As a product manager, when I explore complicated problems with SMEs and stakeholders during discovery, I need an easy way to step through the logic that has guided key decisions to date, so that we remain on the same page about how we got here and where we’re going.
I wish there were a way to create a self-service mind-map presentation. I’ve tried presenting mind maps by breaking them apart and futzing with slides, but the map’s continuity depreciates with this approach, making it harder to retrace steps.
Navigation apps solved similar problems years ago when they switched from numbered, turn-by-turn directions to animated navigation. There’s a lot you could borrow from Google Maps/Waze/etc. to solve this problem in a way that might be intuitive to most users already.
Example:
- Set a starting point and a destination on the mind map
- Navigate through the route automatically
- See and hear annotations along the way
- Choose different routes
- Nest maps inside maps to provide the right amount of detail as users zoom in
- Example 1: You can see all the stores in a mall via google maps, but not from 50000 feet.
- Example 2: You can click on markers for national parks to view hiking trail.
- Let folks know when they’ve arrived at the destination
- Ask them to rate the route at the end, flag hazards along the way, etc.
- Drop this little guy in and take a look around.
