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Optimizing Project Management Through Mind-Mapping
Mind-mapping — the creative process of free-form identification — isn ’ t just a tool for figuring out your life ’ s plans . This design-thinking tool can help you and your team solve project management dilemmas .
Project management keeps your business in balance — predicting upcoming costs , checking the scope of work against available resources , and ensuring deadlines are met . Project managers keep the ship afloat , so to speak , and make sure all hands are on deck — and on time — for work .
If you ’ re faced with a problem to solve , concept to grasp , or project to plan , mind-mapping helps collect all ideas and interests to start a clear organization process . A mind-map is a visual representation of a project ’ s components — in other words , it ’ s a chance to write or draw all of the connected pieces of a project or single concept .
Josette Galiano , co-founder and executive director at the Institute of Healthcare Design Thinking , says mind-mapping helps her see the big picture of a project and immediately evaluate necessary connections and resources .
“ Mind-mapping is a blank canvas that allows you to focus on a main idea and give yourself space , literally and figuratively , to explore that concept ,” she says . “ This practice enables me to visually represent everything related — or not — to a project . It ’ s a sense of relief getting all of that information on a page . From there , you can organize it and identify next steps .”
Rethinking the Process To start mind-mapping , use a piece of paper — Galiano recommends a big one . Write the project , concept , or creative topic in the middle of the page . Identify and write all of the moving pieces and parts , including resources , responsibilities , perspectives , deadlines , expectations , and obligations .
Collaborate with colleagues who may bring alternative perspectives . Set a time period — say , 30 minutes — to “ dump ” all related thoughts on a page . This process will likely reveal areas of opportunity , new or different problems , or more efficient workflows .
“ It ’ s easy to jump to reliable spreadsheets , but we need to take a step back and look at the thinking behind the projects and processes ,” Galiano says . “ This organic , freeflowing process ensures a fresh perspective and considers future opportunities rather than automatically jumping back to what was done last time .”
Stepping Out of the Box Mind-maps can be used around any single-focused plan or project , such as a financial plan or management process . Galiano uses it to plan workshops . She emphasizes the importance of using a mind-map before turning to traditional project management tools , software , and layouts .
“ Instead of boxing myself into a database tool or spreadsheet , mind-mapping provides an open , organic space outside of applied structure ,” she says . “ When you jump right into a spreadsheet , you ’ re trying to fit creative ideas into a prepared structure . You ’ re trying to organize ideas as they ’ re emerging . Mind-mapping is a necessary — and helpful — step to ensure you ’ ve thought through all facets of a project and considered all possibilities before moving into a template or spreadsheet for project management .”
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ÎÎSTART WITH A PROJECT BRIEF . This provides a sense of structure , or boundaries of a project or concept , to work within .
ÎÎDON ’ T SHRINK YOUR THINKING . Galiano recommends using paper so you can refer to the mind-map later . Use paper bigger than the standard legal size so you ’ ll have a bigger canvas to think and connect freely .
ÎÎSTART WITH A SINGLE COLOR . Galiano prefers to use black ink to start , and then goes back and uses different colors to organize and group different pieces . “ Later you can create a color key for yourself and highlight relevant parts ,” she says . “ If you start using different colors , you prematurely organize information instead of it being totally free-flowing .”
ÎÎSET A TIME LIMIT . Mind-mapping can be done in as little as 10 minutes , 30 minutes , or an hour . This outsidethe-box thinking is a good way to break up the workday .
ÎÎINVOLVE OTHER PARTIES . Other people bring perspectives you may not have considered . You ’ ll be challenged to see a problem or project from a different point of view .
ÎÎIDENTIFY HIGH-LEVEL DIVISIONS . With information you ’ re organizing , consider the most pressing obligations , such as resources , budget , timeline , involved departments , or deliverables .
8 | SNB . COM // CONNECT INNOVATION SUMMER 2016