Taking the complex and making it simple
December 01, 2018
Taking the complex and making it simple
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with MindManager
MindManager mapping is used primarily by the board to map complex and/or lengthy proposals/reports to create more concise and logical communications for the consumption of other board members, partners and employees. The maps allow a focus on the pertinent aspects to enhance speed and effectiveness of decision making regarding strategy and allocation of resources.
- Strategic Planning
- Brainstorming
- Education & Training
- Enterprise Collaboration
- Knowledge Management
- Task and Project Management
- Easily facilitates organization of thoughts in a visual manner. The visual mapping triggers additional ideas and questions to be pursued to assist with creating a more holistic approach to strategy development or prioritization.
- MindManager provides multiple avenues for quickly converting maps to different media such as powerpoint or word documents to best present the pertinent information to whatever audience necessary if map presentation itself is not the most effective approach.
- Ability to link to other media/documents within the maps and apparently unlimited ability to "nest/link" to other maps allows management of fairly complex and intertwined strategic and tactical components in a logical fashion that allows whatever level of simplification is required for targeted audiences.
- MindManager support personnel make themselves available for tech support and offer visits to your site to assist with making the most of the tool without being a nuisance by repeatedly contacting if you do not need the support. However they drop an email once a quarter or so to let you know they are available if needed. Good approach.
- Able to save maps as a .PDF to minimize file size for sharing digitally.
- Biggest problem has been not being able to allow other board members and/or staff without mindmanager software on their computers to edit existing documents. Typically have to save as pdf and forward to larger team for view and comment. Nowhere near a show stopper but would be great if software was as universal as powerpoint or excel.
- I do dislike the "MindManager upgrade" message I tend to receive over and over. My existing version of the software is more than adequate - one reminder each year that a new version is available is sufficient.
1 to 10
- Most recent example: Initiated a committee to set direction on how to most effectively assist the working poor and at-risk populations within our five county region. Mind mapping allowed the team of 10 - 12 people to absorb the ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) data for the region and determine which groups were most at risk and which groups State and Federal funds my be able to most effectively assist. Three to five maps allowed adequate data absorption by the team to set the 1 to 3 year strategy within a relatively short period of time and start implementation.
- Have used the tool in the past for strategic planning for corporate business teams in areas of profit management, quality performance, business reliability, safety improvement with varying degrees of success. Typically the mapping process has contributed greatly to both defining the strategy and implementing.
One example: Had reliability responsibility for 30 to 50 facilities globally. Used MindManager to capture all critical systems located within the facilities, past performance, present issues, opportunities to improve. The visual approach of the maps allowed this to be done even in areas where there may have been some language difficulties. Also the visual approach greatly facilitated sharing learnings from one facility to another and from country to country. Once facility-specific maps were in place and validated they were easily used to make spending and budgetary decisions and serve as basis for prioritizing resources across the grid.
Have used and continue to use project management software for large projects. Continue to use Excel for data manipulation and process mapping. Use other software for presentations. But I typically go to MM when I am trying to understand or work through a more complex subject that I need to be able to attack with a team and need to make certain the concepts are presented in a logical, audience-friendly manner. It also helps greatly that I can use MM to tie in key documents from most of the other tools I may use if needed.
MM also assists with presenting real data and facts to individuals and teams on topics that tend to be very emotional. Usually presenting the facts in a visual manner that reflects all possible arguments and visually attaching the "facts" to each one works relatively well.
MM also assists with presenting real data and facts to individuals and teams on topics that tend to be very emotional. Usually presenting the facts in a visual manner that reflects all possible arguments and visually attaching the "facts" to each one works relatively well.