Mind Mapping

Challenge

Being a member of an organization that deals with a large number of small-scale customers, I

often felt tremendous pressure regarding the management of data. Similar problems were

reported by my colleagues too. Firstly, it was difficult to understand what procedures to choose

regarding divergent customer types. Secondly, many people encountered problems with

following the procedures themselves. For instance, refunds required a complex process for their

management. In short, there was no clear representation of the procedures to be used in our

business. More importantly, our department had no significant funds to spare concerning some

advanced data management solutions. We had an extremely low budget (practically non-existent)

to consider regarding the presented process. Consequently, the main challenge for us was not

only to create potent data management tools but also to do so at little or no price.

Selection

To achieve the proper results, our team went through a large number of free or cheap online tools

aimed at storing data. Many solutions proved to be either too complex or primitive to satisfy our

needs. In the end, however, we found mind mapping. Above all, we were attracted by the

divergence of tools in the sphere and the relative ease of presentation. Mind mapping gave us the

possibility to present large data choice trees in an accessible manner. In our case, we used an

open-source program titled Heimer to create appropriate mind maps due to its free nature and

ease of utilization. It allowed us to quickly form large data trees that were perfect for our

mission.

Application

Our reform group decided to use the mind mapping tool to create a set of separate guides united

in one document. Firstly, we created ten separate images with the essential procedures used in

our division. One of the images presented a general map of the critical customer types and the

key factors for distinguishing them. The rest offered the delineation of specific procedures.

Secondly, we included them into one PDF document combined with the hyperlinks. This

approach allowed us to streamline customer processing approaches. Now, when a customer

arrives, one of our managers looks into the document we have created, scans the initial mind

map, finds the necessary instruction number, then searches it in the document via built-in word-

scanning tools, and accesses the secondary mind map with a complete delineation of procedures

to be used. After the implementation of the presented procedure, many people noted a significant

decrease in pressure. The impact is especially potent among newcomers. There are rumors that

our free-of-charge reform allowed us to decrease management time per customer by 20% and

error rates by 5%. This reform would have undoubtedly been impossible without mind maps.

Insight

I was rather impressed by the sheer impact of mind mapping on the productivity in my

department. Initially, I was a skeptic because I saw it as yet another example of visualization.

However, the case showed me that it is crucial to take the adherence of humans to structured data

into consideration. Mind mapping tools taught me that training in the modern world must be

systems-centric. Instead of offering the newcomers-friendly approaches, which proceed from

simple aspects to the difficult and, as a result, destroy the systemic approach to teaching, it is

essential to offer data in a manner that describes the operational structure as a whole. In short,

mind maps taught me that the vital principle of teaching is not simplicity but the ability to

present complex processes in a coherent manner.

Approach

If I ever use the tool in some other instance, I will primarily seek to pay attention to the visuals.

Heimer, being a free program, has a rather rough look. Consequently, the initial impression our

mind maps produce is rather daunting. In the future, I will invest in the mind mapping tools that

allow creating active webpages, for instance, with coherent and well-animated hyperlinks. In this

way, the usability of the instrument will increase. I believe that mind maps themselves are an

uncontroversial tool, but they need to receive a potent presentation to work coherently.

