Case Study

MAITI

“MindManager is very valuable tosomeone in my position who hasto constantly assimilate informa-tion from all kinds of sources.”

ROIImproved executive's ability to capture,re-access and communicate complexinformation on emerging high technologyissues.

Company ProfileThe Maryland Applied InformationTechnology Initiative (MAITI) is a state-sponsored project to double the numberof information technology graduatesfrom eight of the state's universities by2004.

ChallengeEnable an academic executive to beconversant and ready to brief state edu-cation commission officials on a myriadof complex IT issues and their impact oncourse selection and preparation.

IT Information ManagementAn education executive uses Mindjet® MindManager® to puta world of complex IT information at his fingertips

As Executive Director of MAITI, the Maryland Applied Information TechnologyInitiative, Ron Larsen leads a project to double the number of information technologygraduates from eight of the state's universities by 2004. Larsen, who is also on thefaculty of the Computer Science department at the University of Maryland, says thatto do his job well he must stay current in a staggering number of technology-relatedareas – from information security, computer system interoperability, and mobile adhoc networking, to more arcane topics like the semantic web and Internet-basedontologies. At the same time, he must keep his eye on current economic and work-force studies from the government, professional organizations, and academia. Larsenmust be conversant with these complex issues and, like many executives, be readyto brief his own executives on them at the drop of a hat.

As the head of MAITI, Larsen answers to the Maryland Higher EducationCommission. Whenever he is called to the state capital to brief the commission onthe initiative's progress, he brings along a set of MindManager maps, each one asnapshot of a particular technology he is following. Larsen creates the maps usingMindjet MindManager, a tool that employs a combination of graphics, text, and linksto create unique, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand maps. The maps show notjust information and ideas, but the relationships that knit them together to formknowledge.

"Mind maps are structured so that I can access an incredible amount of informationon one page," Larsen says. "When a member of the Commission asks me about aparticular aspect of MAITI's activities, I can quickly find that map, zero in on theinformation I need, and give a reasonable, credible answer. Otherwise, I would haveto say 'Gee, I'll have to get back to you on that.'"

Mindjet MindManager users typically create a map for a general topic, and then addbranches to create cascading layers of subtopics. At each level, users can quicklylink to relevant information such as literature references, text notes, images, or files,as well as to online documents and Web sites.

You can also create separate maps for each subtopic, and electronically link themback to the main map. And you can choose from a symbol gallery to create visualcues to highlight key information, add bold numerals to create a hierarchy of branch-es, and draw arrows to show relationships between pieces of information.

But as Larsen discovered, you don't have to be sitting in front of a computer tomake a MindManager map. Larsen says he once attended a lecture on a particularpiece of legislation important to the MAITI project. As the lecture was in progress,he sketched out Mind Map-type notes. Afterward, he went back to his office andused Mindjet MindManager to make an electronic version of his hand-drawn map.

"What I concluded was that, after walking into that lecture hall with no knowledge ofthis topic – but by paying careful attention and drawing a Mind Map that madesense to me –I felt confident that I could stand up and give that same talk and coverat least 75 percent of what was presented.

With the information stored electronically, I can cut and paste elements of this lectureinto my other presentations. The bottom line is that MindManager lets me recordeven very complex information in a very personal, easily retrieved format – that'svery valuable to someone in my position who has to constantly assimilate informa-tion from all kinds of sources.”

SolutionUse Mindjet MindManager to create one-page visual maps that provide quickaccess to large amounts of informationon each IT issue.

ProductMindjet MindManager

Key Features- Level of detail

- Text notes

- Hyperlinks

- Symbol gallery

Result“When a member of the commissionasks me about a particular aspect ofMAITI's activities, I can quickly find thatmap, zero in on the information I need,and give a reasonable, credible answer.”

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To find out how other leading organizations have benefited from Mindjet MindManager,visit www.mindjet.com/casestudies.

As with his Commission presentations, Larsen also uses Mindjet MindManager toprepare to lead discussions on technical issues. “In those areas where my technicaldepth is not as great as I would like it to be, I print out the upper levels of a map tokeep track of the topology of an issue. When the discussion gets too narrow, I usethe maps to help me widen it back out to make sure the entire issue is covered.”

Larsen says he has used a lot of different outlining tools in his career. “When I firstsaw MindManager, my first reaction was 'Well, this is just an outlining tool thatretains a hierarchy.' But it has proven so useful to me that I have gravitated awayfrom traditional outlining tools.”

“What I really like about MindManager is that it enables me to create graphic mapsthat let me move information to create a very personalized, coherent view of anentire topic – all at one glance. That's a hard thing to do with outlining tools. Butyou can do it with MindManager.”

Using Mindjet MindManager to manage complex project information