Bluescape vs. MindMeister

This digital version of a pin-up space is absolutely an improvement to my workflow. The input is so robust. What you do with it is where the magic happens. This program is best suited for team collaboration. It helps to discuss how/where the team will contribute information to it--whether that is discussing the templates or a plan of action. Otherwise, the workspace can tend to get messy. I like the idea of having a presentation mode, where some of the markups could be hidden. The idea of a working session with consultants or clients sounds appealing, but at the same time, there is a desire for a cleaned up, clear shareout.

Incentivized

MindMeister is ideally suited for building mind maps, site maps, or similar types of data maps in the cloud without needing to install extra software. I find that it isn't quite as ideal for other types of diagrams (ERDs, flowcharts, etc) as some other tools, though it definitely can handle those things as well.

Incentivized

• Allows for a high volume of images and sketches to be put into the canvas
• Lets you drop in text, freehand sketching, and shapes quick and easy
• Can connect images and texts together using connectors, which can be customized

Incentivized

• The UI is well laid out and easy to use. The workflow makes perfect sense and makes creating tasks a breeze.
• The collaboration features make brainstorming not only easy but fun! Everyone enjoys using the tool, which was not the case with other collaboration software we used.
• I love being able to get all of my thoughts and ideas on the screen to see them and then be able to connect them in a logical way.

Incentivized

• You can use Zoom with Bluescape but it requires solid bandwidth and memory by users.
• A breadcrumb trail would be nice to watch students performance.
• I would like individual user analytics for each of my students to see where they’ve been and what contributions each has made.

Incentivized

• I think that the free plan should offer a bit more terms of features to make the testing experience more engaging.
• My experience using the App version was not so good when compared to the web version of it. I feel more comfortable using it in my notebook.
• Paid plans could be more flexible to support small or temporary demands.

Incentivized

Never had an issue with customer support, though we never really needed anything major as far as technical help. I do not believe they offer 24 hour customer support but we don't need it as MindMeister is not the type of tool we need need 24 hour a day support for. Overall, very happy with the level of support.

Incentivized

We have Workware installed on different computers in our office that were supposed to be great for presentation but we had issues after a user connected their laptop then they no longer had access to our server. If they had files they needed for the presentation they had to save them to their desktop to make sure they were accessible.

Incentivized

I have also used LucidChart and Google Draw to create mind maps and concept maps in the past. I think that MindMeister is by far the cleanest and most user friendly of the three. Google Draw does not have anywhere near the same functionality. LucidChart tends to be clunky and the options to create your map are not always clear and intuitive.

Incentivized

• Especially in a remote work environment, Bluescape helps us continue collaborating without missing a beat

Incentivized

• The most positive result of using MindMeister is a visualization of each step in work and connections between different nodes(ideas, steps).
• This greatly simplifies the work, especially collaborative work, since it is easier to show it once than to explain things many times.
• Negative impact: lack of offline desktop version.

Incentivized