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Mind Map
Table of contents
What is Mind Map?
Mind Map is a card from the Workshop Tactics deck by Pip Decks.
Filling a page with ideas is hard. Starting with one thing and letting ideas branch off can lead to new and unexpected pathways. This exercise is a great way to warm up everyone’s creative minds (and it’s a fun window into the different ways people think).
Before you start, give focus to your Mind Map by framing your problem as a How Might We... question.
When to use Mind Map
- When facing a complex problem that needs creative solutions
- During the early stages of product development
- When team members have diverse perspectives that need alignment
- To break out of conventional thinking patterns
- When preparing for a brainstorming session
How to use Mind Map
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Ask the group to write the topic or question to be explored in the middle of their workspace.
Tip: consider using the How Might We... question format as a starting point.
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Give a time limit of 5 minutes for the group to write down anything that comes to mind on that subject.
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Ask them to spend the next 5 minutes adding more notes and ideas related to their initial topics, connected by lines.
You can also follow this with Idea Eight to take advantage of creatively warm brains!
Tips to help the group succeed with this tactic:
- This is an exercise in dumping everything in your brain on to paper, and letting associations occur naturally.
- You don’t need to try and think of ideas at this stage; just let your mind wander and write down what comes to you.
- It can be helpful to draw dotted lines between any ideas that connect to help spur more thoughts.
