Tool Shop: MindManager 14

  ProjectsAtWork  

Mind maps are best known as brainstorming tools, but Mindjet has gradually added useful project management features to its popular MindManager application, and the latest version offers improved data filtering, task management, collaboration and integration options.

If you are seeking more visualization options over your project information, MindJet MindManager may have some new tricks for you. The recently released MindJet MindManager 14 — available for $349 full version/$179 upgrade — is the most project management-friendly version yet.

I’ve been using MindJet MindManager for a while and have seen it gain more backend-intelligence over time, including financial and data handling capabilities. MindJet MindManager 14 builds upon the numerical data-handling features of previous versions. Here’s a view of the Project Dashboard mind map open to a Planned Cost and Actual Cost for salaries:

I’m not a fan of “management by spreadsheet” —the day-old stale bread of project visualization. MindManager enables you to drag-and-drop content around a map when visualizing project information. One feature that I recommend testing is applying filters to content for visual “what-if” analyses. MindManager takes it up another notch with its smart-fill feature that enables you to set the color of topic properties based …

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