Generate ideas
Mind map
Start with one topic in the middle and branch outwards, so related ideas sit together and gaps become visible.
- Time15 to 30 minutes
- People1 to 8 people
- Steps4
What it's for
A mind map suits a topic you need to open up: everything that touches a launch, all the reasons customers leave, every part of a problem. Because ideas hang off the branch they relate to, the shape shows where the team has thought a lot and where it has barely started.
Keep each note to a word or a short phrase. Sentences slow the branching down.
How to run it
Write the topic2 min
Edit the centre to name the topic.
Name the main branches5 min
Rename the frames to the main themes.
Branch out15 min
Add notes to each branch, and arrows where ideas connect across branches.
Spot the gaps5 min
Which branch is thin? Spend a few minutes there.
Tips
- Draw arrows between ideas on different branches. The connections are often the interesting part.
- Don't worry about the right branch for a note. Move it later.
Where it comes from
Radial diagrams of ideas are centuries old. The term mind map and the method as people know it come from the British author Tony Buzan, who popularised it from 1974.
Pairs well with
Affinity mapping
Group a pile of notes into themes by moving similar ones together, then name each theme to see what the pile is telling you.
Reverse brainstorm
Brainstorm how to make the problem worse, then turn each bad idea around to find good ones.
SCAMPER
Seven prompts (substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate, reverse) for generating ideas from something that exists.