

Ask YC: Do you use mind maps? When are they most useful? - andreyf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map

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orky56
I use them off and on. They are particularly useful for illustrating
information architecture. You could apply this in site navigation,
development, or just studying for an exam.

As humans, our mental models follow a hierarchical nature that help us create
and understand relationships in implicit, visual, and/or spatial ways that
come pretty naturally.

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ares2012
I have found they are a useful tool for group brainstorming. It helps provide
structure to the unstructured thought process of a group of people without
really constraining their thinking in any particular direction. However, you
need a very strong group leader to make sure the map represents the ideas of
the group and not just their personal ideas.

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queensnake
There needs to be one that gets away from the tree structure, to a general
graph.

