Figure 1: Microsoft Project to MindJet Mind Manager
To export the Microsoft Project schedule into Mindjet, follow a simple process:
1. Open Mindjet MindManager with a blank mind map
2. Open your schedule Microsoft Project
3. Highlight the tasks you would like to export
4. Click the Send to Mind Manager icon in the toolbar (Figure 2)
Figure 2: Send to Mind Manager
5. Review the exported tasks in Mindjet MindManger
Once I have the selected tasks in MindManager, I distribute it as a PDF to my project team or bring hard copies. (Hard copies are more of a luxury when there is a lull in the day-to-day issue management). If I’m working with distributed teams, I’ll host a Webex conference and display the mind map on the laptop and share the information remotely. The key benefit is each project team member has an easy-to-read illustration of the tasks under review.
Updating a task in MindManager is simple as each node includes a “percent complete box” and the Task Info pane allows the project manager to adjust dates, duration and resources (Figure 3):
Figure 3: Imported Tasks with Task Management
MindManager also has a “Show At Risk and Past Due Tasks” feature that highlights late tasks in red and at-risk task in yellow based on the task due dates and the current date. It is a useful feature to quickly scan and identify late tasks. These tasks tend to drive the status meeting conversation. As the team discusses the issues and delays, the project manager or project coordinator can make notes on the mind map. These notes attached to each task become the meeting minutes for the discussion.
Limitations
Mindjet MindManager is an excellent communication tool to help develop an illustrative view of the key tasks in the project schedule. The software does have some limitations that are worth advising but don’t detract from its overall usefulness as a project management tool.
MindManager supports import and export functionality into Microsoft Project and other Microsoft Office applications. The design limitation is that once tasks are imported and updated in MindManager, they can’t be imported back into the original project schedule; they can only be exported into a new Microsoft Project schedule. You can export the tasks, but it will replace the entire project schedule with the tasks in the mind map.
Project managers familiar with Microsoft Project Server or CA’s Clarity are used to bi-directional integration with their project schedules. At this time, Mind Manager doesn’t support the bi-directional integration. In actual practice, I prefer to update the tasks manually in Microsoft Project after I’ve reviewed the notes on the mind map--so I don’t view this limitation as a problem.
The key is to use mind maps to communicate better. Remember, MindManager is more of a communication tool than a detailed project schedule management tool. For small projects, a mind map with the task info would be sufficient to manage the project. Larger projects will still require a more robust project scheduling tool. However, large projects can benefit from the export feature as project managers leave their status meetings with better detail in an easy to read format.
What if you don’t have MindJet MindManager?
If you don’t have MindJet MindManager, I encourage you to try this concept with their trial software download. If you already use a different mind mapping application like FreeMind or XMind, then you can still benefit from the concept of using a mind map to facilitate a project schedule review. You’ll need to create our own nodes based on the key tasks you are tracking in your Microsoft Project schedule, but this is relatively easy in any mind mapping tool.
