Decision Making Techniques

Mind mapping is a concept developed by psychologist Tony Buzan and has developed into a popular tool for helping us think 'laterally' - it's essentially a type of brainstorming.


The limitations of traditional brainstorming are in its structure. By default, the output from brainstorming is a set of top-to-bottom and left-to-right lists on a page or over several pages. This automatically creates a bias in your mind that the item on the top of the list is the most important, when this is not necessarily the case.


The brainstormed lists also don't reflect the inevitable and complex connections that exist between topics. Without a link, the relative importance of this item on the list may be lost.


The concept of Mind Mapping [also called concept mapping] is based on a central idea written in the centre of a page, then related ideas are added on branches that radiate from this central idea. Because of this structure, it requires all ideas to be connected to the centre and allows connection to one another, providing opportunity for convergent thinking, fitting ideas together, as well as thinking up new ideas.


And by focussing on key ideas written down in your own words, and then looking for branches and connections between the ideas, you are plotting your thoughts and ideas in a way that will help you understand and remember the information. Keep the following points in mind when creating a Mind Map:

• Don't think too much about structure as you're preparing the map - just let it flow as you work through the process


• Work through it quickly to keep up the flow of ideas


• Keep the points brief - you can expand them later


• When you get a new idea, add a new branch line


• Use sketches, images and pictures (if you can) - it makes it easier to remember and more personal, but make sure it doesn't slow down the brainstorming flow. ClipArt is great for this!

Once you've got it all down, stand back and take a look. What's missing? What are the recurring ideas? Where are the connections?


Continue! It's a work in progress.

Mind Map Video Training - and it's FREE!
If you want to learn how to use Mind Mapping techniques effectively, then register for this FREE Video Training Course from NovaMind. It goes through the 18 main uses of Mind Mapping and gives you in depth information about how to benefit from using Mind Mapping for each of those purposes.
The course covers:

• How to take notes effectively using Mind Mapping


• How to prepare and deliver great presentations using Mind Mapping techniques


• How to create Mind Mapped to do lists


• Problem solving using Mind Maps - from simple to complex problems


• Decision making - how to make great decisions confidently, no matter how difficult the decision is


• Information and knowledge management and how to get the most out of what you know


• Project planning and management using Mind Maps


• Creative thinking and brainstorming


• How to write articles, technical documents and books using Mind Maps


• Business and strategic planning using Mind Maps


• Life management and goal setting

Did I mention it's FREE? Register here.

NovaMind has also written a comprehensive book on the 'HOW TO' of mind mapping. This book is not just for NovaMind mapping software but is designed for anyone who needs to be more organized and efficient at life or who is looking for something to help them with their problem solving or pitching ideas. The book does refer to the NovaMind software for examples, but you can apply the principles in this book to other mind mapping software and to the good old hand drawn versions too!


You can get a copy of the book here.

Mind Mapping Software
A Concept or Mind Map is a useful tool not only for goal setting but for planning of any home or work project - and you can prepare one on the back of an envelop, on a whiteboard or in a notebook.


But if you haven't got the knack of drawing the map yourself (don't worry, a bit of practice and you'll get there), here is some great software you can use.


NovaMind is an excellent graphical tool for mind mapping and works wonderfully simply in a way that almost hides its complexity and wealth of intuitive features. It provides excellent value for money and is under active continuous development and improvement. You'll have no regrets buying this software for your mind mapping needs. And you get great support from the company too!


And best of all, you can get a 30 day free (and obligation and risk free) trail - just click here.

Mind Mapping on your iPhone or iPod
For all you iPhone and iPod addicts out there, it is now possible to prepare mind maps on your portable with iBlueSky Mind Mapping for iPhone and iPod Touch integration with NovaMind.


The first release of the integration is being rolled out in two stages - firstly with the ability to create your Mind Maps in iBlueSky and send them as NovaMind files that you can open up directly in NovaMind to use the full power of NovaMind. The second stage is expected to be available soon, and will include the ability to also send a NovaMind file to iBlueSky, so there will be a two way round trip possible between the two applications.


