Example Reflection – Mind Mapping

Challenge & Selection

I used Mind Mapping with couple of my customers to understand viewpoints of participants, context  and to generate the group energy.  Current way of thinking for a system is based on Analysis, Judgment,  Argument and Criticism which lacks in Constructive, creative energy and design energies. Mind mapping  is an efficient means to Record, Analyze and reference the customer’s pain points and the opportunities  for improvements. Mind Mapping technique helps in arranging ideas and their interconnections visually  and helps in doing effective brainstorming.  This technique can identify potential stakeholders and help  understand the relationships between them

Some benefits for using Mind Mapping tools are

▪  Establishing the Big Picture

▪  Less Space is needed to capture the thoughts

o 10-1,000 pages → One Mind Map

▪  It helps in brings a Focus for brain

▪  Increases the Hunger to think

▪  Relate own thoughts with existing experiences and learnings

▪  Makes it Efficient for review the thoughts quickly

Application

I start the process by creating a straw man graphic of the problem domain. We as a group study the  existing material available for the environment and create the straw man. We also conduct some first  level of discussions with all the key stakeholders and get their top of the mind inputs and create the  graphic version.  This initial version helps in their thinking and to visualize and provide much more in- depth inputs necessary for the exercise. As the inputs starts pouring, we will organize the thoughts with  right mapping.

Adopted Steps :

Step 1: Start at the center of the page.

▪  Focus on the center of the page.

▪  Begins with a word or image that symbolizes what you want to think.

Step 2: Don't be serious!

Start to think about related issues, persons, object, goals...

Put your thoughts around the central thought.

These can be everything. Even if they look strange or unimportant.

Step 3: Free associate.

As ideas emerge, print one or two word descriptions of the ideas on lines branching from the  central focus.

Allow the ideas to expand outward into branches and sub- branches.

Put down all ideas without judgment or evaluation.

Step 4: Think as fast as you can.

Come up with an explosion of ideas.

Translate them in words, images, codes or symbols.

Step 5: There are no boundaries.

Think "out-of the-box". Everything is possible.

Step 6: Don't judge too fast.

Again, everything is possible. Unrelated issues might me relevant later on.

Think like you are brainstorming. Otherwise your mind will get stuck like a record in that

"unrelated word" groove and you'll never generate those great ideas.

Step 7: Go, go, go....

Keep your hand moving.

If ideas slow down, draw empty lines, and watch your brain automatically find ideas to put on

them.

Or change colors to reenergize your mind.

Step 8: Add relationships and connections.

Make connections immediately as you can see the relationship.

Keep on adding sub-branches to a main idea.

If you don't sub-branches, just connect the ideas to the central focus.

Organization can always come later; the first requirement is to get the ideas out of your head  and onto the paper.

Tools that can be used are:

•  FreeMind is a free open source mind-mapping application

•  VYM for Linux and MacOS Free Software (GNU/GPL).

•  Kdissert for Linux only Free Software (GNU/GPL) for the creation of other documents from  mindmaps: presentation, reports, applets.

•  MindManager is commercial mind-mapping software running on MS Windows and integrated  with MS Office.

•  Smart Draw: Provides lot of templates

•  Visual Mind: Commercial tool

•  ConceptDraw MINDMAP Mind Mapping, Brainstorming and Project Planning software that  works both on Windows and Mac OS X.

Sample Mind mapping generated to get all the project risk management aspects :

Insight & Approach

What I have learned from conducting this exercise with several groups is that Mind mapping establishes  the parallel thinking among all the participants and brings in the following benefits

▪  Explores the subject instead of arguments

▪  Develop skills of forming hypothesis

▪  All parties think in the same direction

▪  Direction itself can be changed in order to give a full scan of the situation

•  At every moment each thinker is thinking in parallel with all the other thinkers

▪  There does not have to be agreement

•  Statements or thoughts which are contradictory are not argued out but laid down in parallel

▪  Mind-mapping mirrors constructivist theory.

Mind mapping helped in exploring the relevant aspects of the current state and better understand  relevant factors affecting the business need, thinking infinite and to think three-dimensionally for  organizing the things in a meaningful way.

Overall Mind mapping helped me to generate many ideas from a group of stakeholders in a short  period, and to organize and prioritize those ideas.

