MindMapper 12 was recently launched by SimTech Systems. It strengthens this program’s position as a solid mind mapping program for business. Here are the most significant new and improved features and my thoughts on them:

Project management: MindMapper 12′s project management toolset has been significantly expanded. Tasks can be shown in a new schedule view, which is a Gantt chart. Topics are displayed on the left side of the schedule, along with start and end dates and planned and actual costs. The next section of the table displays resources (people and equipment assigned to the project), their cost (per hour or unit cost) the planned and actual hours they have put into the project and the cost implications (rate multiplied by time). The final part of the table displays the task durations in a Gantt view. The horizontal bars in the Gantt chart automatically display what the developer calls their “achievement” rate – the percentage of task completed – in visual form. The percentage complete is depicted in a striped pattern, as shown at right. It’s a great way to communicate this information visually.

When you add schedule data to a map topic, it gives you the option of inserting  dependencies, right in the map view. This is depicted as a relationship line, and is displayed as a connecting line in the Gantt view.

Presentation mode: Three presentation options are now offered in MindMapper 12:

• “Brief with outline” displays your map as a hierarchical outline in a narrow vertical panel on the left side of the screen. If you click on a low-level subtopic, it is highlighted in the map view to the right, while all other topics are dimmed. You navigate through your presentation by clicking on the points in the outline.
• In the “brief with scenario” option, the program displays larger chunks of your map at one time. The developer defines a “scenario” as one logical unit of the mind map – usually one topic of the map plus its subtopics. Both modes provide your audience with an important sense of context – in other words, they show how the topic you’re currently viewing is related to the rest of the map.
• The third mode, which is simply called “play slide,” expands the topic to fill the screen without any other interface elements displayed. The program gives you several options, which enable you to select a range of slides to present from, as well as set up a delay function so your presentation can run by itself – useful for locations like sales displays and trade show booths.

Table conversion feature: When this new command is selected, all of the sub-topics below it are converted into a table. The program enables you to select from a number of table styles and templates. I’m not sure how I would ever use such a feature; think of it as a different way of presenting the lower-level content of your map in a more linear form.

Field topics: This interesting new feature enhances your ability to create records and capture data in them. Think of a field topic as a fill-in-the-blank record capture. When you convert a topic into a field, the original text (address, for example) is grayed out and you can enter data into it (the person’s actual address). This gives you a way to easily capture simple data in your maps, while ensuring that it is entered in a consistent format (see screen capture).

Enhanced printing: One of the complaints of mind mapping software is that printing large maps can be ponderous. If you try to print one of these monsters on a single page, the text is so small that it’s unreadable. The alternative is to print your map across multiple pages, but you’re usually at the mercy of the way that the program decides to divide your map into separate pages. Not so with MindMapper 12. It solves this challenge by giving you an improved set of printing options. For example, you can move your map freely around the print canvas to position it exactly as you want it. You can change the level of print zoom, and perform physical and logical partitioning of pages. With the physical partition, you select the percentage zoom and how many pages horizontally and vertically your mind map should be printed on. With the logical partition, the program does it for you, based upon the first-level topics.

Collaboration: Sim Tech Systems, the developer of MindMapper 12, has launched an online collaboration service, which enables you to conduct online meetings with other MindMapper users, and to share and co-edit your maps with them. To utilize this feature, you must subscribe to the MindMapper Collaboration service. Packages are available that enable up to 5 or 20 people to participate in an online meeting.

A voting tool gives you a structured way to get input from meeting participants, while a report window enables you to see who contributed which content to the map. At any point during the online meeting, the organizer can take a “snapshot” of the map, which can be used to roll it back to a previous state – useful if you don’t like the direction the meeting is headed. I like the way the developer has implemented this feature; snapshots are much more manageable than trying to roll back the map one step at a time to a state that is 200 changes back, for example. As the meeting organizer, however, it’s up to you to remember to take snapshots throughout the meeting. This is an excellent feature!

If you don’t own a licensed copy of MindMapper 12, you can still participate in an online meeting, utilizing a web version of the program called iMindMapper. It requires Internet Explorer and administrative privileges to download and install an ActiveX control on your computer.

Upload to Twitter: MindMapper 12 gains a simple social media feature. You can select a topic and upload it to your Twitter feed. This may be useful if you want to plan a campaign of tweets. You could use it to launch these brief messages, one at a time. It would be nice if tweets could be scheduled, so you could set up and automatically deploy a tweet campaign from within MindMapper. A future capability, perhaps?

MindMapper Mobile for Android: An Android version of MindMapper was also released at the same time as version 12, along with a web folder application, so the mobile and desktop versions of MindMapper can exchange maps. It’s a free download and is available in the Android Market.

