Using Mind Mapping for Project Planning

🧠 “How We Brainstorm And Choose UX Ideas” (+ Miro template) (https://lnkd.in/eN32hH2x), a practical guide by Booking.com on how to run a rapid UX ideation session with silent brainstorming and “How Might We” (HMW) statements — by clustering data points into themes, reframing each theme and then prioritizing impactful ideas. Shared by Evan Karageorgos, Tori Holmes, Alexandre Benitah. 👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾 Booking.com UX Ideation Template (Miro) https://lnkd.in/eipdgPuC (password: bookingcom) 🚫 Ideas shouldn’t come from assumptions but UX research. ✅ Study past research and conduct a new study if needed. ✅ Cluster data in user needs, business goals, competitive insights. ✅ Best ideas emerge at the intersections of these 3 pillars. ✅ Cluster all data points into themes, prioritize with colors. ✅ Reframe each theme as a “How Might We” (HMW) statement. ✅ Start with the problems (or insights) you’ve uncovered. ✅ Focus on the desired outcomes, rather than symptoms. ✅ Collect and group ideas by relevance for every theme. ✅ Prioritize and visualize ideas with visuals and storytelling. Many brainstorming sessions are an avalanche of unstructured ideas, based on hunches and assumptions. Just like in design work we need constraints to be intentional in our decisions, we need at least some structure to mold realistic and viable ideas. I absolutely love the idea of frame the perspective through the lens of ideation clusters: user needs, business problems and insights. Reframing emerging themes as “How-Might-We”-statements is a neat way to help teams focus on a specific problem at hand and a desired outcome. A simple but very helpful approach — without too much rigidity but just enough structure to generate, prioritize and eventually visualize effective ideas with the entire team. Invite non-designers in the sessions as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised how much value a 2h session might deliver. Useful resources: The Rules of Productive Brainstorming, by Slava Shestopalov https://lnkd.in/eyYZjAz3 On “How Might We” Questions, by Maria Rosala, NN/g https://lnkd.in/ejDnmsRr Ideation for Everyday Design Challenges, by Aurora Harley, NN/g https://lnkd.in/emGtnMyy Brainstorming Exercises for Introverts, by Allison Press https://lnkd.in/eta6YsFJ How To Run Successful Product Design Workshops, by Gustavs Cirulis, Cindy Chang https://lnkd.in/eMtX-xwD Useful Miro Templates For UX Designers, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eQVxM_Nq #ux #design

Early in my facilitation career, I made a big mistake. Spent hours crafting engaging activities and perfecting every little detail… Thinking that amazing learning design is what would make my workshops stand out and get me rehired. Some went great. Some bombed. You know the ones, sessions where: - One participant dominated the conversation. - People quietly disengaged, barely participating. - half the group visibly frustrated but not saying anything. I would push through, hoping things would course-correct. But by the end, it was a bit… meh. I knew my learning design was great so... What was I missing? Why the inconsistency between sessions? 💡I relied too much on implicit agreements. I realised that I either skipped or rushed the 'working agreements'. Treating it like a 'tick' box exercise. And it's here I needed to invest more time Other names for this: Contract, Culture or Design Alliance, etc... Now, I never start a session without setting a working agreement. And the longer I'm with the group, the longer I spend on it. 25 years of doing this. Here are my go-to Qs: 🔹 What would make this session a valuable use of your time? → This sets the north star. It ensures participants express their needs, not just my agenda. 🔹 What atmosphere do we want to create? → This sets the mood. Do they want an energising space? A reflective one? Let them decide. 🔹 What behaviours will support this? → This makes things concrete. It turns abstract hopes into tangible agreements. 🔹 How do we want to handle disagreement? → This makes it practical. Conflict isn’t the problem—how we navigate it is. ... The result? - More engaged participants. - Smoother facilitation. - Ultimately, a reputation as the go-to person for high-impact sessions. You probably already know this. But if things don't go smoothly in your session. Might be worth investing a bit more time at the start to prevent problems later on. Great facilitation doesn't just happen, It's intentional, and it's designed. ~~ ♻️ Share if this is a useful reminder ✍️ Have you ever used a working agreement in your workshops? What’s one question you always ask? Drop it in the comments!

