pm.plus - the PMP Blog

Soon we will start publishing our new, PMBoK guide aligned and Mind Mapping® based project management framework "MP4PM".

And to kick this off we want to first look at the facts why Mind Mapping® in general is a great tool to gather, organize and transfer information and how it could be a help especially in project management efforts by utilizing Mind Mapping® software.

Mind Mapping® is a way of visually representing ideas and information. Just as geographical maps help people see where they’re going and help them anticipate and avoid obstacles, Mind Maps® let people lay out ideas and connect information in a way that helps identify dependencies, connections, and risks.

Mind Mapping® is a powerful technique and the advantages of Mind Maps® are many:

• The relative importance of each idea is clearly indicated by how near it is to the center, which clearly features the main idea.
• The links between key concepts will be immediately obvious from their proximity and connection to one another. The brain works primarily with key concepts that it links and integrates. Mind Maps® work in the same way, meaning that recall and review will be faster and more effective.
• The nature of the Mind Map® structure allows for the easy addition of new information.
• Each Mind Map® has its own unique pattern, which further aids recall.
• The open-ended nature of the Mind Map® is a great aid to creativity, allowing the brain to make new and exciting connections with ease.
• With practice, you'll find Mind Maps® help you to be your best in every thinking situation.

By looking at those use cases and benefits you might think “well, there are a lot of them appearing in project management also, right?” and yes, there are. Since project management is all about gathering information and work with them and also about communication, Mind Mapping® can be utilized for this actions in a great way. But then you may think “well, but all this paper work … and if it is written down, how to reorganize the information if necessary?" (and it will be, right?).

This is when software tools comes in place; software tools which are basing on the Mind Mapping® principles. Using such Mind Mapping® tools has the following six key benefits:

PROFESSIONAL MIND MAPPING SOFTWARE ...

-         LET PEOPLE WORK THE WAY THEY THINK

With professional Mind Mapping® software, you can brainstorm and capture ideas in freeform, and then add structure and depth. Drag-and-drop editing and markers let you apply order, connect ideas, and group concepts into themes. Built-in templates often make it easy to bring clarity to important projects, and completed maps give you a more effective way to communicate.

-         REDUCES INFORMATION OVERLOAD

Professional Mind Mapping® software lets you organize ideas and information in a single view so you can see connections and draw conclusions quickly. It’s easy to assemble content-rich information maps with attachments and links that let you process information without having to jump between different apps and browsers. You maybe even can even import tasks, email, and contacts from Microsoft Outlook to Mind Maps® to better organize your work life.

-         HELPS STRUCTURE BUSINESS, STRATEGIC & PROJECT PLANS

Professional Mind Mapping® software provides deep capabilities for organizing information to drive critical business processes and decision-making. More advanced features can include Guided Brainstorming tools, 2x2 analysis views, budgeting and forecasting tools, and numerous project management features where we look into in detail later on.

-         IMPROVES COMMUNICATION

Professional Mind Mapping® software visual format lets you show the big picture and then drill down to display details as needed, all in a single view. Improve meetings by quickly capturing discussion notes and follow-up action items in context. Use priority markers, symbols, and embedded images to highlight the most important points.

-         WORKS WITH YOUR EXISTING TOOLS

Professional Mind Mapping® software is integrated with Microsoft and Apple productivity apps, including MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, MS Outlook, MS Project, and Apple Keynote and Pages. Individuals can map out their work in the professional Mind Mapping® software, and then publish final reports and proposals in the most appropriate format.

-         CAN BE USED ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION

Professional Mind Mapping® software may have an enterprise version which extends the value offering integration with Microsoft SharePoint to enable collective information management and collaboration. With the Enterprise Version people across the organization can use professional Mind Mapping® software intuitive visual frame - work to capture and organize information, then share editable maps so teams can solve problems, prioritize strategies, plan projects, and process information together.

After looking at the Mind Mapping® benefits in general and the advantages of using Mind Mapping® software especially we will know focus on the specific benefits of using the combination of them applied to project management:

Successful project management depends on effective management of expectations and commitments. Mind Mapping® software helps you keep teams in alignment on the decisions and tradeoffs that determine if a project will meet goals and deadlines. Create a blueprint for your project by defining goals, prioritizing issues, capturing stakeholder input, and validating requirements—all in one application.
 

MIND MAPPING FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT 

Visualize Goals

Clearly defining goals and prioritizing issues means getting input—and more importantly, buy-in—from the entire team. Mind Maps® give project teams a virtual whiteboard for brainstorming where every idea and concern can be surfaced and cataloged. Mind Maps® help teams think visually so they can quickly lay out deliverables and identify any gaps in the plan.

Validate Requirements

Adequately validating requirements is one of the first steps to ensuring project success. Quickly capture stakeholder input in a format that encourages participation. Verify decisions by visually ordering and reordering topics, drilling down to review details, and using priority markers to provoke essential trade-off discussions.

