MindManager: A Fifteen year view
May 24, 2024
MindManager: A Fifteen year view
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Modules Used
- MindManager Professional
- MindManager Essentials
Overall Satisfaction with MindManager
I began using MindManager as a consultant in the early 2000's to document and organize business as-is business process and document change requirements (primarily for manufacturing floor and distribution processes). At that time it was possible to export the data from a MindManager file to a Six Sigma business flow modeling tool which would run the process, time it, and prove whether or not the changes would perform the expected improvements.
The Six Sigma tool was eventually sold but I've continued using MindManager as a consultant and project manager working on enterprise software change projects. I've been able to capture data and documents from requirements lists to workflows, development and testing objectives, project management, testing and signoff and use MindManager as the core repository for multiple streams of reporting.
The Six Sigma tool was eventually sold but I've continued using MindManager as a consultant and project manager working on enterprise software change projects. I've been able to capture data and documents from requirements lists to workflows, development and testing objectives, project management, testing and signoff and use MindManager as the core repository for multiple streams of reporting.
- Easy to use and understand
- Allows me to open my laptop any time and immediately facilitate ad-hoc brainstorming , collect user and stakeholder requests, and attach documentation to the event.
- Provides all the templates a project or program manager needs to manage end to end detail with the flexibility to add or change them on the fly
- UI: the web version is clunky, doesn't use the screen well, and the pastels don't work
- Price: I still want to buy a version for a fair price and use it until there's a new version with enough money-making features to justify buying it
- Who's your customer? This doesn't look or feel like a business app anymore
- Being able to model things for a prospective customer and present back with MindManager won at least an account or two every year who wouldn't have signed otherwise. They saw all the info from the initial discussions broken down into categories, options, costs, and supporting info which showed them I was a serious business analyst and project practitioner. My average engagement is 3 months at $20,000-$30,000 for a contracted set of information and project deliverables.
- Over the years, MindManager has allowed me to collect information all day, go back to my hotel room and organize that info, and go back the next day with ideas for solutions, next steps, and a plan to move forward organized in a format they could grasp. That expedience saved one account and they brought me and my team back for a second engagement that was $300,000 in total billables.
- Brainstorming
- Process Mapping
- Enterprise Collaboration
- Knowledge Management
- Meeting Management
- Problem Solving
- Task and Project Management
- Project Planning
1 to 10
Nearly all of the projects I've contracted started some time before I engaged. MindManager gave me a core tool to capture their initial requirements, attach documents they already had and were using, put numbers and dates to my preliminary plan, and make my presentations fold into what they were already doing much better than I could with a simple project plan.
Ultimately, the ability to pull ideas together and get agreement on them is the core to all software project success. Brainstorming is still how that happens. In small bursts, in conversations, or in meetings. MindManager is the best tool to capture all that and turn it into actionable steps.
Do you think MindManager delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with MindManager's feature set?
Yes
Did MindManager live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of MindManager go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy MindManager again?
Yes
MindManager Feature Ratings
Evaluating MindManager and Competitors
- Ease of Use
Has to have solid and extendable mind mapping capabilities usable in ad-hoc situations on demand