MindManager could be Really Great or Really Scary (1 of 2)
A tongue-in-cheek statement - it's a nice piece of software, the first interestingly new piece of productivity software I've picked up on in a few years, and a strikingly new way of thinking / organizing / capturing knowledge for me. This is the first of two posts; some notes about the software itself. I'll follow up with obervations on my new thinking style next.
I learned about MindManager from a colleague in Germany; he uses MindManager to track projects, and he suggested we use it as a common platform for our project work. I think I latched on to the idea because I had heard of Mind Mapping before, and was just looking for a reason to get into it.
What is this?: Well, its definitely different ...
Basically, it's an electronic whiteboard, that lets you capture ideas in an unstructured way, organizing as you go. You don't need to see / know the underlying structure; it's enough to suspect that there's something in there. The package helps with the mechanics of building a Mind Map / Idea Map, but it's more than that; this is clearly an area where the process of creating is every bit as important as the final deliverable.
Installation: I was struck by the smoothness of the process - how easy was it to get started. MindManager is a major piece of software that is apparently quite successful at following the shareware/crippleware model. Download the 21-day trial - a smoothly managed, excellent installation process. Includes plenty of "state of the art" features, like automatically checking for updates, and only downloading tutorials when they are needed.
Milan writes about desktop apps vs. web apps; well, I just can't see this type of software working as a web app, but this was clearly the most feature-rich application I've ever worked with that was also small (succinct?) enough to be effectively distributed via the web. Also - calling it crippleware is a bit over the top; I went thru the 21-day evaluation period without feeling nagged by the maker - a very unobtrusive approach.
Features: Aside from the fact that it's a huge departure from anything in your typical office productivity suite ... for me, it was the thought and quality shown in the little things ...
- Menu structure follows typical Windows / MS Office conventions - I was productive instantly
- Paste stuff from the clipboard, and it will retain all of the formatting - unless you use good-old Paste Special
- Quickly zooming in and out using Ctrl and the mouse wheel. This is an Office standard (Adobe does it too) that most techies don't even know a bout - a apleasant surpise
- Apparently the same spell checker as my MS Office suite, but I haven't figured out how to use my custom dictionary yet
- A series of tabs and windows that made me think of Visual Studio and Eclipse - not sure if the non-programmer would catch on as quick, but nicely understated
Training: This was done quite well; screencast tutorials that are downloaded as needed, and stepped me through the key processes. I noted some bugs in the screencasts - each step didn't automatically advance, and I had to help them along. Still, nice and succinct, and did a pretty good job of exposing the key stuff quickly.
I received plenty of email from the maker in the first weeks, gently prodding me through the evaluation period, so I didn't burn my 21 days before getting a chance to work with the software. There are also examples and additional information online.
Add Ons: I caught Orchant's post on ZDNet, and followed it to GyroQ. It's just another take on the ToDo list capture tool, but this one nicely integrates with MindManager. Your brainstorms won't pop into your head only while working on your MindMaps - they like to pop up and interrupt the other parts of your day. GyroQ will let you capture ideas all day long; when it's time to catch up with your MindMaps, you can open up GyroQ's queue of ideas in their own MindMap, ready to be copied over to existing or new Maps when the time is right.
Installation and training were smooth, but the real learning came when I started brain dumping into MindManager ... that was fun ... more in my next post ...
posted by James P. MacLennan at 9:04 PM
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