Manage Resources

Use Mind Maps® to create detailed process maps to intelligently allocate resources and identify dependencies. Mind Maps® helps everyone involved see the big picture and all the details in context. And if needed, you can export straight to Microsoft Project and other MS Office products and also the independent and high flexible HTML5 format (can be opened by any web browser!)

Adjust and Optimize

Quickly make adjustments when schedules and resources change. The task roll-up feature shows the overall impact of changes to assignments and dependencies so that everyone can understand (and respond to) the implications of schedules and budgets. Integrated Gantt charts provide a timeline view of your schedule.

Agree on Budgets

Create and manage project budgets in the project Mind Map® alongside priorities and schedules—all in one place. Most professional tools have a feature to quickly set up formulas throughout your map and use the formula editor to add more sophisticated calculations. Conduct “what if” analyses by dragging topics into or out of the formula’s range to immediately adjust the calculations.

Be Prepared

Most of the professional Mind Mapping® tools (like MindManager or XMind for instance) helps you often get started faster with project map templates and pre-built map topics for creating project charters, plans, status, and timelines. Once you create a project, you can save your working Mind Map® as a custom template to guide future work, reducing the time needed to start your next project.

And this is exactly what we want to provide with our “MP4PM – MindmaPping for project management” initiative. Aligned to PMBoK Guide and covering all of the 47 (5^th version) processes and all their related ITTOs!

This will mean that you do not need to build up this project templates on your own; you can use them out of the box or doing some customization related to your own project management processes used in your organization. Tailoring the PMBoK Guide processes for specific project needs becomes very easy this way and even if your company does not rely on PMI’s methodology it still will be very useful (hopefully).

Thank you for taking time reading this first article as a kickoff to the upcoming articles and maybe webinars.

Next time we will introduce our “MP4PM” a bit more in detail and also provide you a “sneak preview” so you can see what to expect in the next weeks, month's and maybe even years. We hope you will like it.

Any feedback is highly appreciated.

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first published here:

http://projectmanagement.plus/en/news/78-ressources/mp4pm/19-mind-mapping-for-project-management-an-overview

References:
http://www.buzan.com.au/learning/benefits.html
https://www.mindjet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Managing-Projects-with-MindManager-User-Guide.pdf
https://www.mindjet.com/uses/project-management/

This is great news to all the PMP Exam aspirants out there. projectmanagement.plus is proud to announce the availability of its very first and unique interactive "Checklist":

The PMP Exam Preparation Checklist

On one hand an overview of what you need to think about when you are want to become a PMP; on the other hand a great tool which guides you through your PMP Exam Preparation!
 

People who are interested in PMP certification often ask the following questions at the beginning of their PMP journey: " What is this all about? Where should i just start? What do i need for it? How should i proceed? ..." and so on. Well, i guess every new PMP aspirant has such questions and we want to provide the answers!

But not only plain text (there is really just enough text to read and remember for you, trust me!), no, we add some value and developed a tool which not only delivers all the answers to those questions. No, you also get an instrument which you may use as a guideline, let's say as the "red line" through your exam preparations. And you may edit it to your very own preferences! But before we get in detail,

let's have a look on it (we can here only show a picture; explore the interactive version at www.projectmanagement.plus) :

How to use and work with the Checklist

Just klick on the little "Info" Button on the right side and there will open a sub-text field with additional informations and often links where you could find further informations or additional helpful sites or tools.

Follow the checklist from "head" to "bottom", hit the "checkmark" on the left side if you have fullfill this point and you will see the status bar "grow".

You can use the checklist included in this article as an overview and a starting point, you may print it or make a PDF.

But wouldn't it be more exciting if you could have and manage your very own Checklist?

Well, nothing easier than that! At pm.plus (and as far as we know only at pm.plus!) you could make a virtual copy of the checklist and than you will find a version of the original checklist under your "myChecklists" area in your profile. This version belongs only to you and it is fully editable to your very personal preferences!

You may add items, you may delete items and you even may create your very own, individual version! You are allowed to provide your own version to the community and you are even allowed to create your completely own checklists regarding whatever you want!

And the best: This is just the starting point! pm.plus will provide you many additional checklists in future, not only regarding PMP certification but also regarding all the project management aspects.

And like mentioned before: You may add your own input! You can make suggestions for changes at existing checklists or for additional checklists you want to see (i.e. in the comments to this article or directly in our discussion board at www.projectmanagement.plus ). Or you just create your own checklist, offer it to the community and earn your honors! The checklists have a rating function added ...

The opportunities seems endless ...

You may have a look under "resources/Checklists" to see what checklists we have to offer. You can make a copy there to your "myChecklists" area and than find the specific checklist in your profile under "myChecklists".

Just try it out (it is all completely free, but registration at pm.plus is needed) and let us know what you think and how we may improve this very new and unique feature for you!

Hope to see you soon at

www.projectmanagement.plus