RSS FeedMind Mapping Software
This being the last Thursday before Christmas, it’s time to slack off a little. So I’m writing about a program that does pretty diagrams of “mind maps” that you can play with on your last day at work. It’ll be fun and might even be productive.
Mind mapping is an old trick that works well on paper as well as on screen. The basic idea is you put a central topic or theme in the middle of a page and then “branch out” to explore the parts of that theme. Each branch might then divide again, showing more specific ideas.
Mind mapping software is useful for programmers to:
- Plan out projects and make sure the whole thing gets done.
- List your program components and class hierarchies in a neat looking format that’s easy for boss types to read.
- Lay out all the parts of your user interface, organised by task or by location in the UI.
- Present just about any idea that falls naturally into a hierarchy.
I use FreeMind to keep track of topics on Developing Programmers. When I decide which article to write next, I try to jump around a bit between the main branches of this mind map so that all the main themes relevant to a developing programmer get a look-in on a regular basis.
Developing Programmers Mind Map. Click for full image.
Some mind mapping tools include:
- FreeMind — GPL. Written in Java, this works on Linux, Windows and Mac. I use this one and quite like it.
- View Your Mind — GPL.
- KDissert — GPL.
- MindManager — Commercial.
- MindMapper — Commercial.
In keeping with my regular schedule (I publish at least every Thursday, Australia time, and sometimes throw in small “extras” in between), my next post will be on the 29th. Thursdays happen to fit neatly around Christmas.
As I sneakily included my mind map of what topics I’m writing about, you can see some of the ideas I have in store for next year. I’ve done an interview with a lawyer friend who shed some light on employment contracts and whether they restrict a little programming on the side and whether they can really prevent you from using knowledge learnt from your current job in the next job. So there’s plenty in the pipeline.
Let me know if you’d like any topics added or pushed forward. The current opinion poll is about topics you’d like to see; and doesn’t require a login, just a click. Why not give it a spin! As always you can leave comments or email to let me know what new topics, tutorials and interviews you’d like to see.
1 Comment
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Mindmapping was revolutionary for me. It has the advantage of representing visually the terrain of an issue while avoiding repetition, and allowing links to multiple other sections. A shopping list or other linear plan imposes a hierarchy of importance or priority on ideas which may all be equally important. Mind mapping avoids this. It makes it much easier to plan a report or other piece of writing before you know which bits are important.
The other thing mind mapping is good for is communicating with other people. Not everyone learns best from listening and writing down what they were told, or reading and writing a response, even though the majority of school education is based on these modes of teaching and learning.
It is also erally good for capturing a lot of info in a meeting or lecture. You will, however, need a big notebook. A3 is probably a minimum and don;t be surprised if you find the ideal one in an art supply shop. A2 anyone?
Mindmapping helps you to reach people who think in pictures as well as those who think in words. It offers a tool for drawing your ideas instead of having to convey it all in prose. I have found this very valuable when trying to communicate with people whose specialist subjects have little overlap with mine.
I am not a programmer or a practitioner in any related discipline, so it has taken me until now to realise that a mindmap is like a spider-shaped directory structure, rather than a tree. Mindmapping encourages mental leaps. I am off to use that idea.
Comment by yolande — On 4-1-2006 at 8:05:26 PM