New MindManager add-in helps users manage tasks, projects more efficiently

Dr. Brian Friedlander, author of the The Assistive Technology Blog, has been covering mind mapping software a lot lately. His latest post is a Q&A interview with the developer of TPAssist 2007, a new add-in for MindManager that will be released on September 1. TPAssist takes MindManager's basic task management functionality, and adds to it such capabilities as automated task tree summarising, structured journal management, brainstorming to task tree creation, powerful project team tracking, plus automated integration with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Excel.

One of the things that Brad Allen discovered when he tried to manage tasks in MindManager was that it was hard to get a consolidated view of all of his tasks, because they were scattered around the different branches of his map. So he wrote a program that "rolls up" (consolidates) them into a single view, which can then be exported to Excel in a tabular form to share with your colleagues.

TPAssist also offers journaling capabilities, so you can insert notes about your progress on any activity in your map. It tracks your activities by date.

TPAssist 2007 Outlook Integration synchronizes information between your mind map topics and Outlook Task and Appointment items. You can use this capability to drive reminders and also to access your current activities outside of MindManager. Outlook Tasks and Appointment items created by TPAssist 2007 can be used to "jump" directly into your mind maps.

This sounds like a great add-in for MindManager. I can't wait to try it!