How we choose policies for sequential decision problems   There is a long tradition in deterministic optimization to design algorithms to find the optimal “x”.   When we make decisions over time, the situation is more complicated. In rare cases, we can find optimal policies, but as a rule optimal policies are out of reach.   There are a variety of methods for making decisions – each of these fall somewhere in the four classes of policies. But how do we evaluate policies? It turns out, it is more complicated than simply finding the one that works the best.   In practice, we evaluate policies based on the following criteria:   o Average performance – Minimize cost, maximize profit, other metrics. o Worst-case performance – How poorly does it sometimes work? o Transparency – Can we explain the decision? o Computational complexity - How long does it take to compute? o Reliability – Does it always work? o Methodological complexity – How hard is it to create and implement? o Data requirements – Do we have the data needed?   These are not issues that arise in deterministic optimization. It is an important dimension of sequential decision problems, largely overlooked in the literature, but absolutely recognized by everyone in practice.

🚀 Did you know our future project manager might be a digital twin? 👀 Digital twins will simulate the entire project in real time, predicting challenges even before they arise. These AI-driven models will: • Automatically test scenarios, • Solve resource allocation conflicts, • Craft risk responses, and • Provide continuous insights for smarter, data-backed decisions. 💡 But what does this mean for us in 2025 and beyond? Digital twins are not just a trend—they’re set to redefine how we manage projects. Imagine having a virtual replica of your project that evolves as your project progresses, learning from data and feeding you real-time insights. With digital twins: • You’ll eliminate guesswork in planning and execution. • Delays caused by unforeseen risks can be minimized through proactive scenario testing. • Resource use will become more efficient, reducing waste and maximizing value. For example, companies like Siemens and Rolls-Royce are already leveraging digital twins to simulate product performance and maintenance needs. Why not bring this powerful tool into project management? 🌍 🎯 This isn’t just an innovation—it’s our competitive edge. Integrating digital twins into workflows unlocks unparalleled opportunities for efficiency, precision, and innovation across every stage of a project. From planning to execution to measuring success, the possibilities are endless. 🔥 This is the main theme of the second video in my series: 10 Big Ideas in Project Management for 2025. From December 10 to December 19, 2024, I’ll share one short video daily at 12:00 PM ET with some insights to help us prepare for what’s next. ❤️ Let’s turn these 10 days into an exchange of ideas and priorities for the year to come. 💬 Share your thoughts, debate your ideas, and let’s shape the future together! Cheers Ricardo #BigIdeas2025 #DigitalTwins #FutureOfWork #ProjectManagement #PMOT #Innovation

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲. The difference between good PMs and the great ones lies in their ability to say "no" with conviction.  Prioritization isn’t about task management, it’s about strategic sacrifice. The frameworks you use determine whether you:   - Multiply impact (or spread teams thin)   - Build what moves the needle (or what’s loudest)   - Create category-defining products (or bloated ones)  𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 7 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗱:  1️⃣ RICE – When you need to quantify "gut feel" (Score Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort)   2️⃣ MoSCoW – For ruthless trade-offs (Must-have, Should-have, Could-have, Won’t-have)   3️⃣ Kano Model – To separate "delighters" from "basics" (Before competitors copy them)   4️⃣ Opportunity Scoring – When user pain points > feature ideas   5️⃣ Weighted Scoring – For stakeholder battles (Math beats opinions)   6️⃣ User Story Mapping – To prioritize features based on the user journey   7️⃣ Value vs Effort Matrix – The 2x2 that kills pet projects  Swipe for the breakdown on each framework! Your turn: Which framework has saved you from a disaster? (Or which one needs a funeral?) 👇  

Most presentations don't fail because of bad slides. They fail because no one feels a connection. They look like lectures. While the best presentations feel like stories. And stories aren’t just entertaining. They’re how humans connect, trust, and remember. Here’s how to make your next presentation unforgettable: 1️⃣ Introduce the Villain ↠ Start with the problem you’re solving ↠ Be specific—what pain points does your audience face? ↠ When they feel the problem, they’ll lean in 2️⃣ Position Your Solution as the Hero ↠ Show how your solution saves the day ↠ Make it aspirational, not just functional ↠ Think: “This could change everything for you.” 3️⃣ Add Personal Touches ↠ Share your “aha” moment: how did you solve this? ↠ Vulnerability creates trust ↠ Your story becomes theirs 4️⃣ Use the Power of Three ↠ People love patterns ↠ Give them three parts: ↠ The challenge, the breakthrough, the transformation 5️⃣ Create a Visual Journey ↠ Your slides should feel like a movie, not a spreadsheet ↠ Bold visuals + concise words = memorable ↠ The simpler, the better 6️⃣ End With a Mic Drop ↠ Leave them with ONE unforgettable message ↠ Tie it back to their pain—and what they can do next ↠ A powerful ending moves people to act 7️⃣ Rehearse Until It Feels Natural ↠ Practice your story—not your slides ↠ Your authenticity is your superpower ↠ The more natural you feel, the more they’ll believe you Great presentations don’t just share information. They spark emotion. Build trust. Inspire action. What strategy resonates most with you? ♻️ Share this to inspire someone to tell their best story and follow Andrea Petrone for more. ---------------- 📌 Want more? Grab your FREE template to create presentations that captivate every audience: https://lnkd.in/evgSDXEX

