A Mind Mapping Tool is a visual way to organize your thoughts and ideas and is great for brainstorming. You can use a combination of texts, pictures, colors, icons, drawings, videos, and link everything together.
Experts say that there are two sides of the brain. One side that is more analytical and methodical and another side is more creative and artistic. A mind map tool will allow you to engage both sides of the brain in your thought process.
In Salesforce Context, I have used it to organize my thoughts on coming up with solution approaches. For example, as an Architect, if I need to design how to share records in Salesforce, I created a mindmap and listed 20 ways to do it. Next time when I need to design a solution for sharing records, I just need to look at this mindmap and choose the most appropriate solution.
Or as an admin, if I need to know what are the different monitoring and auditing tools in Salesforce, creating a mindmap gave me a quick way to recap all the different options in just under a minute or two.
I have found it to be quite useful, not only in my work, but also in my personal life. So why not give it a try and see if sticks with you. If not, just throw it away.
Here is the list of some of the most popular mind mapping tools for you to choose from.
(Tools, that I personally use or have used and recommend are marked with a heart)
1. Ayoa (previously known as iMindMap from Tony Buzan) (♥)
- Cloud-based
- Features include
- Options to create different mind maps that includes speed mind map, organic mind map, radial map
- Public Mind Map Sharing
- Gantt Timeline View
- Visual Task Management
- Real-Time Collaboration
- Introductory video (2:05 minutes) – https://youtu.be/aNSm5TGVpf4
- Has a free plan with limited features
- Paid plan starts with US$ 10/user/month
2. Mindomo
- Features include Collaborative mind maps, concept maps, outlines and Gantt charts
- Available on Cloud, Desktop (Windows, OSX), Android, iOS, Linux
- Has a free plan with limited features
- Paid plan starts with €6/user/month
3. XMind
- Features include
- Fishbone Chart, Matrix, Timeline, Org Chart
- In-depth comparative analysis, track milestones and schedules in chronological order
- Use a combination of different structures
- Available on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- Paid plans start from US$ 39.99/user for 6 months
4. MindMeister
- Online Mind Mapping
- Features include
- Collaborating brainstorming, customizable designs
- Multimedia attachments, history view
- Task Management, Presentations
- Has a free plan with limited features
- Paid plan starts from US$ 4.99/user/month
5. Coggle
- Online tool for creating and sharing mind maps and flow charts
- Features include
- Realtime Collaboration
- Save Every Change
- Add floating text and images
- Create loops and join branches
- Multiple starting points
- Introductory Video (1:30 mins) – https://coggle.it/
- Has a free plan with limited features
- Paid plan starts from US$ 5/user/month
6. Mindmup
- Free Online Mind Mapping
- Features include
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Convert maps to PDF, PowerPoint outlines
- Publish and share maps online
- Save to Google Drive and manage using Google Apps
- Free
7. MindJet MindManager
- PC Based Mind Mapping Tools for Windows & MAC
- Features include
- Collaborating brainstorming, customizable designs
- Multimedia attachments, history view
- Task Management, Presentations
- US$ 349 with (free trial for 30 days)
Don’t see the tool of your choice listed here? Please feel free to mention it in the comments below for other readers’ benefit.
Want to see a list of more of such useful resources & tools under different categories? Please do take a look at the resources page.