Ideation meeting templates: MindMapper 12 has a new tab in its ribbon toolbar called “ideation.” Within it, you can use a number of techniques to capture ideas, including:

• Radiant association
• Attribute listing
• Processing planning
• Cause and effect (fishbone mapping)
• Backward thinking
• SWOT analysis
• Forced connections

When you click on an ideation technique, the program displays a sample map (see screen shot above) – which is very helpful if you don’t know anything about some of these methods – while a vertical pane on the right side of the screen displays some explanatory text and a simple step-by-step procedure to use the technique. It also contains links to completed examples of each map type.

It’s nice to see this level of support for idea development and creative problem solving in MindMapper 12. The number of ideation techniques included is impressive. I also like the fact that the developers weren’t satisfied to just provide the tools, expecting you to figure them out. It actually explains how to employ them and gives you sample maps to help you visualize what to do.

Conclusion

Sim Tech only releases upgrades to MindMapper every two to three years. But usually, the wait it worth it, and MindMapper 12 is no exception. The program’s expanded business toolset should make it attractive to many executives. It offers an extensive array of capabilities that are equal to almost any business task you could think of, but arranges them in a logical, easy-to-use way. That’s a fine balance that’s not easy to achieve.

My favorite capabilities in this new version include the rollback capability of the online collaboration space, as well as the clever implementation of its brainstorming techniques. A lot of thought has obviously gone into how to make this program easy for people to use, without a big learning curve.

MindMapper 12 Professional is available from the Sim Tech Systems website and it costs $249.

This post has generated a record number of comments, and they continue to roll in. Commenters have generally agreed with my assertion, but there have also been some people who have highlighted some compelling reasons why this WON’T happen. It’s been a lively debate, and I encourage you to check it out and add your opinions to the mix.

As a next step, I decided to ask the developers of mind mapping software to comment on this prediction. They are closer to the actual users than most of us, which puts them in an ideal position to see the future direction of this software niche.

Here’s what they had to say:

Mind mapping, as a technique, is relatively unknown in the business world outside of a handful of countries like Germany, where it is taught in schools. Until now, it has been difficult for mind mapping enthusiasts to get the word out on the technique and many information workers remain unaware of the technology and its benefits. Mind mapping software tends to enter businesses through individual enthusiasts rather than through the IT department.

The primary way that someone learns about mind mapping is to observe a business associate who is using a mind mapping application to accomplish a specific task. What’s more, in the past, the only way for a business user to share their maps with others was to send a static PDF or “reader” version of their map, requiring the recipient to download a compromised application in order to interact with the file or view a flat image of a mind map.

Now, mind mapping software manufacturers are making the experience of an information map much more readily available to non-users with things like the “Mindjet Player” that allows map producers to send fully interactive maps embedded in a PDF file that gives anyone the multi-dimensional experience of working in a map. In addition, with the expansion of online mapping, people are able to collaborate remotely around a mind map with an experienced mapper in the driver seat giving non-mappers live exposure to the actual mapping process anytime, anywhere.

For the last 10-15 years, business users believed they had enough productivity tools. In fact, most of them believe they have too much unused productivity technology at their disposal. Now, with business environments getting more and more competitive and access to information creating even more stress, people are once more looking for a better way of doing things.  People in information-intensive professions like project management, sales and marketing, IT, web development, and other areas are looking for ways to make themselves stand out and be more competitive.

However, just seeing mind mapping technology in action is not enough to convince most people to take the necessary steps to change the way they work every day. It must be viewed as relevant and useful to the task at hand. More and more companies are using the technique as a central tool for project management, sales force enablement, of repetitive consulting s, strategic planning and more.

As the technique becomes more and more embedded in mission critical business applications, not only will individuals gain more exposure to the technology, but the technology will become a mandatory tool for success of work groups.

– Neil Mendelson, VP of Development, Mindjet

It totally depends on your definition of mainstream – if mainstream means that more than 50% of the population access and use mind mapping techniques on a daily basis, then the answer is a categorical No Chance!

For mapping to go mainstream it requires a significant change in human behavior and in doing so break the (bad) habits of a lifetime – the adage of teaching an old dog new tricks comes to mind!

Don’t get me wrong. You will always get exceptions to the rule, but in my opinion we are a generation away from mapping being truly mainstream. Sorry to burst the bubble, but ultimately I am a realistic Scot!

That does not mean to say that growth in mapping cannot be significant in 2009 and the years ahead – I genuinely believe it can, but it won’t happen simply by developers pouring additional gimmicks, bells and whistles into their applications (although that will always appeal to a small minority).

The bottom line is that mapping will go mainstream when a significant number of senior people within organizations (say 20%) recognize that the results they achieve by using mapping techniques (as individuals and as teams) far outweigh anything done previously. This improvement must be attributed directly to the use of mapping techniques across their business. It’s simple in concept. It’s just the that is a bit challenging!

Mapping lets you do things that were not practical before – drawing comparisons around successful outcomes is a no brainer!

I genuinely believe you have a role to play in making mapping mainstream, but focusing on functionality is not going to impress beyond the early adopters or the gadget chasers. Instead I believe we need a body of people conveying at every opportunity the outstanding business results that can be achieved through mapping techniques. The emphasis has to change.

