Business Analysis Techniques - Mind Maps

Business Analysis Techniques - Mind Maps

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A Mind Map is a diagram used to capture and organise information visually.
A relatively informal high level diagram that can be done quickly.

In business analysis they have many uses – for example:

• Documenting the results of interviews, workshops or other fact finding.
• Capturing requirements.
• Understanding business processes and data.
• Analysing stakeholders.

They can then be used as a basis for more detailed analysis techniques such as data flow diagrams or use case diagrams. So – a good start point for analysis.

A Mind Map can be initially be drawn by hand - as "rough notes" during a meeting or workshop.
It can then be enhanced and expanded if needed - with more text and better images.

The example above shows how you might sketch out a mind map on paper.

This example shows how the technique can be used for Stakeholder Analysis - in this case for a hotel booking system. It shows three main groups of stakeholders - Staff, Customers and Suppliers. Two of these three groups are then broken down further.

You could review this with other members of the project team and with some of business users. This is likely to result in additions, corrections and more detail being added.

Business Analysis is generally iterative – which means that documents are completed in steps.

Having completed the diagram using “pen and paper” you could use a computer based tool to produce a digital version - as in the illustration at the top of this post. This may be easier to share with the project team and other stakeholders.

The Mind Map could then form a basis for further analysis using other techniques.

So - in conclusion - benefits of Mind Maps:

• Relatively fast to do.
• Easily understood – a good communication tool.
• Visual documents are usually easier to talk through and review than the equivalent text.

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Mind Maps Course on Udemy
My highly practical and interactive course - where I will teach you to draw these diagrams  and how to use them in practice. It includes a real life case study that you can work through step by step to learn and practice your new skills. Also an interesting and fun project that you can try for yourself. You can try out the first couple of sessions for free a d then enroll if you choose:
Mind Maps Course on Udemy