Mind Mapping (Module 3)

Challenge

I work as a Senior Business Analyst for a global corporation which has recently went through  restructuring. In short, the top management decided to spin-off part of the company as a separate  organization. The new company incorporates 3 business units and supporting functions (such as  Business Planning & Analysis - the function I work at) and has subsidiaries in over 50 countries. A key  change aspect for the functions is that the teams are not anymore responsible for the operations  only in their local country but have now regional responsibility – allocation of up to five countries.  This means that my team is now responsible for three big countries. Because of this change we faced  the challenge of coping with increased workload in a new environment with markets we were not  familiar with. However, as we work for a fast-growing organization, the work pace was too quick, and  we needed an efficient solution to stop the chaos around and re-design our processes. We wanted to  collaborate with teams from other regions to create unified processes within the division.

Selection

The key feature of the Mind mapping tool is looking for patterns and insights in large quantity of data  collected during the What Is stage, as Professor Marian Moor explains in a video from Week 3 of the  course. The goal is to create a mind map at the end of the What Is stage. The mind map typically  represents a drawing with short notes organized in clusters and shows graphically the connections  between them. I was standing between the What Is and What If phase and selected the tool because  it is an excellent approach to create an overview of the situation and set an impulse for going  forward in a creative and efficient way. On the one hand, the tool was very useful as it was not  supposed to represent only my mind, but what could be in the mind of our stakeholders – in our case  the business leaders of the regions. On the other hand, I was searching for an efficient way to draw  the attention of the people who work within the division and to facilitate the quick understanding of  concepts and the linkages between them.

Application

The Mind mapping tool was applied during a workshop of the EMEA Business Planning & Analysis  division. Around 40 division members representing 7 EMEA regions attended the workshop. The  communality between us was that because of the extended regional responsibility we were all facing  the same challenge. The Mind mapping workshop had the following structure:

1. What do we work on - All teams attending the workshop were required to write on yellow

sticky notes all the processes they are working at and on pink sticky notes all the  stakeholders they are working for. The teams were encouraged to have a discussion and to  pin the notes on a board.

2. How long does it take – The teams were asked to estimate the time for each process.  3. Where are the connections – The teams were required to link the yellow (processes) and

pink (stakeholders) notes to each other, multiple linkages were possible.

4. What are the priorities – The teams were asked to create a ranking of the stakeholders and a

ranking of activities required by each stakeholder. Discussion time was allocated to this  stage.

5. What are the communalities – At the end we combined the notes from all teams and

created a map which looked like the Solar System. Our division was representing the Sun,  and the stake holders were representing the planets. Thus, important stakeholders who  needed more attention from us represented planets closer to the Sun. Notes with a process

name and time estimation written on them were pinned to each planet. We used this map  for the final presentation and for the criteria establishment discussion.

Insight

This was a successful application of the tool as it allowed us to link the “What is” to “What if”. By  creating our Solar System and clustering the activities to stakeholders we gained a comprehensive  overview of the What Is situation. By allocating time to each process we were able to estimate the  time dedicated to each stake holder and to establish criteria for the What If phase. I realized that  having a mind map depicting the situation instead of creating a large list of related activities  facilitates understanding by providing an easy, visual access to the information. Further, involving  more people in the workshop enhanced the engagement of the teams and helped us gain insights  about the similarities between the regions. Applying creative solutions to people who are normally  occupied with analytical work created an atmosphere of experiencing something exotic and exclusive  and enhanced the attention and motivation of the teams.

Approach

In general, I would definitely continue applying design thinking tools to my audience – people who  are used to analytical approaches. The main reasons are that it creates exclusive atmosphere, leads  to good solutions and motivates people. As we used the Visualization tool for our next step, I dare to  say that a combination of Mind Mapping and Visualization is a strategy which proved its success in  our work. Thus, I do not consider the option of applying an alternative tool as this one works  excellently but consider a combination of two tools. However, if there is something which we can do  differently next time, it would be to hire a professional illustrator for our workshops who can give us  creative impulses and help us with the drawings. The reason is that many people stated after the  workshop that they could do better on the creative part and would like to improve. Limited drawing  skills should not be a reason to skip the workshop.