You will notice I have dropped any reference to mind mapping in my discussion – it is deliberate, it is dated, it carries too much baggage and doesn’t really represent our industry at all. What can be achieved using mapping tools these days far outweighs ANYTHING associated with a sheet of paper and 4 colored pens!

– Donald Maciver, General Manager, MindGenius

Definitely 2009 will be a critical year.  I’ll approach it from 2 points.

From the mind mapping software developer’s point of view, our software is becoming more than just a mind map software.  We have mainstream features built into our MindMapper software, such as MS Office integration, project management and Gantt charts, Internet search, etc.  We can also “draw” so many different types of diagrams than just the traditional mind maps, so users will be able to easily adopt MindMapper into their every day usage.

From the user’s point of view, mind maps are gaining awareness more than ever before.  And now the products in the market are mature enough to satisfy a wide spectrum of mind map users, from novices to mind map professionals.

– Patrick Koh, MindMapper USA

I would argue that it has entered the mainstream already. Ten years ago no one knew what mind mapping was, today it has entered the business vernacular. We hear customers say to us all of the time I need to map out what I am doing. Maps are used everywhere now. I do not think that you could visit a single company that is over 2,000 people and not find mind mapping used. When we visit customers we see maps printed hanging on the walls, we see maps written out on whiteboards in conference rooms. Mapping is in the here and now, it is not just some futuristic maybe in ten year idea.

What I think we will see more of in 2009 is the benefits that come from people mind mapping. The ability for people to get the 10,000-meter view of what is important to them. Few other tools can deliver this macro view in such clarity. There will be more discovery in 2009 because of the mind map’s ability to present this. I see that mind mapping will have a big effect on non-technology oriented companies as they look to implement best practices in 2009.

– Matt Lewis, CS Odessa (developer of ConceptDraw MINDMAP)

If you have an opinion on the future direction of mind mapping software and its adoption by business, please share it in the comments area below.

All four of these programs operate roughly the same way: You first add topics to your map, representing each of the elements of your project. Next, you add start and end dates to selected topics, which designates them as tasks. Finally, you switch to a Gantt view, and each program utilizes the start and end task dates to populate the horizontal bars for each task within the Gantt chart. Dependences are created from the relationships between parent and child topics in the mind map. In other words, a top-level topic in the map that has three sub-topics will be displayed with the top-level topic as a summary task in the Gantt view, and the three child topics as sub-tasks that are dependent upon the top-level one.

Let’s take a closer look at how each program implements this important capability:

MindManager + JCVGantt: JCVGantt 3 is integrated into the MindManager Pro 7 toolbar, making it easy to do the “front end” work of formulating your project in MindManager, and then move it over to JCVGantt. Because JCVGantt 3 is still a separate application, you can also open it separately (without MindManager) and insert tasks and dependencies into it. You can also record milestones, percentage of completion and costs for each task and sub-task, and generate total cost reports for the major segments of your project. In addition, you can customize many project management parameters in JCVGantt 3, including the currency in which costs are recorded, the length of workdays and the dates of holidays, the default duration unit used in the Gantt chart and much more. If you want the maximum amount of control over all parameters of your project and the reports you can generate from it, this is a powerful project management solution.

OpenMind 2 Business Edition: In OpenMind 2 Business Edition, you can attach detailed task information to individual map topics, including start date, end dates, priority level and resources. The program’s task/timeline Info dialog box, which you use to enter task information, contains a button at the bottom that says “enable project management.” When you click on it, the program automatically checks to make sure that any task information you have entered into your map is modified to be compliant with popular project-management software – which could save you a lot of frustration when you import your map into your project management software. You can also display your map’s task information as a GANTT chart. The OpenMind Business Gantt view lets you define and modify project scheduling data quickly and easily, including dependencies, constraints, completion values, task duration, lead/lag times, resources, priorities, critical path, milestones and warnings of scheduling conflicts. You can also generate various HTML reports such as a “Project Summary”, a “Who Does What” and a “Completed Tasks” report. Next to JCVGantt 3, OpenMind 2 Business Edition is the next most powerful project management tool.

MindMapper 2008: MindMapper 2008 displays a split map/Gantt view, which includes percentage complete, start and end dates, duration, actual and planned costs, and notes. You can also define resources within MindMapper, or import them from an Excel spreadsheet. In addition, plus and minus icons in the Gantt view enable you to “roll down” (expand) and “roll up” (contract) the amount of detail shown, which may help you to manage the amount of data displayed for complex projects with numerous sub-tasks.

iMindMap 3 Ultimate: This new top-of-the-line version of iMindMap 3 enables you to track task start and end dates, milestones, durations, priorities (on a scale of 0-10) and percentage of completion for each task.

Other high-end mind mapping software programs, such as ConceptDraw MINDMAP 5, enable you to record task data on map topics, and can export to popular project management formats, but they don’t natively support a Gantt chart view.

If you liked this post, please subscribe to the RSS feed of this blog.