Reflection - Mind Mapping

Challange    Mind mapping is a simple and efficient tool that proves to be very helpful throughout the design  thinking process. I work in student clubs, wherein my peers and I organize activities and events  for other students. We also promote our clubs and their products. Working in teams to come up  with ideas and to make decisions can sometimes be stressful and confusing. The challenge  here is to come up with the best solutions while allowing everyone to share their thoughts and  views comfortably.    Selection    After trying various activities to organize everybody’s views and thoughts, it seemed like the  simple idea of mind mapping is the most coherent route to follow. Mind mapping is a technique  that works well with teams and also makes complex concepts look simple and easy to  understand. It is a perceptible way to combine our thoughts around one topic using words,  colors, images, and numbers to highlight ideas and draw connections.    Application    The first way we use mind mapping is to come up with ideas. Mind maps are a framework to  help you thoroughly think through designs and show how topics and ideas are connected and  allowing more flexibility than an outline or list provides. First, we start with a central idea and  then create branches containing its sub-topics. It helps everyone in the team understand the  ideas quickly. Additionally, laying out the concept in an uncomplicated way like this subjects us  to think of better ideas. A mind map is an easy way to brainstorm thoughts organically without  worrying about order and structure.     Next, we use mind mapping when it comes to making decisions too. Since everyone has  different opinions, it is sometimes hard to agree on a single decision. Using mind maps, we can  lay out the ideas so everyone can see and understand the pros and cons of every decision. It  allows us to structure our ideas to help with analysis and recall visually.  It even helps us  discover new relationships among seemingly unrelated ideas and information.      Insight    Using mind maps has taught me a lot of things. It makes working in teams so much easier.  When using mind maps, it is almost like the entire team functions as one brain. During college  fests, there is a lot of pressure on us to develop ideas and manage all the tasks. During such  times, mind maps can easily simplify the entire process. Also, I believe that mind maps enhance  our creative thinking and enable us to become more productive and efficient.

Approach    As we continue to use mind maps, I think we can start using any mind mapping software to  make it easier for us to communicate even when the entire team is not together. Other than that,  next time, we could be more efficient with how we put out our ideas on the board; brevity and  functionality being two critical things to keep in mind.

