Thinking tools have always been a favorite topic of mine. I love good thinking tools. Problem is, so many of them just don’t live up to the hype. One of the major tools that has become part of my life is Mind Mapping (or Mindmapping).

I learned Mindmapping originally at a Systems Thinking Conference many years ago. It was presented as one of a series of techniques for brainstorming and thinking. I found that the more I used it, the more I wanted to use it. It’s now often the way I start thinking about something.

The most basic books on Mindmapping are by Joyce Wycoff and Tony Buzan. Buzan claims to be the inventor of Mindmapping, but you can trace things that look very much like mindmaps back to the 3rd century.

Wikipedia has a good article about Mindmaps. It’s got some historical background and a pretty decent explanation plus some good links.

I have to admit that I prefer Wycoff’s way of doing them to Buzan’s, but I’ve found that everyone I know does it with their own particular twist to the process. Some people would suggest that what I do is more of a Concept Map than a mindmap, but that’s not really true either. The critical thing for me is really more about mapping ideas. I like to think about each IDEA as a unit where Buzan works in single words. I don’t find that anywhere near as useful.

Mindscapes are a derivative of mindmapping, emphasizing visual mapping even more than mindmaps do. The technique can produce amazing pictures which become wonderful visual records of sessions facilitated by someone skilled in the technique. I first saw this at a conference and was blown away by the result! Nancy Marguiles’ web site has a number of completed mindscapes on it that are well worth looking at. I can’t say I’m good at it, but the process starts with mind mapping and eventually produces a drawing that summarizes all of the key ideas and their relationships. I’m envious of the skill it took to draw the mindscapes I’ve seen.

I mindmap with colored pencils or pens. I usually do it in my journal, but sometimes I’ll take a poster pad and do it there. At one time when I was studying a particular aspect of epistemology, I drew a series of mindmaps of the knowledge area and posted them on my walls as continuous reminders. I added to them on a regular basis as I continued to study the material.

I love colors for mindmaps and often add small drawings, but what I turn out isn’t really pretty. It’s meaningful for me which is what I want, but I usually don’t share them. Sometimes, I’ll draw a basic map in one color (usually black) and then as I consult other books or talk to other people, I’ll add to the map in different colors so I can see the interlacing of ideas from different perspectives.

When I need to make a pretty mindmap, I use mindmap software. When facilitating a meeting, a mindmap is a great summary of what’s going on. Most people need a bit of help at first to understand it, but after a few minutes, everyone knows how to read it. I start by projecting my screen with the application, I enter notes, setup links between them, and organize the output from our session. I can transform the mindmap into an outline or print it out as a mindmap for everyone as a record of what we’ve talked about.

I have facilitated meetings with mindmaps where we didn’t use software to create them. Probably the best session of this sort was one where we brought together a group of people and covered a table in large white paper (I think it was white butcher paper). Everyone got a set of colored markers, and then we went to work. Everyone was able to add to anything on the paper as we talked or build little maps close to them. As we continued, eventually, everything on the page was integrated into an overall view.

The applications I’m familiar with are:

Mindmanager - Used by a lot of consultants and other professionals. This is a polished and very useful application. It’s a great choice for facilitation.

http://www.mindjet.com/

Mindmapper - I tried this one and didn’t find it as flexible as Mindmanager, but it appears to be good enough and solid enough to use. I haven’t used it enough to know how well I can rely on it. There is a free version available which doesn’t have all the capabilities of the pro version, but I haven’t tried it. It could be good for learning the basic process.

http://www.mindmapperusa.com/

Inspiration - This was the first mindmap application I used and I’ve always loved it. It’s used by a lot of teachers, so they focus a lot of attention on the education market. A friend’s wife is a teacher in grade school and uses this all the time in class. Inspiration has announced a web-based beta called Webspiration which could be very interesting. I’ve played with it a little bit and it looks like a good place to learn. I’d recommend stopping by the Inspiration web site or going direct to Webspiration.

http://www.inspiration.com/

Freemind - I started using Freemind to see what it was like. It’s a purely text based mindmapper with a good GUI and plenty of responsiveness. I’ve been using it more and more. It’s written in Java and so portable between Windows, Mac, and Linux. Since I work in all three environments, I’ve found it convenient to use. Best of all, it’s FREE! Here is a mindmap I worked up for a project I’ve been working on about skill sets.

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Axon - I discovered this application when working with Prolog for AI applications. I was impressed enough to purchase a copy. It’s since been updated regularly and has drawn a good following. I don’t think of it as primarily a mindmapping application. It’s more for working with a wide range of graphical idea processing methods. I’d call Axon more of a Concept Mapping software package than a Mind Mapping package.

http://web.singnet.com.sg/~axon2000/index.htm

You can also build mind maps with just about any good drawing software like Visio or Omnigraffle, but part of the beauty of mindmapping software is that it allows you to quickly enter a series of ideas without worrying about links or graphics. Most of the packages have a mode you can enter where you type an idea, press a specific key that enters that idea into the map and opens for the next idea. With that, you can do 10 or 12 ideas in a minute or so, then come back and rearrange and relink them if you want.

In a facilitated session, we might zero in on a specific idea to brainstorm. I’ll enter the ideas one after another linked to a specific idea so we capture everything. Only later will we revisit what we did and consider whether they would make sense somewhere else. This rapid entry is great for brainstorming with a group of people.

Ultimately, the whole point of mindmapping is to make it easier for you to THINK and to help ‘Make Your Ideas Clear’!

Categories: Skills