Having a great Mind Mapping application in your pocket, available at any time is great for ad-hoc Mind Mapping, making your to-do list on the go, brainstorming new ideas wherever you are, taking notes in meetings, and so on.


But the real power comes in when you combine it with a fully featured Mind Mapping program like NovaMind so that you can enhance the Mind Maps with great graphics, full color control, different branch shapes, and add to the depth of the data with branch notes, hyperlinks to web pages and other supporting documents, as well as task information, and you have all the ways of using the Mind Maps like using the NovaMind presenter, exporting to MS Word, Powerpoint, Keynote, Merlin, MS Project etc.

Sticky Note Mapping
A variation to the traditional mindmap and the software versions, is something called "sticky note mapping".


As its name suggests, it involves the use of sticky notes - lots of them.
Sticky note mapping is a brainstorming technique based on the mind map principle, that allows you to 'storm and sort' your ideas without having to re-work your mind map or edit your mindmap software.


To do a sticky note map, you'll need a large section of blank wall or something like a whiteboard, and lots of sticky notes. Using a variety of sticky note colours and sizes, simply jot down all your thoughts on the sticky notes - with each new thought or concept on a new sticky note.


As you write down your thoughts on the sticky notes, stick them up on the wall or whiteboard - you can group them into similar themes as you stick them up, but the best thing about using sticky notes for this map is that you can move them around as your thoughts develop.


Like mindmaps, once you've jotted down all your thoughts and stuck them on the wall, look for branches and connections between the ideas. What's missing? What are the recurring ideas? Where are the connections?


When you've sorted the sticky notes into a map that makes the most sense of your thoughts, you can either take a photo of it as your record, or draw it as a real mind map (or use the mindmap software available).


Sticky note mapping will give the same outcome as mindmapping, but is a good technique if you're really not sure where to start with your mind map.

Brain Storming
Brain storming is just a process for identifying solutions to problems and options to pursue. You can brainstorm anything - from what you're going to have for breakfast to how to solve that complex problem you've been sweating over.


Brainstorming is best done with more than one person, so your ideas can bounce of each other and trigger new ideas - a bit like 'cloud seeding', where someone else's idea can be the seed for a downpour of your own ideas.


And of course, the brainstorming as a group means that if one person is having a drought, the ideas can continue to flow. Now we're done with our climatic references, here are some other pointers for brain storming:

• Write down everything - you won't remember all the ideas you come up with, so write them all down. The concept of 'sticky note mapping' works well here - write down all your ideas on a sticky note [one idea per note] and stick them up on a wall where everyone can see. You can then sort and group the ideas for further analysis.


• Consider all ideas - no matter how stupid something sounds [so did dental floss when it was first mentioned], it needs to be considered. You never know where a 'silly idea' will take you!


• Ignore personal biases - brain storming is a time for getting ideas out of people's head. Don't be tempted to discount someone ideas because you don't like them or because you don't think they're up to the task.


• If you stall during the brain-storming process, revisit all the ideas written down so far and see if this triggers any new thoughts.

When the brain storming comes to an end, it's important that each idea is considered for its suitability to the particular problem at hand.


Group similar ideas and discuss them together, cross off ideas that just won't work [but only after looking into them first] and select a few of the best ideas to develop further. Ideally you only want half a dozen ideas to pursue - too many and you'll just get bogged down, too few an you may not have enough flexibility.


Of course, one of the best - and simplest - ways to analyse ideas developed during a brain storming session is to use a 'Pros and Con's matrix, where you just simply list all the pros (the advantages or good points) and cons (the disadvantages or bad points) with the option.


If you're comparing options, read through all the pros and cons and make sure you've captured them all consistently through all the options. For example, if one option lists "cheap" as a Pro, then make sure all the other options list either cheap or expensive as a pro or con. By cross-checking this way, you'll have a true representation of which option is better than the others.