Mind mapping

1. Challenge and selection

I am a member of an association to develop the entrepreneurial spirit among young people  who want to do business or not but who are disoriented and do not yet have structured  project ideas. We work in our organization in collaboration with the organizations of the  State which reports to the ministry such as the centers of enterprise and the business  centers, as well as the educational establishments

Our mission is to guide, support and train young people in order to develop their  entrepreneurial spirit to encourage them to be independent and active in order to diversify  the choices of their paths in life.

Our training and support services remain below expectations and still do not lead to the results  expected.

We are trying to find solutions to bring the services offered by the various establishments and  organizations closer to young people and to motivate them more to get involved in orientation  and support programs.

To this end, I brought together the stakeholders including the spokespersons of the young  people who are the heart of our target.

I used the mind mapping tool to visualize the ideas in the form of a graphic presentation in  images and keywords because it allows to visualize the links between the ideas and to have a  global approach of the subject studied

“This diagram is supposed to reflect the functioning of thought, which makes it possible to  visually represent and follow the associative path of thought. "

2. Application

Stakeholders are invited to meet in a large, friendly and suitable room to allow them to  move comfortably and to exchange and share, this room could be equipped with a board or  easel to allow participants to easily view the outputs.

I start the process by framing the situation through questions (Who, What, Where; When  and How) The participants work in small groups to answer the questions posed in the form  of short memos. After discussions the participants agree on the central theme.

In our case, they must find solutions to motivate young people to get more involved in  training and support programs.

To make our mind map, we just need a sheet of A4 paper, or a whiteboard, colored markers  (one color per branch, for example). Images or signs

Participants write ideas and keywords on posts and stick them on a board that will be visible  to everyone, they can then read the concepts and ideas written by others and be inspired to  generate new ideas.

Then I divide the participants into groups of 4 or 5 according to the centers of interest or the  specialty to work on the main ideas, the ideas are organized in tree structure more and more  detailed: the main ideas first, then the ideas secondary.

The central theme is written in the middle of a sheet or on a board; around this theme are  the main ideas. These form branches in which are inscribed keywords or short sentences.  any main idea corresponding to a new branch. Any secondary idea specifying or detailing a  main idea corresponds to a new branch of an already existing branch, branches split or  multiply into secondary, tertiary, etc. branches. when we approach a new idea, we have to  ask ourselves if it is really a main idea, in which case we have to create a new branch or if it  is rather a secondary idea to be linked to an idea main already issued, to which a new branch  must be created to an already existing branch.

The mind map is now complete, all participants can visualize it and easily identify the main  axes that will be used to develop action plans later.

3. Insight

What I learned while conducting this exercise is the importance of involving all stakeholders,  because the design of the mind map must be collaborative in order to lead to reliable  solutions, indeed Shared ideas even if they are sometimes contradictory and which may  appear crazy ,are always enriching to better understand the content.

The sharing of ideas and exchanges with the various stakeholders is very inspiring and  allowed us to see things differently. Since the representation of ideas in the form of a mental  map is not suitable for all forms of mind. It appeals more to visual people. Others will prefer  a representation of ideas in a more usual form. To share my experience, I would say that I  was first confused by this method, but the more I use it, the more I enjoy it and the more I  see the benefits. Our association and our collaborators must consider the needs of the  target (young people) to adapt their training programs and develop action plans based on  the solutions expressed in this mental map.

4. Approach

We must be careful because the mind map quickly becomes unreadable if the number of  ideas is very large. In this case, it is preferable to detail each idea on a separate sheet or else  use two or three mind maps dealing with different axes.

We can also use specialized software that offers more flexibility and has a whole library of  shapes to represent the branches since there are many free software.


Mind mapping 1 . Challenge and selection I am a member of an association to develop the entrepreneurial spirit among young people who want to do business or not but who are disoriented and do not yet have structured project ideas . We work in our organization in collaboration with the organizations of the State which reports to the ministry such as the centers of enterprise and the business centers , as well as the educational establishments Our mission is to guide , support and train young people in order to develop their entrepreneurial spirit to encourage them to be independent and active in order to diversify the choices of their paths in life . Our training and support services remain below expectations and still do not lead to the results expected . We are trying to find solutions to bring the services offered by the various establishments and organizations closer to young people and to motivate them more to get involved in orientation and support programs . To this end , I brought together the stakeholders including the spokespersons of the young people who are the heart of our target . I used the mind mapping tool to visualize the ideas in the form of a graphic presentation in images and keywords because it allows to visualize the links between the ideas and to have a global approach of the subject studied “ This diagram is supposed to reflect the functioning of thought , which makes it possible to visually represent and follow the associative path of thought . " 2 . Application Stakeholders are invited to meet in a large , friendly and suitable room to allow them to move comfortably and to exchange and share , this room could be equipped with a board or easel to allow participants to easily view the outputs . I start the process by framing the situation through questions ( Who , What , Where ; When and How ) The participants work in small groups to answer the questions posed in the form of short memos . After discussions the participants agree on the central theme . In our case , they must find solutions to motivate young people to get more involved in training and support programs . To make our mind map , we just need a sheet of A4 paper , or a whiteboard , colored markers ( one color per branch , for example ) . Images or signs Participants write ideas and keywords on posts and stick them on a board that will be visible to everyone , they can then read the concepts and ideas written by others and be inspired to generate new ideas . Then I divide the participants into groups of 4 or 5 according to the centers of interest or the specialty to work on the main ideas , the ideas are organized in tree structure more and more detailed : the main ideas first , then the ideas secondary . The central theme is written in the middle of a sheet or on a board ; around this theme are the main ideas . These form branches in which are inscribed keywords or short sentences . any main idea corresponding to a new branch . Any secondary idea specifying or detailing a main idea corresponds to a new branch of an already existing branch , branches split or multiply into secondary , tertiary , etc . branches . when we approach a new idea , we have to ask ourselves if it is really a main idea , in which case we have to create a new branch or if it is rather a secondary idea to be linked to an idea main already issued , to which a new branch must be created to an already existing branch . The mind map is now complete , all participants can visualize it and easily identify the main axes that will be used to develop action plans later . 3 . Insight What I learned while conducting this exercise is the importance of involving all stakeholders , because the design of the mind map must be collaborative in order to lead to reliable solutions , indeed Shared ideas even if they are sometimes contradictory and which may appear crazy , are always enriching to better understand the content . The sharing of ideas and exchanges with the various stakeholders is very inspiring and allowed us to see things differently . Since the representation of ideas in the form of a mental map is not suitable for all forms of mind . It appeals more to visual people . Others will prefer a representation of ideas in a more usual form . To share my experience , I would say that I was first confused by this method , but the more I use it , the more I enjoy it and the more I see the benefits . Our association and our collaborators must consider the needs of the target ( young people ) to adapt their training programs and develop action plans based on the solutions expressed in this mental map . 4 . Approach We must be careful because the mind map quickly becomes unreadable if the number of ideas is very large . In this case , it is preferable to detail each idea on a separate sheet or else use two or three mind maps dealing with different axes . We can also use specialized software that offers more flexibility and has a whole library of shapes to represent the branches since there are many free software .