InstantForum.NET v2.9.0SQLServerCentralhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/notifications@sqlservercentral.comSat, 18 May 2013 23:44:32 GMT20http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxTom Brown: Thanks for your additional info on the bigger picture. I'm going to look into it!Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:26:45 GMTJJ Bhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxI have been using MindJet for the last couple of years and have found it an indispensable tool in projects to map both database schemas, application dependencies to data and interfaces. Most of this project are applications in place that need maintenance to data and the App.The mapping software let me put all the data together and map relations to be able to understand the client usage scenario and the data generated from those usage.I will highly recommend any DBA, Programmer or PM to use the tool to map your project dependencies, schemas and any other use that you may think of. I have even used the software to pitch new project Ideas to management, make presentation, for training of personnel, data archival, system documentation, just to name a few.Thanks for the article.Fri, 09 Dec 2011 08:54:24 GMTeddie.zambranahttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspx[b]:cool: Thank you David! :cool:[/b]This was exactly what I needed. I am working on some standards and measures documentation for our BI team and I was completely stuck on one part. I took your advice, grabbed XMind, and mapped it out. Problem solved and I am back to work on a very important task.Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:58:28 GMTTatsuhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxMaybe you could forward them to MS OneNote.Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:45:10 GMTbrosspaxedihttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspx[quote][b]collins.jmj (12/6/2011)[/b][hr]I've found benefit using the Mind Mapping software, and I've found it to be a great communication tool when working with global colleagues and partners. The challenge is that the same file structure is used to store the mind maps - &lt;some folder&gt; \ &lt;some mind map&gt;. After creating a few dozen mind maps, I find the brainstorming capabilities start to get bogged down in trying to keep track of the maps.Has anyone found a tool that might address this challenge, keeping in my mind Sharepoint and other large collaboration tools are too expensive?[/quote]I may be misunderstanding your challenge, but I haven't had that issue with SmartDraw. Because I use hyperlinks to link the mind maps together, I can determine the folder/file structure however I want. I usually include links From and To my mind maps, so I can navigate from one mind map to another by drilling up or drilling down, without having to remember the file structure.There's also a feature called Collections to organize and group all your visuals (i.e. mind maps, gantt charts, flow charts, etc.), which is handy when I want to group and send all of the mind maps and diagrams for a particular project to someone outside my team.Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:41:24 GMTjlu 47706http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspx[quote][b]collins.jmj (12/6/2011)[/b][hr]The challenge is that the same file structure is used to store the mind maps - &lt;some folder&gt; \ &lt;some mind map&gt;. After creating a few dozen mind maps, I find the brainstorming capabilities start to get bogged down in trying to keep track of the maps.Has anyone found a tool that might address this challenge, keeping in my mind Sharepoint and other large collaboration tools are too expensive?[/quote]I think you have run into a fundamental problem with information management and communication.The easy bit is creating the content.The hard part is creating an easily maintained, understood and used library system for that information.I am not being facetious when I suggest a database might provide a solution. There is a lot of skill in designing the taxonomy, structure and metadata for information artefacts of which mind maps are just one.I've toyed with the idea of the SQL2008 remote blob store to help build something light and simple but at this stage it is just an idea. I have considered keeping suitable metadata in tables and putting full-text indices over the top of them but I feel that full-text indices are a bit limit in their capability. They don't really allow phonetic searching which would really boost their applicable uses.Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:34:26 GMTDavid.Poolehttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxI've found benefit using the Mind Mapping software, and I've found it to be a great communication tool when working with global colleagues and partners. The challenge is that the same file structure is used to store the mind maps - &lt;some folder&gt; \ &lt;some mind map&gt;. After creating a few dozen mind maps, I find the brainstorming capabilities start to get bogged down in trying to keep track of the maps.Has anyone found a tool that might address this challenge, keeping in my mind Sharepoint and other large collaboration tools are too expensive?Any thoughts are appreciated.Tue, 06 Dec 2011 08:45:02 GMTcollins.jmjhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxI mapped my mind and I was surprised to discover that it only had two branches: "Sex" and "Donuts".Mon, 05 Dec 2011 07:52:36 GMTbrosspaxedihttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxMy son introduced me to mind mapping when he was taught it at school at the age of 8 or 9 (mid 1990's) as