Item: MindManager
Rating: 10
Author: Marcus Machacek

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I am not aware that my organization as a whole is using MindManager. I discovered MindManager a few employers ago and have brought it with me wherever I go for my own project management and organizational needs. I have purchased it for myself if the organization itself won't purchase it for me. That's how important it is to my workflow.

Common Applications for MindManager

Strategic Planning
Brainstorming
Process Mapping
Problem Solving
Task and Project Management
Project Planning

Pros and Cons

I love the ability to filter a map based on various attributes. It makes it much easier to distill or prioritize information especially as the maps get more complex.
Being able to turn a map into a Gantt chart and/or an outline depending on the situation and the audience really prevents a lot of unnecessary effort in reformatting all the time you have put into a map.
Love the newer ability to share a link to a web browser interactive map with people who do not use MindManager. Makes it much easier to convey the intent you had when creating the map (expand/collapse, etc.) to someone who doesn't have full access to the features of MindManager.

Over the 9+ years that I have been using MindManager, the application has added all functionality that I have longed for. My biggest one was having to use Microsoft Visio whenever I needed to create a flowchart. Now flowcharts are included as a map type, so I'm good.

Number of Users

I’m not sure

Return on Investment

I have saved lots of time that would have been spent spinning my wheels at the beginning of a project trying to get clarity on what I was trying to do.
I used MindManager to map out a website migration and it really helped me improve the quality of the migration by allowing me to track the status of pages (ie. what had been migrated, what still needed to be migrated, what shouldn't be migrated at all).

Information Visualization Benefits

I'm not even sure where to start because I have used it for this purpose so many times. I have benefited from it personally by getting clarity in my own head as to what needs to be done and how to break things down into smaller tasks. I have also benefited from it professionally when I have used maps to create process flow charts, or migration tracking documents and showed these documents to managers or leaders. They are always impressed with the quality of the work and how professional yet easy to read/understand the outputs are. In short, showing my MindManager work to others makes me look good.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Visio

I used to use Visio because MindManager didn't have an adequate process flow tool (which I always thought was strange). Now that it does, I am more than happy to stay within the same tool to take advantage of the other capabilities of MindManager like filtering and being able to display the information in other formats without recreating.

Likelihood to Recommend

MindManager is perfect for "this is such a large/complex problem/project, where do I even start" kind of situations. I can't even count the number of times I've been asked to tackle a problem or plan out a project that just seemed too overwhelming. Just the act of sitting down in front of the tool and throwing things onto a map (regardless of whether they are currently applicable or right/wrong) starts to give a visual that clarifies things and can be built upon. Not only that, the brainstorm session doesn't have to be thrown away as just your personal way of figuring something out. It can be converted into professional-looking diagrams, charts, outlines that allow you to share your ideas with others. No need to start over and recreate your work in another tool.

MindManager makes me look good!

Overall Satisfaction with MindManager