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Brainstorming tools
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Posted by Larry_in_Bangkok
Dec 8, 2021 at 02:36 PM
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
> ... any outliner should help brainstorm like a pen to paper. I am reminded of the app Brainstorm,
Thank you, Stephen Zeoli for your post.
A little confusion is usually a productive way to advance understanding on any topic.
I could have / should have made it more clear:
pencil and paper, outliner, mind-mapper, note-taker—it doesn’t matter at all what “recording method” is used.
What matters is having a friend or colleague standing next to you, asking questions which suggest new vectors to the topic.
Not a “brain dump” of what one already knows, not word association either, but a “helper” to nudge thinking in new directions or into new dimensions.
>...works for me is writing about the subject, and turning it into a conversation
Perfect.
You have created an imaginary brainstorming partner.
Probably you refine and enhance that “partner” in your mind, as your conversation moves along.
That seems to be brainstorming at its best.
Now, what if we had software to do that?
A sort of software like that already exists, and I use it often (several times a week) and have been using for about 10 years.
But it is very rough and crude and limited in scope to only one application: on-line shopping.
Generalized, it is not.
A program that could be used on a wide range of problems or questions would be valuable.
A good example of software that leans in that direction is HyperPlan, created by Andy Brice (a veteran poster here).
His brilliant concept of “connections” shows ideas in active ways.
But the user must supply those connections.
Now if something like that were possible “outside the box” of existing entries, what a program that would be!
Alas, I’m learning from this topic so far that general brainstorming software probably does not exist yet.
Posted by Dr Andus
Dec 8, 2021 at 05:03 PM
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
>any outliner should help brainstorm like a pen to paper
I’m with Steve on this one.
The main limitation I’ve found with using software for brainstorming was the speed of data entry or making connections (for this reason pen and paper tends to be king).
I like to use WorkFlowy though for brainstorming (if it’s about coming up with ideas and needing to structure them), as I find it very fast and easy to structure and move things around with keyboard shortcuts. Plus now it’s easy to drop screenshots and images into it and mark text up with colour and tag (categorise) things.
But the Brainstorm software Steve mentioned had some other tricks up its sleeve (though I could never get into it myself either for some reason).
If I need to come up with a concept map or flowchart, I’d first use pen and paper, but if speed is not an issue (if it’s more of a slower, analytical process of figuring out and modelling a process or a structure), I would use Plectica directly.
Actually mind mapping software can also work well for brainstorming. Used to use Freeplane for this, though haven’t touched it for a few years, so don’t know how good or fast it still is.
Posted by Franz Grieser
Dec 8, 2021 at 05:36 PM
For brainstorming, collecting and sorting ideas I use
- either the outline feature in Word or Textmaker (Word is better for moving items around)
- a visual tool such as Milanote or Miro so I can share the map with colleagues or customers. I used to use Scapple but it’s single-user, and the Windows version appears to be buggy (maps I create on one Windows system look different on a second machine).
What never really clicked with me are mindmaps.
Posted by Lucas
Dec 8, 2021 at 10:14 PM
Brainstorming can of course mean different things to different people, and different software approaches also work for different people.
I have not explored the area of software that directly ask questions or stimulates new ideas, but I have spent a lot of time exploring software to write down and structure the ideas in my head. My current favorite for that task is Flying Logic.
What sets Flying Logic apart for brainstorming is the automatic visual reshuffling. I set the Layout direction to “inner to outer” and then I start writing down and connecting ideas. With every new idea, the whole map magically rearranges itself. And it lends itself to free concept-mapping (not limited to top-down mind-mapping). And you can export to OPML.
It’s not frictionless, has a bit of a learning curve, and it could be further improved, but for me it is the most pleasant format to bring clarity to ideas that are bouncing around in my mind.
(A bit expensive but worth it.)
In the same vein, CMapTools is also great and has some unique features, but I find it less pleasant.
Posted by Dr Andus
Dec 11, 2021 at 11:38 AM
Lucas wrote:
> My current favorite
>for that task is Flying Logic.
>https://flyinglogic.com/
>(A bit expensive but worth it.)
Do they ever offer any discounts around Christmas time?