Mind Mapping software: purchase guide
What is mind mapping software?
Mind mapping software helps you to understand new ideas, prioritize the steps of a project or even make links between thoughts and sorting ideas in the form of a mind map.
Mind maps, mind mapping gives you a clearer view of your projects by projecting it visually. Illustrating ideas is the best way not to forget them and to be able to make them evolve through a freer and more fluid structure.
What is mind mapping?
Tony Buzan, an English psychologist, is the creator of mind mapping and assumed that the brain works with associations (images, smells, words, music...). He imagined mental maps as tools for reflection, understanding, and collaboration.
Presented in the form of a tree structure for a better circulation of ideas, mind mapping structures thought from the main idea associated with secondary ideas and the relationships between them. Information is structured and organized according to others.
Mind mapping suggests a more dynamic visualization and combines data into a single mental map. The heuristic diagram brings a different vision and a more intuitive point of view to a subject. It is widely used in teaching for memorization and structuring of thought. But it has also had an impact on the business world through visual management.
The mind map can be created on a sheet of paper but you will quickly see the limits of this way of making your mind map. To meet the need for freedom of ideas and the constant evolution of information, IT suppliers have devised mind mapping software.
What are the main features of mind mapping software?
Mind mapping software does not limit your way of thinking. It gives you playful and dynamic support to prioritize your ideas or notes. Creating a mind map during brainstorming is ideal for materializing all the information and linking it together.
To choose your mind mapping and mind mapping software, take the time to test it and check that it has the following features:
- Ergonomics: the mind mapping software should be easy to use on a daily basis, otherwise you will stop using it quickly
- User-friendly and pleasant: If you have to work with mind mapping software frequently, choose one that is fun to use. Especially if you need to do a brainstorming session or plan your mind map, don't neglect the aesthetic aspect.
- Export and import: It is important to know if you can use your concept map with other software such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
- The different possible representations: in the form of a map, organization chart, Gantt chart, or PowerPoint. It's up to you to choose the one that suits you best.
- Collaborative work: being able to work alone, with colleagues next to you or on the other side of the world.
Why is mind mapping software interesting for your company?
With mind mapping software, you will be able to:
- Work more pleasantly and efficiently with your colleagues
- Materialize ideas that have to be prioritized
- Manage your projects in groups
- Integrate new ideas and develop conceptual representation
- Make a project clearer by adding images or icons
- Memorize information more easily
- Respond to the complexity of different visions. We don't all think the same way
- Give an impulse to your teams
Free and open-source mind mapping software or professional software?
Deciding on whether to use free mind mapping software depends on how you plan to use it. Consider using platforms such as Pearltrees, Freemind map, or MindManager. They provide you with the basic functions to design your first mind map and test the concept. If you feel that you need more advanced needs, consider investing in professional mind mapping software.
Give your ideas another dimension by trying mind mapping with mental map software! In a team or by yourself, the visual representation of ideas in the form of mind maps is recommended in order to structure the information and generate clear and fluid ideas.
