KM Tools: MindManager Version 4.0 (Business Edition)

Tool Description

MindManager Version 4.0 is a knowledge management tool provided by MindJet Company (trail version download is available at http://www.mindjet.com/). This tool shows an idea that internal communication problems often are a result of an inability to express one's thoughts accurately and convincingly, without editing the content prior to conveying it. Partly due to the nature of working with computers, personnel at all levels experience a certain degree of frustration when facing the task of preparing presentations, project plans, or just the focus of a group. As a solution, MindManager provides some easy-to-use tools and friendly interface for a user to store, organize, and retrieval knowledge. Figure -1 displays a simple knowledge structure created through MindManager:

Figure-1: A Mind Map

Addition of Knowledge

MindManager basically is designed as a single-user application, the user owns full authorization to add knowledge into an existing map. Since knowledge is represented in a map as a collection of nodes and associations among nodes, each node or association can be easily found via its meaningful graphic representation (combination of colors, images, and symbols). In order to add new knowledge, first a user needs to find a position where the new knowledge belongs to, and then add in new node(s) or association(s).

For example, in Figure-2, a user found a new website CNBC and needed to add it into one of his map named Investing with The Guru. The following are the steps:

1. locate where the new knowledge is supposed to be à StockResearchWebSites

2. create a new node that represents the new knowledge à CNBC

3. create necessary associations à hyperlink "http//: www.cnbc.com"

Figure-2: Add in new knowledge and create a hyperlink.

Organization of Knowledge

There are many interesting aspects and tools can be found in MindManager:

• Toggle text notes. For any node or association, a user can attach a text description together with some images to explain the content of the node or association.

• Create hyperlinks. A user can create a hyperlink to any node or association. (See Figure-2)

• Present any node or associations as meaningful symbols or graphics.

• Display abstraction of knowledge by "Level of Details".

Same map in Figure-2 shows as Figure-3 when "Level of Details" = 1.

• Main structure of the map is hierarchical that corresponds to the natural organization style of our humans.

• Highlight and focus on certain portion of map by un-displaying others.

• Relationships can be defined freely among nodes and associations with a graphical representation.

• Multi-maps can be processed as one.

• A map can be set as different modes, such as Brainstorm mode, Active mode, etc.

Visualization of Knowledge

As displayed in Figure-1 through Figure-3, the visualization capabilities of MindManager is quite straightforward and comprehensive. MindManager provides a graphical library that a large mount of colorful symbols and images, and a user also is able to define his own graphics. With these tools, a body of knowledge can be conveniently transformed into a set of meaningful symbols and images with associations among them. While in a clearly organized hierarchical structure, a piece of information is easy to be located and accessed visually.

Knowledge Retrieval

There are several ways to retrieval knowledge in MindManager:

• Search a node or association by its graphical representation.

This type of search is fast and comprehensive since it is at a semantic level (via concept), and it is considered to close to human's thinking.

• Search a specific item via a provided search engine (see Figure-4).

Figure-4: Search Engine.

Usage of Knowledge

MindManager does not support collection of meta-data, or anything like collaborative filtering.

Knowledge and Collaboration

As mentioned before, MindManager is mainly a single-user type of application, it seems do not support collaboration every well, even it supports a combining process of multi-maps.

Knowledge and Organizational Memory

MindManager does not support this aspect.

Other Issues

A map created thought MindManager could be export into a few of other popular formats, this feature can be considered as very useful. The formats supported are:

• HTML

• PowerPoint file.

• Text file.

• Bitmap