Mind Mapping ( Module 3 ) Challenge I work as a Senior Business Analyst for a global corporation which has recently went through restructuring . In short , the top management decided to spin - off part of the company as a separate organization . The new company incorporates 3 business units and supporting functions ( such as Business Planning & Analysis - the function I work at ) and has subsidiaries in over 50 countries . A key change aspect for the functions is that the teams are not anymore responsible for the operations only in their local country but have now regional responsibility – allocation of up to five countries . This means that my team is now responsible for three big countries . Because of this change we faced the challenge of coping with increased workload in a new environment with markets we were not familiar with . However , as we work for a fast - growing organization , the work pace was too quick , and we needed an efficient solution to stop the chaos around and re - design our processes . We wanted to collaborate with teams from other regions to create unified processes within the division . Selection The key feature of the Mind mapping tool is looking for patterns and insights in large quantity of data collected during the What Is stage , as Professor Marian Moor explains in a video from Week 3 of the course . The goal is to create a mind map at the end of the What Is stage . The mind map typically represents a drawing with short notes organized in clusters and shows graphically the connections between them . I was standing between the What Is and What If phase and selected the tool because it is an excellent approach to create an overview of the situation and set an impulse for going forward in a creative and efficient way . On the one hand , the tool was very useful as it was not supposed to represent only my mind , but what could be in the mind of our stakeholders – in our case the business leaders of the regions . On the other hand , I was searching for an efficient way to draw the attention of the people who work within the division and to facilitate the quick understanding of concepts and the linkages between them . Application The Mind mapping tool was applied during a workshop of the EMEA Business Planning & Analysis division . Around 40 division members representing 7 EMEA regions attended the workshop . The communality between us was that because of the extended regional responsibility we were all facing the same challenge . The Mind mapping workshop had the following structure : 1 . What do we work on - All teams attending the workshop were required to write on yellow sticky notes all the processes they are working at and on pink sticky notes all the stakeholders they are working for . The teams were encouraged to have a discussion and to pin the notes on a board . 2 . How long does it take – The teams were asked to estimate the time for each process . 3 . Where are the connections – The teams were required to link the yellow ( processes ) and pink ( stakeholders ) notes to each other , multiple linkages were possible . 4 . What are the priorities – The teams were asked to create a ranking of the stakeholders and a ranking of activities required by each stakeholder . Discussion time was allocated to this stage . 5 . What are the communalities – At the end we combined the notes from all teams and created a map which looked like the Solar System . Our division was representing the Sun , and the stake holders were representing the planets . Thus , important stakeholders who needed more attention from us represented planets closer to the Sun . Notes with a process name and time estimation written on them were pinned to each planet . We used this map for the final presentation and for the criteria establishment discussion . Insight This was a successful application of the tool as it allowed us to link the “ What is ” to “ What if ” . By creating our Solar System and clustering the activities to stakeholders we gained a comprehensive overview of the What Is situation . By allocating time to each process we were able to estimate the time dedicated to each stake holder and to establish criteria for the What If phase . I realized that having a mind map depicting the situation instead of creating a large list of related activities facilitates understanding by providing an easy , visual access to the information . Further , involving more people in the workshop enhanced the engagement of the teams and helped us gain insights about the similarities between the regions . Applying creative solutions to people who are normally occupied with analytical work created an atmosphere of experiencing something exotic and exclusive and enhanced the attention and motivation of the teams . Approach In general , I would definitely continue applying design thinking tools to my audience – people who are used to analytical approaches . The main reasons are that it creates exclusive atmosphere , leads to good solutions and motivates people . As we used the Visualization tool for our next step , I dare to say that a combination of Mind Mapping and Visualization is a strategy which proved its success in our work . Thus , I do not consider the option of applying an alternative tool as this one works excellently but consider a combination of two tools . However , if there is something which we can do differently next time , it would be to hire a professional illustrator for our workshops who can give us creative impulses and help us with the drawings . The reason is that many people stated after the workshop that they could do better on the creative part and would like to improve . Limited drawing skills should not be a reason to skip the workshop .