Getting On Track with MindManager 2018 – part 2: tracking in sub-project roll-ups

Posted on 10 January, 2018 by Alex

Like my previous post on how to show the degree that tasks in a MindManager project map are “On Track”, this article was prompted by a query on the MindManager Community Forum.

In this case the question was whether it is possible to highlight parent topics based on the specific attributes of sub-tasks; for example, whether any of these sub-tasks are yet to begin, if they are falling behind schedule or whether they have (or don’t have) other characteristics. The answer is a qualified yes – it is possible to show at the parent topic level if one or more of its sub-tasks meet certain criteria, but not how many sub-tasks are involved, nor which ones they are. However even this information can be very useful, especially when a map is collapsed so that individual tasks can’t be seen.

In the following example I’m going to demonstrate how to do this with the On-Track status I discussed in the last post. However, the technique can be used with a range of task information items (for example, progress) as well as with any topic properties created by the user. As with the previous article you will need MindManager 2018 and if you are intending to use On-Track status you will also need the MAP add-in from Olympic Limited and to have set up the On-Track formulae and extended properties using the techniques I described in the previous post. Continue reading →

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Getting On Track with MindManager 2018 – updated

Posted on 22 December, 2017 by Alex

Update: since posting  the first version of this article I discovered that the MAP add-in Extended Properties feature which this approach relies on counts task days differently to MindManager. I’ve developed a workaround which is incorporated into this updated version.

I was prompted to write this article by a query on the Mindjet Community Forum about whether it was possible in MindManager to highlight which tasks in a project are “On Track” – in other words, those tasks in which the proportion of each task completed matches the time elapsed since the task began.

MM actually already has a very simple version of showing lagging tasks in the form of the at-risk and past-due indicators. The at-risk indicator is applied when a task duration is more than 75% elapsed but progress is less than 75%, while the past due indicator appears when the due date has lapsed but the task is incomplete.

Neither of these addresses the broader issue of showing tasks which are either lagging or ahead of schedule at other times – or indeed those tasks which are exactly on track. In my response to the query on the Mindjet forum I provided a brief example of how all this could be done using several new features in MM2018 and critically, a couple of functions in the MM MAP add-in.

In this post I’ll describe in more detail how this approach can be developed and how the resulting information can be displayed in a variety of ways. More broadly this example demonstrates the extent to which the powerful new features in MM2018 and the MAP add-in can be integrated to provide additional tools for information analysis and presentation. Continue reading →

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Corel and MindManager 2018 – adding the new, transforming the old (part 2)

Posted on 1 December, 2017 by Alex

In this series I’m exploring some of the new features as well as a few improvements to older ones in the recently-released MindManager 2018. In the first part I looked at improvements to a recently-introduced feature, Map Roll-ups, as well as the revival of a feature which was last seen as an add-in for MM 2012 – Conditional Formatting. This time I’ll examine changes to MM’s filtering facility and the completely new Priority and Schedule Views.

Filtering and SmartFade

It’s a long time since there’s been any major change to the filtering facility in MM, so the introduction of SmartFade is a pleasant surprise.

However, I’m still getting used to how SmartFade works. In MM2018 there is a new Filter – Fade icon on the Status Bar and a similar Fade button on the Filter tab on in the View ribbon. These show only task-related filtering, like the “Show” button (more on that in a moment). Furthermore, use either of these options and you will most likely fade out the topics you are filtering for. This may be your aim but I suspect that most people want to do the opposite – to fade out all the topics other than the ones they are filtering for.

To do this consistently you have to delve into the MM Options dialogue box. Click on Filter and you will see there is a new option – “fade non-matching topics”. Tick the box and when you attempt to use SmartFade in future the unwanted topics should fade (rather than vice versa) and will always fade rather than disappear. Continue reading →

Posted in Mind Mapping, New Version Overviews, Software, Viewing, Filtering and Formatting | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Corel and MindManager 2018 – adding the new, transforming the old (part 1)

Posted on 2 November, 2017 by Alex

While the specific impacts of Corel’s new leadership on the evolution of MindManager since it purchased the program in August 2016 are hard for an outsider to quantify, they seem to have been considerable. The process of change started with MM2017, which I described at the time as delivering “a number of unexpected but mostly pleasant surprises”. These included HTML5 export, Zapier integration, horizontal and vertical timelines, Gantt critical path and simplified file management.

It could have been argued at the time that many of these features were probably in the pipeline when Corel took over, but this was a harder claim to make in relation to the subsequent release of MM2017.1. Even though this was “just” a point release it contained so many new features that Corel could almost have justified calling it a full upgrade, especially on the strength of one addition alone: Map Roll-up. Continue reading →

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“Mind map your way to a successful strategic planning day” series completed

Posted on 21 September, 2017 by Alex

The final part in my series on how organisations can use mind mapping to support their planning activities, Mind map your way to a successful strategic planning day, has just been posted on the Mindmapping Software blog.

