Mind Mapping

Challenge & Selection

I work in a big company that does capital projects. My job is that of a planning engineer and one of the  biggest challenges in early project development is to map out the scope and the initial steps of the project  t go forward. This is even more challenging as even early project teams are organized in functions with –  in some areas – no or little informal interfaces between them (they might not even be co-located).

The aim of the FAST workshop that I describe below is to create alignment between the different project  disciplines and to build a map of how the project can proceed. I follow roughly the stages outlined for the  mind mapping technique in “Designing for Growth” by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie but it incorporates  also elements from the project management discipline, most notably FAST (Functional Analysis Systems  Technique) diagrams that form the core output of this exercise.

Application

The first step is to select participants. In early projects, team  sizes are not huge, so the aim is to get everyone in one (large)  meeting room (up to 25 people), making sure all core  disciplines are represented (commercial, engineering,  project management, project controls, safety, supply chain).  Then, as described in their book “Designing for Growth” by  Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie, my setup starts with a gallery  of various information of the project available, usually  plastered on the walls of the room (see the background of  the picture on the right for a typical example). Initially I give  participants a while to go around and see the exhibits by the  other functions, to get themselves familiarized.

In the next step I ask people to fill sticky notes of work that is yet to be done on the project to move to  the next project stage (please note that this is used in early projects, hence moving to the next project  stage usually means completing a readiness review by company and developing supporting documents).  This is done in groups of 3-4 people (mixed from different disciplines).

In the following step, people not only cluster the results of the  previous step, but also they will look into how these activities link  together and form an annotated map that guides them through the  completion of this stage of the project (see Picture on the left). My  process finishes the next day after I have digitalized these different  maps (usually over night) and then I give feedback to the team based  on the workshop.

Insight & Approach

The insights gained from these FAST workshops for the project teams, are usually two-fold:

1) The project team will gain an understanding of the other disciplines work and will form alignment;  issues and mismatches in understanding project scope are flushed out and it is a great team  building exercise  2) The output of the FAST (the functional map) can form the basis for future project plans and  schedules

I have (over a few years) conducted around 5 of these FAST workshops and it is very interesting the project  teams all over the world face very similar problems, especially around communication and misaligned  expectations of what is the project all about. The FAST workshops have been very successful in teasing  out these problems, but they have also evolved over time. Initially all documentation was conducted per  hand, in the later workshops we used electronic displays and started digitalizing information as it came in  duking the workshop.


Mind Mapping Challenge & Selection I work in a big company that does capital projects . My job is that of a planning engineer and one of the biggest challenges in early project development is to map out the scope and the initial steps of the project t go forward . This is even more challenging as even early project teams are organized in functions with – in some areas – no or little informal interfaces between them ( they might not even be co - located ) . The aim of the FAST workshop that I describe below is to create alignment between the different project disciplines and to build a map of how the project can proceed . I follow roughly the stages outlined for the mind mapping technique in “ Designing for Growth ” by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie but it incorporates also elements from the project management discipline , most notably FAST ( Functional Analysis Systems Technique ) diagrams that form the core output of this exercise . Application The first step is to select participants . In early projects , team sizes are not huge , so the aim is to get everyone in one ( large ) meeting room ( up to 25 people ) , making sure all core disciplines are represented ( commercial , engineering , project management , project controls , safety , supply chain ) . Then , as described in their book “ Designing for Growth ” by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie , my setup starts with a gallery of various information of the project available , usually plastered on the walls of the room ( see the background of the picture on the right for a typical example ) . Initially I give participants a while to go around and see the exhibits by the other functions , to get themselves familiarized . In the next step I ask people to fill sticky notes of work that is yet to be done on the project to move to the next project stage ( please note that this is used in early projects , hence moving to the next project stage usually means completing a readiness review by company and developing supporting documents ) . This is done in groups of 3 - 4 people ( mixed from different disciplines ) . In the following step , people not only cluster the results of the previous step , but also they will look into how these activities link together and form an annotated map that guides them through the completion of this stage of the project ( see Picture on the left ) . My process finishes the next day after I have digitalized these different maps ( usually over night ) and then I give feedback to the team based on the workshop . Insight & Approach The insights gained from these FAST workshops for the project teams , are usually two - fold : 1 ) The project team will gain an understanding of the other disciplines work and will form alignment ; issues and mismatches in understanding project scope are flushed out and it is a great team building exercise 2 ) The output of the FAST ( the functional map ) can form the basis for future project plans and schedules I have ( over a few years ) conducted around 5 of these FAST workshops and it is very interesting the project teams all over the world face very similar problems , especially around communication and misaligned expectations of what is the project all about . The FAST workshops have been very successful in teasing out these problems , but they have also evolved over time . Initially all documentation was conducted per hand , in the later workshops we used electronic displays and started digitalizing information as it came in duking the workshop .