April 10, 2009
Ideas on one page
I find that seeing lots of different ideas on one page is really helpful when trying to come up with a creative solution.
The easiest of these is via brainstorming, where ideas are captured and (purposely) placed randomly on a piece of paper. (Randomness is key - if we listed them in order, the mind automatically gives more weight to the top idea). Once these ideas are captured, you can sort them via affinity diagrams, fishbone/cause-and-effect diagrams, or mindmaps.
I’ve talked about affinity diagrams and cause and effect diagrams in previous posts, so let’s talk a bit more about mindmaps. Mindmaps are graphical representations of not only the ideas, but their relationships. For example, if doing a mindmap about a vacation, I may have something that looks like this:
For folks who are visual learners, mindmaps are a great tool. There are several free programs out there; I like Freemind and MindMeister.
What have you used a mindmap for, and how has it worked for you?
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Barbara C Phillips said,
April 10, 2009 @ 9:51 pm
I love mind maps as well. For the longest time, I used plain ‘ole paper and pen. The I began playing with Freemind and MindMeister. But I wanted more. Soon I downloaded the free trial of Mind Manger…and that was all she wrote. I’m still learning the ins and outs, but I love how I can share it in it’s own player.
I get lost when I’m trying to be a linear thinker so the mind maps are perfect.
Barbara C. Phillips, NP
Terence Kierans said,
April 12, 2009 @ 5:22 pm
My main use for mind-mapping is prior to creating a project plan. It helps to ensure that the small details don’t get overlooked and provide a nasty surprise down the track when the project is ubderway.
Terence Kierans CAVB (Certified Australian Virtual Business)
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