Example Reflection – Mind Mapping    Mind mapping is a great brainstorming tool for idea generation especially when collaborating with  different team members with diverse mindsets and intellectual expertise. It empowers the team to  achieve its true potential by looking at the current what is scenarios, possible what if scenarios and how  to bridge the gap between the two in order to achieve transformational changes. With my diverse set of  stakeholders from business to technology to all support functions like HR, Sales and Finance team, I have  use it extensively to bring people on the same page and develop a holistic view of the problem  statement and potential solutions.      Challenge:  One of my popular memories was early stage of my career was when I was asked to lead a  software development team of freshers into their first job. Everyone had a different background, skills,  personality and very new to each other    Selection:  I selected extensive mind mapping and  brainstorming to onboard the team members.      Application   Best way to get them started was to get them into a conference room, train them on business  requirements, brainstorm and mind map, I was amazed by the way they started learning and soon  started contributing to better understand the problem statement and then look at so many creative  ways of solving the problem. We were able not only solve the problem but did that in record time and  brainstorming became a work culture for the team. We will brainstorm, fight out on ideas which also  helped team develop the skills and become better persons and friends with each other.     Insight   I remember one of my team members being too shy to speak up in client calls and not confident on his  communication skills. He was very intelligent and it gave him a great boost and energized as he saw  everyone brainstorming even on the most stupid ideas. He soon started speaking up and contributed by  providing valuable insights on business, technology and process data points, to generate some of the  best ideas that led to the project success. He was recognized multiple time for being a team star and  most valuable player.  We approached the problem by outlining the steps and use simple white board based brainstorming as  below :

1. Discover and Understand the target customers and their needs, conceptualize the business

and customer goals for the website

2. Explore by generating several rough initial designs, of which one or more will be chosen for

further development

3. Refine and polish the navigation, layout and flow of the selected design  4. Develop a fully interactive prototype and design specification  5. Develop the code, content, and images for the website  6. Launch the software for actual use

Approach:    I will probably approach the problem by doing it using a digital tool especially with more virtual and  spread out teams.  A mind mapping tool such as free mind or mind manager which produces better  and more efficient outcomes in a virtual environment :

What Wows

What Works


Example Reflection – Mind Mapping Mind mapping is a great brainstorming tool for idea generation especially when collaborating with different team members with diverse mindsets and intellectual expertise . It empowers the team to achieve its true potential by looking at the current what is scenarios , possible what if scenarios and how to bridge the gap between the two in order to achieve transformational changes . With my diverse set of stakeholders from business to technology to all support functions like HR , Sales and Finance team , I have use it extensively to bring people on the same page and develop a holistic view of the problem statement and potential solutions . Challenge : One of my popular memories was early stage of my career was when I was asked to lead a software development team of freshers into their first job . Everyone had a different background , skills , personality and very new to each other Selection : I selected extensive mind mapping and brainstorming to onboard the team members . Application Best way to get them started was to get them into a conference room , train them on business requirements , brainstorm and mind map , I was amazed by the way they started learning and soon started contributing to better understand the problem statement and then look at so many creative ways of solving the problem . We were able not only solve the problem but did that in record time and brainstorming became a work culture for the team . We will brainstorm , fight out on ideas which also helped team develop the skills and become better persons and friends with each other . Insight I remember one of my team members being too shy to speak up in client calls and not confident on his communication skills . He was very intelligent and it gave him a great boost and energized as he saw everyone brainstorming even on the most stupid ideas . He soon started speaking up and contributed by providing valuable insights on business , technology and process data points , to generate some of the best ideas that led to the project success . He was recognized multiple time for being a team star and most valuable player . We approached the problem by outlining the steps and use simple white board based brainstorming as below : 1 . Discover and Understand the target customers and their needs , conceptualize the business and customer goals for the website 2 . Explore by generating several rough initial designs , of which one or more will be chosen for further development 3 . Refine and polish the navigation , layout and flow of the selected design 4 . Develop a fully interactive prototype and design specification 5 . Develop the code , content , and images for the website 6 . Launch the software for actual use Approach : I will probably approach the problem by doing it using a digital tool especially with more virtual and spread out teams . A mind mapping tool such as free mind or mind manager which produces better and more efficient outcomes in a virtual environment : What Wows What Works