a study aid and I've used it quite often since. Visio includes the ability to draw the diagrams but a pen and paper is still my favourite "thinking" tool for the first draft.Mon, 05 Dec 2011 01:30:33 GMTP Joneshttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxThanks for the post David. I had explored Mind Mapping a couple of years ago but was turned off by the web based version I was looking into. I couldn't deal with the inability to save my work and the lack of flexibility in doing what I want. I read your article yesterday morning. It re-sparked my interest so I downloaded xMind and have used it throughout yesterday and today. It's exactly what I've been looking for. I've been using a combination of apps I wrote along with spreadsheets and word docs to keep my projects organized. The flexibility of xMind along with how versatile it is with regard to... hyperlinks, structure & view changes, notes, drill downs.. and so much more. So far this looks like it will help me enormously. Thanks again for the post.Bob.Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:58:55 GMTBob McClellan-320407http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxI'm going to have to look into this more. I've read about Mind Maps and dabbled in them, but I think this could really help me tackle (or at least organize) some of the problems I've been trying to finish. I'd be interested in more articles about this and how to use it effectively in the DB area of life.Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:09:24 GMTPeter Schotthttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxWow! Great article David! Yeah, the visual aspect of a mind map is really powerful. I only discovered mind mapping last year (wish someone would've shared it with me in my early days of developing; would've saved me countless hours of re-work).I use SmartDraw (http://www.smartdraw.com/training/how-to/mindmaps/). I'm one of those people that prefer keyboard shortcuts (i.e. ctrl-c, ctrl-v) and really like how quickly I can document our brainstorming sessions with the keyboard shortcuts in SmartDraw. And being able to quickly transform and distribute the mind maps as gantt charts to my team is a huge time-saver.Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:55:01 GMTjlu 47706http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxThank you so much!I'm starting on a data cleanup task (which will lead to table structure cleanup in the future, I hope) on a production database. Well, starting in the development environment, now that we have one (that was step 1....).I needed a good tool to track the flow and add notes (like code I used in certain clean up situations, or exceptions that I found that need to be followed through to production). I read this article today and downloaded/installed FreePlane - so far, it's great! All my notes in one place, organized by flow - but I don't need to scroll through pages and pages to find anything.Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:21:15 GMTLisaGBhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxamazing how smart i feel when i discover something i knew nothing about previously!Like others have noted, this looks like a very useful tool!Thanks!Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:34:21 GMTLowellhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxThis is excellent! The wheels in my brain immediately started turning while reading this article. Thanks for sharing.Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:49:25 GMTJasonRowlandhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxI'm glad for the article on mind mapping software. Ok. I'm even sold and will likely be looking into acquiring something for my personal use. What I missed in the article was a comparison between mind mapping and ER or UML diagramming. Mind mapping obviously leaves off the technical precision necessary for an automated implementation. Then from the example, at the lower levels of a hierarchy there is a switch from entity abstractions to what would be actual row instances (eg. Data Warehouse Appliance--&gt;Training--&gt;instances of who and what require training). Add methods and we are nearing UML territory. Is it the lack of formality in the approach which is its strength? The approach seems very familiar to data modeling. Lack of comparisons to other more formal approaches of documenting thoughts (for instance network modeling and/or programmatic functional decomposition) left me wondering where a tool like this might fit (all the more reason to go acquire one, I suppose). Still, I was quite happy to see organization of thoughts strongly supported in the area of database management. Value in data modeling comes from simply approaching a problem with some way of organizing data and function rather than using a DBMS as a file server then managing all business rules and data relations in unstructured harried application code.Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:16:23 GMTRalph Nickname http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxVery much for lateral thinking, rather than linear, me-thinks, and so might have stronger appeal for them (us).Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:42:06 GMTbrosspaxedihttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxThanks for sharing.I've been interested in mind mapping for a while. I have a hard time finding other people at work or in my social circles who are at all interested.In the last 10 years of my professional life, I've had maybe two or three requests for a brainstorming session - or something that could be considered remotely like brainstorming. For the sake of discussion, let's say that my work life sample is normal. So, why don't people want to brainstorm with other people at work? I think it's because that's not part of the game that people play at work.At work, ideas are valuable - and people want to be considered valuable. So, managers want to play the "Take the Credit, Assign the Blame" Game to justify their hierarchical dominance over workers. Workers want to play the "I've Got a Monopoly on Valuable Tacit Knowledge" game so they can increase their indispensibility. There's also the "I'm the Ultimate Source of All Good Ideas" game that's a big hit with many.There are typical moves to these games including "pretend that insightful email i just got from a worker was never sent - then wait a while and re-brand the info and take credit." - or the "that's an okay idea, but I'll just make a comment to refine it further before you say it, so I can claim the idea and then go tell my new idea to decision-makers."Anyhow - that might sound negative - and we're all supposed to run from negativity - but that's only to set up the following point (and it's only observation made from real-life situations).If your workplace is interested in mind mapping software and brainstorming, then one can probably take that as a very good sign that people value collaboration and individual contribution - and you might find that place to be somewhere that offers self actualization in work life. So, maybe we should find and gravitate toward people who are interested in mind mapping, collaborative tools, brainstorming and the like - if that's the kind of world we want to live in.Regards,BillThu, 01 Dec 2011 08:08:01 GMTBill Nicolichhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxI've been using mind mapping since '95. The article shows good use of the basic structural aspects, but to me the main aspect is the use of creative elements within the diagrams which are used to aid memory and creative thoughts.Really what I see is a radial tree diagram with cross references. I could use an ERD type structure to do the same. However, using the MM software to do this is innovative.Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:57:47 GMTstuart_sakerhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxLove Mindmaps. Mostly use it during meetings to take my notes or if I have a lot of information and I need some structure in it first before I start to put a list together. But as always, it's a matter of working preference.Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:56:44 GMTliebesiechhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxThank you David - for opening up a whole new world! I'm not sure why isn't this a global norm - both the concept as well as the (now seemingly readily) available tools!Or maybe I've been living under a rock?!:ermm:I intend to waste no more time in spreading the word!Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:47:41 GMTsushilahttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxThis is really good use of mind mapping!Are you familiar with the mind map library and community at [url=http://www.biggerplate.com]www.Biggerplate.com[/url]? It would be great to see your map and explanation added to the library for others to see. Biggerplate is a site I created a couple of years ago. It's totally free to use and there are currently almost 2,000 maps and templates available to view/download/use for free, and our community has almost reached 25,000 members from around the world! Be great to see you and your maps there!Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:48:35 GMTliam 69829http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxA very interesting article....Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:39:18 GMTAnipaulhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxGood article. Mind Mapping is very useful.However I think you missed out one of the main functions of mind-mapping - for Studying, especially for long term understanding and data retention - not just cramming for exams.I've used mind-mapping on and off since 1974 - when I first saw Tony Buzan's BBC TV Show. I actually went out and bought the book - not cheap for a 12-year old.Actually the mind-mapping part is the last step of his Organic Study Method. This is an approach to study I use especially when learning new topics. Its a real 'attack' strategy to data where you dont start at page 1 and read everything sequentially, instead you forage deeply into the data, getting familliar with whole chapters in minutes, then going back to fill in the blanks later. The mind-map is part of your notes, very visual, to remind you and serve as revision material. I passed all my exams using these techniques.For 15 years I stopped using this method, having been convinced that it was wrong and would only increase confusion and misunderstanding. I didn't make much progress in those 15 years. however in 2005 I rejected that other method and bought Buzan's revised books. Since then I've never looked back. Those 1,000 page software books no longer stay gathering dust on the shelves. I've been through them, maybe not read them completely, but I know whats in them and where to find it.I recommend people find out where the mind-map fits into the whole Sudy Technique, rather than use it in isolation. Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:31:13 GMTTom Brownhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1214343-60-1.aspxComments posted to this topic are about the item [B]<A HREF="/articles/Mind+map/76807/">Mind mapping software - How it can help the DBA</A>[/B]Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:03:19 GMTDavid.Poole