Hypothetical organisation planning day map (source: author via Mind Mapping Software Blog)

I’d like to thank Chuck Frey for inviting me to write this series, in which I explain the advantages that mind mapping has over the traditional whiteboard as a tool for managing and recording strategic planning sessions, particularly for smaller and non-profit organisations. I also describe in detail some techniques to prepare for and then run a successful mind-mapped planning day. Continue reading →

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MindManager 2017’s new features in action – 3: researching with reusable tags (part 2)

Posted on 20 July, 2017 by Alex

In the first part of this two-part series I discussed the use of MindManager as a research tool and specifically the benefits provided by the addition of reusable text tags in analysing interview and survey data. I also provided two approaches to copying text tags. In Part 2 I’ll outline some data entry techniques and research approaches. I’ll also examine some of the limitations involved in using tags and MindManager more broadly as a research tool.

Data entry options

I could write an entire post – indeed a series of posts – just on data entry, but I’ll try to condense my comments. Continue reading →

Posted in Mind Mapping, New Version Overviews, Polls and Surveys, Research and Writing, Statistics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

MindManager 2017’s new features in action – 3: researching with reusable tags (part 1)

Posted on 18 July, 2017 by Alex

One of the lesser-known features added in MindManager (MM) 2017 is the ability to reuse the same tags in different tag groups. As the MM 2017 help file notes:

Earlier versions of MindManager limited tags to be unique across all of a map’s tag groups. For instance, it was impossible to include the tag “High” in multiple tag groups. In MindManager 2017, it’s now possible to add the same tag name in multiple tag groups. For example, you can use tags like “Low,” “Medium” and “High,” across Tag Groups like Opportunity, Risk, Reward, or Strategic Fit, to categorize your topics.

This might seem like a minor enhancement but it has significant benefits for people like me who use MM for research purposes. I often undertake case studies focussing on the operations of range of organisations. These studies involve interviews, structured discussions or surveys with a range of key staff and external stakeholders and so usually result in a mix of quantitative and qualitative data across a range of issues.

In the first part of this series I’ll look at how I use MM for research and in particular how I apply tags. I’ll also describe the benefits of reusable tags and provide some advice on how to copy tag sets. Although I’m concentrating on MM in research practice, these techniques may be helpful in other areas, especially if you are interested in making major use of tags. Continue reading →

Posted in Mind Mapping, New Version Overviews, Polls and Surveys, Research and Writing, Statistics | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Check out the Mindmapping software blog for my series on mind mapping and strategic planning

Posted on 30 March, 2017 by Alex

With the kind cooperation of Chuck Frey I have started a series of articles titled Mind map your way to a successful strategic planning day on the Mindmapping Software blog.

These posts commence by explaining the advantages that mind mapping has over the traditional whiteboard as a tool for managing and recording strategic planning sessions, particularly for smaller and non-profit organisations. In the later articles I will describe in detail how to prepare for and then run a mind-mapped planning day. While I am obviously drawing on my experience with MindManager these techniques can be applied with any reasonably well-featured mind mapping program.

The first article is Strategic Planning – Stuck in the Whiteboard Time Warp while the second in the series, 7 key advantages mind mapping can bring to your planning session, has just been published. Part 3 is due to appear shortly and parts 4 and 5 should be published within the next few weeks.

 

 

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New tricks with MindManager HTML 5 exports and dashboard maps

Posted on 17 February, 2017 by Alex

In the first couple of posts in my series on MindManager 2017’s new features I looked at HTML 5 export and dashboard maps. I’m going to look at a couple more new features shortly, but first I wanted to add a short post on some other new tricks you can do using both these features to selectively export certain aspects of your maps. The following is an expanded version of a comment I posted on a thread relating to HTML 5 export on the Mindjet community forum.

1. How to export a map to HTML 5 with a user-accessible filter. To export a map with a filter that can be turned on or off in the exported map, first create the map and then create and apply the filter, selecting show or hide matching topics as desired. Export the map to HTML 5 (see my earlier post on HTML 5 exporting). The resulting web page should include a button in the top toolbar which allows the user to toggle the filter on or off.

Example map 1

Example map

Example Map Filtered for Export

Example map filtered for export

Filtered Exported HTML 5 Map with User Accessible Filter Button Visible

Filtered exported HTML 5 map with user accessible filter button visible

Continue reading →

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Addendum to the dashboard maps post – a dashboard map example

Posted on 19 January, 2017 by Alex

I have received some very positive responses to my previous post on the new dashboard map facility in the latest update release of MindManager, version 2017.1, including a request that I make available the map I used to demonstrate how to set up and use the feature

Here is a link to a ZIP file containing the map of the activities of the hypothetical stationery company I used to demonstrate roll-up maps. Most users are likely to want to set up a separate dashboard map incorporating topics from one or more project maps but for the purpose of the demonstration I included three dashboard maps based on floating topics in the same project map.

The map also includes an explanatory note but is designed to be used in conjunction with the instructions in the previous post. Please note you will need MindManager version 2017.1 or better to be able to access the new dashboard map features.

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