Product Review Mindjet Mind Manager for Windows 2017, 0717 COBJ, Vol. 46 No. 7 Pg. 12
| Author | PHIL J. SHUEY, J. |
TECHNOLOGY IN THE LAW PRACTICE
PHIL J. SHUEY, J.
Most training and education for lawyers is lateral. The thinking and analysis is a straight line: Case A-> B-> C. This is best exemplified by stare decisions and the entire concept of precedent. Unfortunately, lateral thinking does not work well for many substantive and law firm administration purposes. A classic example is “brainstorming” an idea in the office.
Brainstorming typically involves use of a flip chart or white board upon which ideas are recorded. Attendees take notes and thereafter attempt to reach meaningful conclusions when reviewing and organizing the notes.
“Mind mapping” is likewise intended to help an organization’s workers make sense out of complicated subjects, using tools for flowcharting and project management. It is simply a visual way to convey thoughts and ideas.
The mind mapping technique is widely attributed to Tony Buzan, an English author and educational consultant on mental literacy. Buzan believes that mind mapping is the best way to “harness[] the full range of cortical skills—word, image, number, logic, rhythm, color and spatial awareness”—into a single environment.1 Buzan’s version of mind mapping has been around since the late 1960s.
More recently, the use of free-form mind mapping software has gained popularity, overcoming the limitations of pen and paper. Mind mapping software takes unstructured ideas and thoughts and organizes them into a graphic image so that collaborators can see the entire issue and all implications with a single glance.
MindManager for Windows
Developed in the 1990s, Mindjet’s MindManager is one of the oldest and most popular software solutions in the mind mapping marketplace, claiming 83% of the Fortune 100 as customers.2 One of the strengths of this product is very strong integration with Microsoft Office. There is an Apple Macintosh version, as well as the Windows version reviewed here.
MindManager is arranged like Microsoft Office, with a top ribbon and option-sensitive (e.g., File, Home, Insert, etc.) drop downs. This is useful for the firm that is comfortable with Microsoft products, because the learning curve is minimized. Integration with Microsoft Office transfers data to Word for follow-up functions like memos, to PowerPoint...
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