Example Reflection – Mind Mapping

1. Challenge

To give you an idea of my current situation I would like to start with this: I am currently  writing my master thesis and I am expecting to finish my studies in december. My studies  (Political Economics and International Relations) have nothing to do with the topics I am  really interested in. For the past year I worked as a coach beside my master studies to help  and support other students. I realized that my work really helped these people but  something felt wrong to me.   So there I was on the verge of graduating, not exactly knowing what I really want to do. As a  consequence I sat down and tried to apply the knowledge I gained from this course to solve  my problem of not knowing what I want to do after graduating.

2. Selection

As I was thinking about my problem and which of the different tools might be best to solve it,  I figured that the mind mapping tool might be best – because of two reasons: (1) I used this  tool in the past many times in a very basic way and it worked really well, (2) I really thought  that Michelle Raja quote of David Kelley (the founder of IDEO) was very intriguing: „When I  want to do something analytical, I make a list. When I am trying to do something creative, I  make a mind map“. It fits perfectly because I think that my problem needs to be tackled in a  creative way, because it involves so many different components.   But how does the mind mapping tool actually work: The mind mapping tool of design  thinking differs from the „normal“ tool of mind mapping you normally use on your own. In  design thinking, mind mapping is used to work with data that we collected before with the  goal in mind to get insights and uncover connections and patterns. This process includes the  consultation of other people to help you figure out all of these connections.

3. Application

So the application was a bit difficult because I didn’t have a team to work with and I guess  this is a thing that could be counted a negative. As a first step I decided that I wanted to ask  some close friends and familiy members to help me. I talked with them individually and  asked them questions about what they think are my strengths and weaknesses, what they  think would suit me, what areas I need to improve and other questions in this kind of  fashion. There was a big advantage, because all of these people know me really well, so input  from them was very specific and also offered a wide variety of different thoughts that I  needed analyze.   In the second step I took my white board and blank sheets of paper to write those new  insides  down and added my own thoughts and ideas to them. So as I was sitting in front of  all of my data I started analyzing all of the different ideas and after a while I started seeing a  common theme / connection between all those different data points. So I visualized all the  connections and patterns on my white board and all the sheets of paper with different colors  and pinned idex cards on them.   In a third step, I wrote my findings down and summarized the different potential career  paths on seperate sheets of paper.   In the fourth step I spoke again with some close friends and family to present them my  findings and ideas and asked them again for their feedback and opinions on my ideas. In the  end I figured that two potential paths seemed right for me.

I think the tool was applied effectively, although I have to say that I modified it to be able to  use it. I think that it is a great strength of this tool, being able to modify it, but not changing  the overall concept oder idea of it.

4. Insight

I touched the point of insight in the previous segment, but I think I have to get a bit more  precise. I believe that because of the different steps, the analysis, the conversations, the  writing and sorting process I got a much clearer understanding of the things that matter most  to me and where I my strenghts really are. It helped me gaining a lot of insight and showed  me that it is important to expand your field of view and think about things you never thought  before.

5. Approach

The next time I need to solve a similar problem, I would use the the same tool again,  although I would try to get a team and some people I don’t know, to get an even more  diverse pool of input and ideas. I believe that the tool of mind mapping is very good because  it gives you the possibility of working in an creative but also analytical way.


Example Reflection – Mind Mapping 1 . Challenge To give you an idea of my current situation I would like to start with this : I am currently writing my master thesis and I am expecting to finish my studies in december . My studies ( Political Economics and International Relations ) have nothing to do with the topics I am really interested in . For the past year I worked as a coach beside my master studies to help and support other students . I realized that my work really helped these people but something felt wrong to me . So there I was on the verge of graduating , not exactly knowing what I really want to do . As a consequence I sat down and tried to apply the knowledge I gained from this course to solve my problem of not knowing what I want to do after graduating . 2 . Selection As I was thinking about my problem and which of the different tools might be best to solve it , I figured that the mind mapping tool might be best – because of two reasons : ( 1 ) I used this tool in the past many times in a very basic way and it worked really well , ( 2 ) I really thought that Michelle Raja quote of David Kelley ( the founder of IDEO ) was very intriguing : „ When I want to do something analytical , I make a list . When I am trying to do something creative , I make a mind map “ . It fits perfectly because I think that my problem needs to be tackled in a creative way , because it involves so many different components . But how does the mind mapping tool actually work : The mind mapping tool of design thinking differs from the „ normal “ tool of mind mapping you normally use on your own . In design thinking , mind mapping is used to work with data that we collected before with the goal in mind to get insights and uncover connections and patterns . This process includes the consultation of other people to help you figure out all of these connections . 3 . Application So the application was a bit difficult because I did n’t have a team to work with and I guess this is a thing that could be counted a negative . As a first step I decided that I wanted to ask some close friends and familiy members to help me . I talked with them individually and asked them questions about what they think are my strengths and weaknesses , what they think would suit me , what areas I need to improve and other questions in this kind of fashion . There was a big advantage , because all of these people know me really well , so input from them was very specific and also offered a wide variety of different thoughts that I needed analyze . In the second step I took my white board and blank sheets of paper to write those new insides down and added my own thoughts and ideas to them . So as I was sitting in front of all of my data I started analyzing all of the different ideas and after a while I started seeing a common theme / connection between all those different data points . So I visualized all the connections and patterns on my white board and all the sheets of paper with different colors and pinned idex cards on them . In a third step , I wrote my findings down and summarized the different potential career paths on seperate sheets of paper . In the fourth step I spoke again with some close friends and family to present them my findings and ideas and asked them again for their feedback and opinions on my ideas . In the end I figured that two potential paths seemed right for me . I think the tool was applied effectively , although I have to say that I modified it to be able to use it . I think that it is a great strength of this tool , being able to modify it , but not changing the overall concept oder idea of it . 4 . Insight I touched the point of insight in the previous segment , but I think I have to get a bit more precise . I believe that because of the different steps , the analysis , the conversations , the writing and sorting process I got a much clearer understanding of the things that matter most to me and where I my strenghts really are . It helped me gaining a lot of insight and showed me that it is important to expand your field of view and think about things you never thought before . 5 . Approach The next time I need to solve a similar problem , I would use the the same tool again , although I would try to get a team and some people I do n’t know , to get an even more diverse pool of input and ideas . I believe that the tool of mind mapping is very good because it gives you the possibility of working in an creative but also analytical way .