Reflection – Mind Mapping

Michael Xu

Challenge

Nourishment is an essential function of survival and cooking can be one of life’s most simple  pleasures. Not only do many find it enjoyable, but it is also a very primary source of  independence. For someone with a physical disability however, preparing food can present many  barriers. Manipulating a kitchen knife to slice or chop can be difficult and unstable for someone  with limited fine motor function, grip strength, or finger dexterity.

This summer at my internship with the Studio 930 RIT Design Consultancy, my team and I spent  ten weeks implementing design and engineering skills to create an adaptive kitchen knife  solution to address such challenge. Our end user representatives were Robert, who has back and  hand arthritis, and Rob, who is affected by spinal cord injury and has the desire for more stability  and control while utilizing a kitchen knife for slicing or chopping.

Selection & Application

Mind mapping was a popular and trusted tool used in both research and ideation. This tool was  also well configured in Miro, the online whiteboard our team was using to collaborate and  communicate ideas during this pandemic.

To redefine the initially ambiguous problem statement, mind mapping was used in place of the  napkin pitch, branching out trigger words from the scope the problem, needs of the user, and  even early design criteria. This was our first attempt at what I call “controlled word vomiting”  and it was proven effective when, after interviewing our client, most of them matched his  preferences.

In benchmarking, we chose mind mapping to look for themes and patterns in the current assistive  kitchen tools market. The inputs of this mind map were up to ten specific products grouped in  categories and the outputs were neatly organized design conclusions about form, features, and  materials which were crucial for informed ideation.

And yes, divergent ideation is what mind mapping was also used for. Our team did a fun and  collaborative ideation exercise in which we brainstormed possibilities from eight frames. We  even included pictures to combine mind mapping and visualization for more clarity. For  example, in the frame named convertible, we explored different ways the handle can articulate to  adapt to different people’s ergonomics. Although this idea was eventually tabled, we were able  to stimulate creativity and think outside of the box with this tool.

Insight & Approach

Evidently, we found mind mapping to be one of the most intuitive and versatile design thinking  tools by far. Out of the ten sections of our virtual whiteboard, six of them involved some form of  mind mapping. Especially in research, mind mapping accomplished our goal of establishing  succinct yet specific design criteria for upcoming the idea generation phase and is the foundation

for our final concept with utility, safety, as well as user empathy in mind. Additionally, mind  mapping is very helpful for organizing thoughts and ideas. Instead of creating a chaotic cluster of  post it notes, our mind maps could tell us exactly where each idea is from so we can trace it back  to the fundamental concepts to understand why it is there and, better, offer suggestions on how  the current configuration can be improved for more clarity and efficiency. Design thinking is a  messy process, but only initially messy, and mind mapping does the work of cleaning and  converging.

Was there an overuse of mind mapping? Perhaps. Some phases of the design thinking process are  meant to be messy and patterns can’t be found everywhere. Next time, I’d like to specialize mind  mapping to an organization tool to wrap up the ideation phase while playing a more convergent  and conclusive role that makes coming up with new ideas much easier. For example, after a  brainstorming session, a mind map can be used to cluster the ideas into vague and sometimes  overlapping groups, subgroups and so on. And with connection lines, ideas can “talk to each  other” and form an internet of concepts from which we can start rearranging the mind map to  look for important patterns and generate trigger questions.


Reflection – Mind Mapping Michael Xu Challenge Nourishment is an essential function of survival and cooking can be one of life ’s most simple pleasures . Not only do many find it enjoyable , but it is also a very primary source of independence . For someone with a physical disability however , preparing food can present many barriers . Manipulating a kitchen knife to slice or chop can be difficult and unstable for someone with limited fine motor function , grip strength , or finger dexterity . This summer at my internship with the Studio 930 RIT Design Consultancy , my team and I spent ten weeks implementing design and engineering skills to create an adaptive kitchen knife solution to address such challenge . Our end user representatives were Robert , who has back and hand arthritis , and Rob , who is affected by spinal cord injury and has the desire for more stability and control while utilizing a kitchen knife for slicing or chopping . Selection & Application Mind mapping was a popular and trusted tool used in both research and ideation . This tool was also well configured in Miro , the online whiteboard our team was using to collaborate and communicate ideas during this pandemic . To redefine the initially ambiguous problem statement , mind mapping was used in place of the napkin pitch , branching out trigger words from the scope the problem , needs of the user , and even early design criteria . This was our first attempt at what I call “ controlled word vomiting ” and it was proven effective when , after interviewing our client , most of them matched his preferences . In benchmarking , we chose mind mapping to look for themes and patterns in the current assistive kitchen tools market . The inputs of this mind map were up to ten specific products grouped in categories and the outputs were neatly organized design conclusions about form , features , and materials which were crucial for informed ideation . And yes , divergent ideation is what mind mapping was also used for . Our team did a fun and collaborative ideation exercise in which we brainstormed possibilities from eight frames . We even included pictures to combine mind mapping and visualization for more clarity . For example , in the frame named convertible , we explored different ways the handle can articulate to adapt to different people ’s ergonomics . Although this idea was eventually tabled , we were able to stimulate creativity and think outside of the box with this tool . Insight & Approach Evidently , we found mind mapping to be one of the most intuitive and versatile design thinking tools by far . Out of the ten sections of our virtual whiteboard , six of them involved some form of mind mapping . Especially in research , mind mapping accomplished our goal of establishing succinct yet specific design criteria for upcoming the idea generation phase and is the foundation for our final concept with utility , safety , as well as user empathy in mind . Additionally , mind mapping is very helpful for organizing thoughts and ideas . Instead of creating a chaotic cluster of post it notes , our mind maps could tell us exactly where each idea is from so we can trace it back to the fundamental concepts to understand why it is there and , better , offer suggestions on how the current configuration can be improved for more clarity and efficiency . Design thinking is a messy process , but only initially messy , and mind mapping does the work of cleaning and converging . Was there an overuse of mind mapping ? Perhaps . Some phases of the design thinking process are meant to be messy and patterns ca n’t be found everywhere . Next time , I ’d like to specialize mind mapping to an organization tool to wrap up the ideation phase while playing a more convergent and conclusive role that makes coming up with new ideas much easier . For example , after a brainstorming session , a mind map can be used to cluster the ideas into vague and sometimes overlapping groups , subgroups and so on . And with connection lines , ideas can “ talk to each other ” and form an internet of concepts from which we can start rearranging the mind map to look for important patterns and generate trigger questions .