Mind mapping

Mind mapping is a technique for organizing ideas and information in visual form. Mind maps have a single topic as a main focus and the name of this topic is typically placed in the middle of the sheet of paper for hand-drawn mind maps or of the computer screen for those made with computer software.  Branches naming related topics radiate out from the central topic.  The main structure is a tree, but lines from any topic to any other topic may be added, to show non-hierarchical associations that the mind mapper finds helpful.

Tony Buzan is an author and proposed the term "Mind Map" in the 1970s.  He specified rules or guidelines for drawing them, but the use of mind maps has grown beyond the learning-support and creativity tool that Buzan's writing presented.  Now, mind maps are also used to facilitate meetings, present ideas, manage projects, brainstorm, organize information and plan future activities.  (Buzan has registered Mind Maps® as a trade mark in the USA and UK.)

Often, what are called mind maps do not follow Buzan's rules, as you can see if you explore one of the many mind map collections in the Web (see Libraries of mind maps below). 

When using mind maps, it often turns out that it is not the final mind map that has the most value, but the process of producing it.  And a part-finished mind map can suggest new directions or areas needing deeper thinking and development.  In other words, mind maps can be regarded both as a thinking tool and as a vehicle for visualizing information. 

Individual mind maps are often personal and idiosyncratic.  They are so personal, that two mind maps by the same person on the same topic might be very different if done at different times.  A mind map used to gather thoughts, resources and ideas when planning a project, would have different branches from a "lessons learned" mind map done for a review after the project, for example.

Making a mind map to be shared and discussed in a group requires more care and thought about how others may view the central topic, if the map is to be really useful.  Of course, it can be done, and many mind mappers do it well.

Paper mind maps

Mind maps may be made with colored markers using shaped text and curving lines that present an appearance of organic growth.  Many mind mappers like the freedom offered by pencil or crayons and a large sheet of paper.  This approach to mind mapping allows ideas to be captured as they flow and some find it sparks new ideas as the mind map is made, without the need to search menus or remember commands.  Mind mapping to a high artistic standard has become a form of publishing where once authors would have written books:  Web sites for students have sprung up, providing guidence on study in general and help with specific academic subjects in particular; and coaching and life-skills authors now publish their guidance in the form of mind maps.

Computer mind maps

Mind maps may also be drawn with computer software, which supports easy change, and growth of the map. Because of the ease of modification, using software is  a more suitable way to make mind maps if they will have a longer life, grow large, be presented to others, or be developed by a group.

The first example of this type of software was Mindman, now called MindManager.  It became publicly available in 1994-5 and gained a good foothold because of a lack of competition and its wide adoption by enterprises. 

A comparison of the two mind maps here - both covering essentially the same topic -suggests important differences.  Hand-drawn maps complying with Buzan's rules can be attractive to young students and thus are helpful for learning.  But for large-scale organization of ideas and information, as we might need in business, computer-based maps are often essential.  Though a mind map about "Primates" is not a business topic, if analyzed to sufficient depth, at can be counted as medium scale.  The long, thin image on the right is the full "Primates" mind map greatly reduced.  A hand-drawn version of that would be impractical to make and use.

Plug-ins, such as ResultsManager, have come out of what has become a small industry, spawned by MindManager.  These make various project management tasks easier when planning is done in a mind map.

FreeMind is perhaps the next best known software for mind mapping.  It had its first release in 2001 and has an active newsgroup and community of developers and users.  It is very usable software and it is free, so it has many users.  Other well-established mind mapping packages are Cayra, ConceptDraw MindMap, Headcase, iMindMap (Buzan's own product), Inspiration, Mindgenius, MindMapper, Novamind, PersonalBrain, 3D Topicscape, Visual Mind and XMIND.

These are primarily stand-alone software packages, but the year 2007 saw the growth of web-based mind mapping software such as MindMeister, bubbl.us and Mind42 which have value in collaborative projects where a team works on making a mind map.  MindManager also introduced a web application in 2008.  This can be used collaboratively and will allow users with a browser, or with a copy of MindManager itself, to develop a mind map together, working simultaneously or separately.

There are well over 100 mind mapping software packages.  Many are not so well well known, or make other but related map forms, such as concept maps (see below).  The author's non-commercial site, mind-mapping.org shows examples of mind maps made with nearly all such packages and information about all the software.

As mind maps reflect their author's thinking, computer-based ones can also be used for organizing computer files.   This is particularly appreciated by visual thinkers.

Libraries of mind maps

Libraries of mind maps exist to encourage sharing of mind maps on the web:

Freemindshare focuses on maps made with FreeMind and hosts the maps at its site.

The Mindmaps Directory categorizes maps by type and tags them by subject covered. It does not host the maps, but shows a thumbnail that links to the full map on the original site and is therefore not focused on maps from any specific software.

Mappio handles FreeMind, MindManager and image (.jpg) maps, and can also construct, display and store maps from indented, outline text files. It hosts the maps at its site.

MindMapPedia, though co-owned by ConceptDraw, does not focus on maps from that software only, but hosts maps from MindManager, Visual Mind, and Nova Mind as well, and accepts maps in common image file formats.

Mind Mapping Blogs

There are many blogs that cover mind mapping.  Here are some of the most established and well recognized:

Eric Blue's blog covers productivity with mind mapping software.

Nick Duffill's Beyond Mind Mapping blog also deals with productivity.

Chuck Frey's Mind Mapping Software blog covers mind mapping usage and software, and Frey periodically conducts and publishes surveys amongst mind mappers.

Dr. Brian S. Friedlander publishes the Assistive Technology blog.

Vic Gee [author of this knol] publishes the Mind-Mapping.org blog that tracks developments in mind mapping software and information visualization.

Kyle McFarlin's The Underlying Blog deals with the strategic use of MindManager in life.

The canonical mind mapping sites

MindMapSearch [edited by Vic Gee] has an extensive but selective list, categorized and with brief descriptions, of the canonical mind mapping sites.  It includes a Google Co-op search engine that will look only in these major sites.

A relatively recent site shows great promise - it's a wiki about all types of information mapping and includes a lot of balanced information about mind mapping.  It's called WikIT and was launched in December 2008.

Mind mapping communities

D*I*Y Planner - A community of people who see the value of paper in planning, productivity, creative expression, and exploring ideas.

GTD with MindManager - Independent newsgroup about the "Getting Things Done" system, using MindManager business mapping software.

Headcaseinfo - Post requests and ideas about HeadCase.

MindManager newsgroup - Public newsgroup.

MindManager user-group - Independent MindManager user-group.

NovaMind Community Forum - A group for NovaMind users.

Topicscape Group - A group for 3D Topicscape users.

Other map forms

"Mind map" as a term is widely used today and is often applied to diagrams that others have called bubble diagrams, spider diagrams, business maps and idea maps.  If we accept that Buzan is the originator of the term, and defines what makes a mind map, then we would have to use these other names.  It seems, though, that these other types are now well entrenched in the vocabulary of the majority of mappers as "mind maps".  

An important and distinct type of map that is not a mind map but is closely related to it is the concept map.  Here are the most important differences:  Concept maps emphasize and describe the relationships between concepts - mind maps do not; concept maps do not need to have a central topic - mind maps usually do; concept maps have a non-hierarchical net structure - mind maps take the form of a modified tree diagram. 

Vic Gee