Reflection – Mind Mapping

Challenge: I work in an IT company and leading a team of 8 developers. Last month our team got a  task to work upon an existing web application on retail banking where the existing development  team has left already. We required to work on upgrading it’s technical stack and review the existing  application architecture with no proper documentation but very basic information provided. We  have to finish this task in 2 months’ time without affecting the running application.

Selection: At this same time I came across the course on Design thinking to solve problems without  well-defined information given. I went through all the tools to relate with our current problem and  found Mind Mapping as the most suitable one as it can help us start with a central piece and then  branch out all related components in our code repository. And once we have this map available we  can define our application architecture while identifying the probable technical solutions for  individual components at the same time.

Application: So we started with the UI (user interface) flow of the application and started identifying  various components and then recursively we created maps for individual components to relate  associate technical modules. Ultimately we were able to map out our application into smaller  modules and in turn the overall application architecture.

The next step was to work on tech stack having the architecture diagram and dependencies  available. And now because of this success we are incorporating this mind mapping approach in our  project delivery planning.

Insight: By applying mind mapping our team not only were able to generate the application  architecture diagram but also able to see minute details about the system workflow, current  technologies being used. Plus we were able to map application user experience with the backend  algorithms. This helps us understand application dependencies and performance lagging because of  those dependencies.

Approach: Mind mapping was the appropriate tool for our problem because it leads us to the  solution in no time with revealing all the dependencies. Once the defined dataset was available we  were able to think through new ideas on how to improve the technical stack and overall system  performance. And as mentioned we are planning to use this same tool in our project delivery  planning strategically.


Reflection – Mind Mapping Challenge : I work in an IT company and leading a team of 8 developers . Last month our team got a task to work upon an existing web application on retail banking where the existing development team has left already . We required to work on upgrading it ’s technical stack and review the existing application architecture with no proper documentation but very basic information provided . We have to finish this task in 2 months ’ time without affecting the running application . Selection : At this same time I came across the course on Design thinking to solve problems without well - defined information given . I went through all the tools to relate with our current problem and found Mind Mapping as the most suitable one as it can help us start with a central piece and then branch out all related components in our code repository . And once we have this map available we can define our application architecture while identifying the probable technical solutions for individual components at the same time . Application : So we started with the UI ( user interface ) flow of the application and started identifying various components and then recursively we created maps for individual components to relate associate technical modules . Ultimately we were able to map out our application into smaller modules and in turn the overall application architecture . The next step was to work on tech stack having the architecture diagram and dependencies available . And now because of this success we are incorporating this mind mapping approach in our project delivery planning . Insight : By applying mind mapping our team not only were able to generate the application architecture diagram but also able to see minute details about the system workflow , current technologies being used . Plus we were able to map application user experience with the backend algorithms . This helps us understand application dependencies and performance lagging because of those dependencies . Approach : Mind mapping was the appropriate tool for our problem because it leads us to the solution in no time with revealing all the dependencies . Once the defined dataset was available we were able to think through new ideas on how to improve the technical stack and overall system performance . And as mentioned we are planning to use this same tool in our project delivery planning strategically .