With all the tools that Tony Buzan developed for his mind mapping training, tools that included books, conferences and workshops, the only surprise involved in his producing a software tool was that he wasn’t the first to do so. This was probably because he was more involved in teaching his methods themselves than in creating computer programs. And he did endorse a few programs as other people developed them over the years. But in the end, he really did need his own mind mapping tool to extend his particular techniques into the software realm and make them available to the masses.
The initial “iMindMap” program was developed in 2006 with a 2.0 version released early in 2007. Both Buzan and Chris Griffiths, the developer of this mind mapping program, wanted something to take the previous paper-based, hand-drawn style and somehow replicate it on a screen. Griffiths felt that people’s thinking skills were actually being dulled by working on computer technologies, so one of his own goals was to counteract that problem. And of course the ultimate aim, for both Buzan and Griffiths, was to retain what their website (www.imindmap.com) calls the “brain-friendly nature” of hand-drawn mind maps on the screen. Thus their mind mapping tool was born.
Early reviews of the program were positive. What most people remarked upon was the “organic” nature of this mind mapping tool. It really seemed to leave behind the boxes and straight lines of other programs, and reproduced the flow and even colors people used when creating their own mind maps on whiteboards or note paper. Command buttons were clear, tabs allowed users to switch to editor, presentation and the more traditional outline views, and a drop-and-drag method of creating new branches from a central topic seemed to mimic the method of making a visual map by hand drawing.
The positive response continued with the beta release of “iMindMap” version 3 in 2008. The mind mapping techniques have been augmented, so that business users uncomfortable with the “organic” look can switch back to a more traditional view. There have been similar enhancements to expand the available options, making them all one click away, yet keeping the work space large and open. Tony Buzan and Chris Griffiths seem to have achieved success at making their mind mapping tool everything they hoped it would be.
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