The document discusses mind maps, which are visual tools used to organize information in a radial, hierarchical structure around a central concept. It outlines the benefits of mind maps, such as improved focus, creativity, memory and clarity. Applications mentioned include project planning, problem solving, meetings and writing. Several mind mapping tools are described, both commercial and free/web-based options. Examples of personal and professional mind maps are provided. The document concludes with a case study on how mind maps were used to plan an organizational newsletter.

1. Mind Maps:
Applications & Benefits
-Raghunath Soman

2. Agenda
 Overview of mind maps
 Benefits of mind maps
 Applications of mind maps
 Mind-mapping tools
 Case Study
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3. What is a Mind-map?
 Tool to visualize thoughts, ideas, plans and tasks
 Items are arranged radially around a central key
word or idea
 Effective in:
 Idea generation: enables free, unstructured flow of thoughts and
ideas
 Content visualization: brings out a clear picture of intended action
 Data classification: helps in categorizing info, tasks and other
elements
 Information organization: serves as an abstract knowledge base

4. Mind-Map Examples
Mind-map by Chandra Dehankar, PSL

5. Mind-map Examples
Mind-map © Learning Fundamentals

6. Advantages
 Better focus on the central idea
 Reduces mental clutter, Better clarity of thoughts
 Triggers creative associations and relationships
 Reduces note-taking and content-organizing time
 A great way to add structure to brainstorming
sessions
 Non-linear approach stimulates creativity and free
flow of thoughts
 Ability to see the bigger picture without losing
attention to details
 Improves memory and retention

7. Applications
 Project Planning
 Problem Solving
 Outline / Framework design
 Structure / Relationship representations
 Meetings: Planning, Note-taking and summarizing
 Brain-storming / Collaboration / Creativity
sessions
 Decision-making
 Teaching
 Writing: technical /Non-technical

8. Mind Mapping Tools
Commercial: Mind Free: FreeMind
Manager  Free, desktop
 Feature-rich, industrial application
strength  Keyboard-friendly
 Ribbon interface  Export to
 Seamless integration HTML, XHTML, PDF,
with MS- Office and PNG, SVG, Flash, Wi
MS-Project ki
 Export to multiple  Extensive support and
formats documentation!


9. Mind Mapping Tools
Web-based: Other: Pen & Paper!
MindMeister  Pen-and-paper is one
 Free, web-based of the most effective
 Minimal, simplistic UI combinations
 Export to text  Writing helps you
outline, PDF, JPG, PN remember!
G, or GIF.

10. Creating a mind-map
 Start with a central idea.
 Draw at least 4 branches radiating outwards from
the central image.
 Write “key topic” words along these branches.
 Draw additional branches that extend from your
main branches. The words on these branches are
essentially sub-topics of the words you wrote on
your main branches.
 Keep expanding the Mind Map outwards with
additional sub sub-topics / key words and
branches.
 Interlink the branches/nodes with each other
whenever an association exists.

11. Mind Maps: Personal
Mind-map © Sherry

12. Mind Maps: Professional
Mind-map © MSDN

13. Case Study: Orange Byte
transformation
 Orange Byte is the quarterly newsletter
published out of Persistent Systems, Nagpur
center.
 The team used mind-maps for the
October/Diwali 2012 edition.
 Mind-maps covered:-
 Milestones Planning
 Framework Set-up
 Content Gathering
 Design Decisions
 Tools Implementation
 Owner Responsibilities

14. Case Study: Orange Byte
transformation

15. Case Study: Orange Byte
transformation
Business Benefits / Value Addition:
 Professional and structured approach to
newsletter release to ensure that the edition was
published on time and exceeded the reader
expectations
 A content-rich edition that boasted maximum
number of articles, poems and sections. It is
worth noting that the team decided to reserve
some of the content for future editions.
 Elegant design that perfectly reflected the festive
season of Diwali

16. Mind-maps: Industry view
 Virtually all Fortune 500 companies use Mind Mapping*, including:
IBM BBC
Hewlett-Packard Boeing
Oracle General Motors
Microsoft Walt Disney
 ―…advanced software can help us slice and dice information in ways
that were impossible only a decade ago. But while we‘ve gone a long way
towards optimizing how we use information, we haven‘t yet done the
same for knowledge…
OneNote and a new generation of ‗mind-mapping‘ software can be used
as a digital ‗blank slate‘ to help connect and synthesize ideas and data—
and ultimately create new knowledge.‖ – Bill Gates, Newsweek, (2009)
* InnovationTools.com, Dec.2009

17. Further mind-mapping…
 Mind Map Inspiration Blog by Paul Foreman
 “The Mind Map Book” by Tony Burzan (1993)
 LifeHacker.com

18. For Your Patience!
Any Questions?
© 2010 Persistent Systems Ltd www.persistentsys.com 18