるには100枚以上必要 using DeepL. If you looks something interesting but the auto-translated English is not good enough to understand it, feel free to let me know at @nishio_en. I’m very happy to spread my thought to non-Japanese readers.