💡 OK, super-interesting design research stuff 👇🏼 I just read Lyssna's report “From chaos to clarity: How teams synthesize research in 2025”, and wow, there’s a lot here that points to where our industry is headed (and what’s holding us back). 📝 Key takeaways & thoughts 💭 ⏰ Research time frames are tight: 65% of synthesis work happens in 1‑5 days, only 14% take more than 5 days. 😬 🥵 Big friction points: manual work (60.3%), handling large volumes of data, identifying patterns, and translating insights into actionable recommendations. 🦾 AI is already part of the mix: 54.7% of folks use AI assistance for analysis/synthesis. Most common uses are summarization and categorization. ⚠️ But crucially, human collaboration, validation, interpretation remain central. . 🚨 Why this matters for our industry: 1. Efficiency gains from AI are real / we can’t expect teams to shoulder endless hours of manual work. AI, good tool design, better frameworks can reclaim that time. 2. Quality & trust still rely on humans / AI helps, but biased interpretations, loss of nuance, bad pattern‑matches are real risks. The hybrid human + AI model seems most promising. 3. Communication & stakeholder alignment remain hard / It’s not enough to see insights; the challenge is to package them, present them, and persuade. Visuals, summaries, and formats that respect stakeholder time are increasingly important. 4. Role of smaller orgs / non‑research functions is growing / Designers, product folks, marketers are all doing synthesis. The skillset is spreading, so best practices & tools need to support this distributed model. . What teams/orgs should do next 🔜  🛠️ Invest in tools / platforms that help with early‑stage work: auto‑categorization, summarization, structuring raw data. 🗂️ Build or adopt frameworks/templates for synthesis to reduce “reinventing the wheel” each time. 🙋🏻♂️ Ensure human review & interpretive layers are built in ⚠️ don’t rely fully on AI.  👩🏻🏫 Train people across roles (design, product, marketing) in good synthesis methods.  🖥️ Improve how insights are shared: visual summaries, shorter formats, interactive dashboards perhaps, not just long reports. . The mix of urgency (“we need insights fast”) + volume of data + maturation of AI tools means that synthesis will increasingly be a team sport: humans + machines. Those who figure out how to streamline the process without losing depth will win. It’s an exciting time / and also one with real risk of losing nuance if AI tools are misused. But properly balanced, I believe the future is one where we all spend less time drowning in data and more time acting on insight. 💬 @ researchers, chime in: how are you using AI in your synthesis workflows / what’s working, what isn’t? 

The world's most valuable skill is critical thinking. Here are 3 decision-making frameworks that will save you dozens of painful hours trying to learn critical thinking for yourself: 1. Chip and Dan Heath's WRAP Framework The measure of a good decision isn't the outcome you produce, but the process you use to make it. Learning this completely changed the way I thought about decision-making, and the importance I placed on process. According to the Heath Brothers, you can overcome common decision biases like narrow framing, confirmation bias, short-term emotions and over-confidence by using these four steps for every significant choice you make. W - Widen your Options R - Reality Test Your Assumptions A - Attain Distance P - Prepare for the Worst. --- 2. Greg McKeown's Essentialism Framework Hang this up in your room somewhere—and stare at it everyday. Greg McKeown, in his book Essentialism, makes the case that the highest point of frustration occurs when we're trying to do everything, now, because we feel like we should. In order to reach the highest point of contribution, we need to do: The Right Thing, at The Right Time, for The Right Reason. When we focus on these three variables, we don't waste time and energy on activities and decisions that aren't a right-fit.  --- 3. Tim Ferris' Fear-Setting Framework I consider this the gold-standard of strategic risk management and contingency planning. Important decisions will always come with risks, consequences and unforeseen problems. Instead of trying to eliminate the negative and plan for the best, Ferris advises people to complete a pre-mortem that simulates potential responses. By drawing up a three column table with: The worst things that might happen The steps you can take to prevent those The ways you will respond if they do happen You're able to prepare for a more pragmatic future, rather than being thrown off course at the first unexpected obstacle. For more information on fear setting, and some useful downloads, check out Tim's blog here. These three frameworks completely changed the way I thought about decision-making, and the support I was able to offer leaders in developing the skills they needed to keep tricky programmes on track. I hope they're useful for you. #leadership #decisions #NotAnMBA

