Redesigning your website to take benefit of new opportunities and solve problems can be challenging. Different political groups jockey for position and new ideas get shouted down or lost due to member of staff popularity or ranking. A technique that can strip away these 'human' factors can create a big difference when planning and strategizing.
This method works very well in business setting where the audience has varied skills. Rather than focus on skills, you focus on ideas. People feel they are on firm ground and are more likely to share ideas and look for solutions. This is faithfully the type of atmosphere you want to make when groups congregate to solve business problems.
In my work with Internet clients, I have modified this method to take benefit of different creative skill sets among staff members. The marketing group has their way of looking at things, the developers theirs, and management, still another. When mind maps are applied to internet planning (or any business plan) it removes the barriers and helps each group apply its best creative knowledge.
There are four main benefits to using a mind map in an internet setting. The first is that it's non-linear. This makes all ideas significant and eliminates ideas selected by employee rankings. When there are open spaces on the map branches, the brain needs closure. Everyone wants them to be filled in. This promotes teamwork.
The second is it gives a look at the 'big picture' and the details at the same time. This helps managers aim on their concerns while those tasked with the details can aim on their part of the puzzle and everyone can see the whole.
The third is it highlights omissions. When you follow the same course and look at the same lists you forget or 'don't see' what's missing. Looking at the material in a new way helps you study it.
The fourth is it stimulates everyone's creativity by using pictures and colors, lines of different widths and spaces. Programmers use their special skills and designers and managers use their rare skills.
When you redesign your website, your main goal must be to create it easier for your customers to find information and buy goods. This tool makes it easier to attain success.
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