So you come up with an idea for a killer project to do in Zimbabwe. Your thoughts are still scattered. You start putting them on paper as they come - what is your project about? Who will benefit? What are the expected outcomes? If you were making a mind map of these ideas, you’d probably have something like this (click on the map to see it in full):
I made the above map in Mindmanager, one of the popular software programs used in mind mapping and brainstorming. The Wikipedia definition of a mind map is "a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks, or other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea. Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing." Like most mindmapping software, mindmanager allows you to add notes to any particular topic or subtopic (sometimes called “thoughts”). You can also expand continuously using one subtopic as the central idea.
Mind mapping has become one of the business productivity buzzwords in the past ten yeas. It is based on a simple concept; you put your thoughts on paper (or on computer) in a way that allows you to visualize and build on them. There are many tools that have been developed to adopt mind mapping to the digital age, and some of them are more work than they are tools. But some great software programs have emerged that make the business (or art) of thinking and ideation fun and productive. I will discuss some of these programs. The comments I make about them programs are, needless to say, my opinions, based on my own (limited) experiences. I chose to show just four major programs because they are the ones I have tried. My comments on them are not endorsements, but they are all, in my opinion, great tools. I single out PersonalBrain because it is slightly different from the others in that it introduces a new way of dealing with incoming information and ideas beyond just brainstorming and idea mapping. PersonalBrain also has a fully functional free version, which the other three listed programs do not, so for students it is a good place to start.
| Pros | Cons | ||
| PersonalBrain | - Impressive animated interface - Has great shortcuts to make entering thoughts and brainstorming quick - Fully functional free version available - Has great functionality beyond mind mapping - Works well with Tablet Input Panel - Can import browser bookmarks, word and text outlines as well as mindmanager and freemind maps | - No ink mode - No Microsoft Office integration | |
| Mindmanager | - Good Microsoft office integration - Supports ink mode for tablet PC - Can easily drag map around | - No free version (has 21 day free trial) - Doesn’t seem to allow importing of other maps | |
| MindGenius | - Great focusing tool; ease of use - Good response with Tablet Input Panel - Has quickest thought input system of all tested programs | - Cannot drag map around - No ink mode - Doesn’t seem to have updated much - No free version (21 day free trial) | |
| MindView | - can easily drag map around - Excellent Office integration -has great features for project management | - No ink mode - Poor Tablet Input panel response - No free version (20 day free trial) |
To demonstrate how I use maps in my various projects, I included two maps. I drafted this post in Mindmanager and the map for that is show below
I have also included part of a map showing some of the software programs I have been working on and the work I am doing on them (see http://zambezitools.110mb.com/):
I hope this get’s you interested enough to find out more about these tools to see if they can be relevant to your work. Good places to look for more information will be
1. Wikipedia list of mind mapping software (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mind_Mapping_software)
2. Various blog on mind mapping.
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