BEYOND MODERATION - THE HIDDEN POWER OF FACILITATION Facilitators matter more than most people realize. In every workshop, sprint, and strategic conversation, they quietly turn talk into traction—designing flow, building psychological safety, and steering diverse voices toward a shared outcome. Because great facilitation feels effortless, its impact is often underrated. Yet when stakes are high and complexity rises, a skilled facilitator is the multiplier that transforms ideas into decisions and momentum into results. 🎯 DESIGNER - Great facilitation starts with intentional design. Map the flow of the workshop or discussion with crystal-clear outcomes. When you know where you’re headed, you can confidently animate the session, guide transitions, and keep everyone aligned. ⚡ ENERGIZER - Read the room and manage energy in real time. Build trust and comfort with timely breaks, quick icebreakers, and inclusive prompts. When energy dips, reset; when momentum rises, harness it. Your presence sets the tone for participation. 🎻 CONDUCTOR - Facilitation is orchestration. Ensure everyone knows what to do, how to contribute, and where to focus. Guard against tangents, surface the core questions, and gently steer the group back to the intended outcome. ⏱️ TIMEKEEPER - Time is the constraint that sharpens thinking. Listen actively, paraphrase to clarify, and interrupt with care. Adapt on the fly in agile environments so discussions stay effective, efficient, and outcome-driven. ✨ CATALYST - Your energy is contagious . Show up positive, grounded, and healthy. If you bring light, the room brightens; if you bring clouds, the mood follows. Protect your mindset—it’s a strategic asset. 💡TIPS to be a great facilitator: Be positive and confident; Prepare deeply, then stay flexible; Design clear outcomes and guardrails; Listen actively and paraphrase often; Invite quieter voices and balance dominant ones; Use pauses, breaks, and icebreakers wisely; Keep discussions outcome-focused; Manage time with compassion and firmness; Read the room and adapt; Practice, practice, then practice again. 💪 #Facilitation #HR #Leadership #Workshops #EmployeeEngagement #Agile #Communication #SoftSkills #MeetingDesign #PeopleOps #Moderator #TeamDynamics #PsychologicalSafety #DecisionMaking

Navigating power imbalances and fostering psychological safety in brainstorming sessions can be a challenge for facilitators. I recall a CEO of a law firm who was hesitant to run strategy workshops due to past experiences where the Chairman's voice dominated the room, making it difficult for other partners to share their perspectives freely. I assured them that as a facilitator, my role was to ensure that everyone's voice was respected, heard, and valued. I'm happy to say it worked well. 😊 Creating a psychologically safe space is crucial. This can be achieved by setting clear expectations at the start of the session, encouraging respectful dialogue, and managing the room to bring in all voices in a way that works. Here are some ways I run an idea generation or brainstorming session. ⭐ Start by clarifying what challenge or problem we’re here to address. Do this by reframing it as a 'How Might We…’ statement - a common method used in design thinking. This approach encourages collaborative thinking and ensures everyone in the room can contribute their perspectives. ⭐ Another design thinking tool I use is Crazy 8s, a great way to generate ideas quickly (handy when workshop time is tight). It involves generating eight ideas in eight minutes, which pushes participants to think beyond their initial ideas and stretch their creative boundaries. - Give each person a blank A4 sheet. Fold it in half 3 times so you have 8 equally spaced squares. - Each person silently writes or draws one idea per square per minute. - Go around the room so each person shares their ideas. Each idea has its moment. No judgement. Most senior persons share last. - Pop them up on a wall. - Each person then selects their top 2 to 3 ideas. - Discuss the ideas and collectively build on them (encourage the use of ‘and’ and ban ‘but’). - Collectively select the ideas you want to action. ⭐ But what about those quieter voices in the room? Silent Brainstorming is a way to encourage those who prefer to work independently to have their ideas heard. - It starts with individual ideation, where everyone writes their ideas independently before the session. - These ideas are then shared in an in person or virtual session and built upon collectively in a non-judgmental environment. These are just a few methods to address power imbalances and foster psychological safety in idea generation sessions. I'm curious, what other methods do you use to ensure that all voices, not just the loudest, are heard and valued in your brainstorming sessions? Thanks to Adam Grant for sharing the Work Chronicles cartoon below. ——————————————————————————- 👉 If you're looking for an experienced facilitator for your upcoming sessions or workshops, whether defining a strategy, mapping a plan, or crafting your purpose and values, I can help. #facilitation #psychologicalsafety #creativity #inclusion