Mind maps are something that I use as a project manager, both for planning my personal projects and also as a way to manage information that is gathered during workshops. Like many people, the early days of projects are when I make the best use of mind maps as they are great for capturing requirements and dealing with the output from workshops and breakout sessions.
There are, however, other ways that you can use mind maps on your projects if you want to. Here are some ideas to take it further than brainstorming.

1. Note taking

How do you take notes? I personally work with lists but I know a lot of people who work with mind maps. In fact, it’s really interesting sitting next to someone in a conference who is recording notes in a mind map format as it is great to watch.
If you think visually, then mind maps could be a great way of recording what is going on in a discussion and to help you create connections between the different threads of the conversation.

2. Problem solving

Mind mapping can also help with problem solving. As you are gathering information to build a solution you can record anything to do with the problem such as tasks involved in creating the solution, different options, recommendations from your subject matter experts and so on. In a fluid problem solving session, this can be a great way of capturing everything that is discussed prior to structuring it in to a recommendations document for your project sponsor.

3. Studying and revising

If you are studying for the PMP® exam or any other project management credential, then you’ll have to do some kind of revision and find a way to capture your notes effectively. It’s often easier to recall a picture rather than a list under exam conditions so even I (as an avid list user) will choose to use mind maps to record my notes when I am revising as I find them easier to draw up from my memory in the exam room.
Mind maps can help you record and store lots of information on a page which is very useful for exam preparation. The act of creating the mind map and writing it out a few times is also a very good revision exercise.

4. Project planning

A mind map doesn’t have to be for unstructured ideas. You can use mind mapping software to build your work breakdown structures. After all, it’s the same idea: record groups of tasks in a visual format.

5. Project research

When you are putting together a business case or a recommendation paper you may need to research ideas and information from various sources. You can use mind mapping software to present that visually and also to include hyperlinks to those data sources. Then if your sponsor wants more information or to check the link they can go off and see the original source direct from the mind map.

6. Presentations

Many people think of mind maps as something you would use personally for collating and managing your own notes, but they can also be useful when you are preparing a presentation for other people.
Lots of project stakeholders don’t understand how to read a Gantt chart so it will help them to see project tasks arranged in mind mapping software in an attractive way. It’s just another way to present your project plan, risks or anything else and fit it all on a slide!

7. Structuring ideas

When you are dealing with complex subjects it helps to capture the main concepts on the mind map and then add in the detail. You can do this personally to work out a difficult technical issue and to help you see the links between different areas of the subject but you can also do it as part of a way to explain difficult issues to other people. A drawing is often a lot easier to understand so you can use mind mapping software to graphically represent issues. You can then manipulate the ideas on the page to highlight key areas of focus.

8. Being creative

Sometimes you just need to be creative. Whether that is to come up with a great strategy to mitigate a risk, or to find a way to deal with a particularly tricky issue, being creative will help you address problems positively. Mind mapping software has a variety of fun templates that can spark your creativity and help you look at your ideas in different ways.
And finally…

9. Brainstorming

Of course, we can’t forget brainstorming! Mind maps are one of the best ways to manage a brainstorming session when you want to make connections between items and show that in a graphical format.