Example data. Fieldnote is a fictional company used to fill all 61 boards, so the examples tell one consistent story.
Idea-stage Fieldnote, month one: Élise and Karim explore everything 'paperwork in the van' could mean before choosing a problem.
What the team took away
The map showed that the loss happens between the van and the office, not on site. That narrowed the first problem statement to 'get the sheet to the office the same day'.
How to run it
Preparation
Three to five people. Beyond that, one person draws and the others watch.
Choose one central topic phrased as a noun, not a question: 'onboarding for teams', not 'how to improve onboarding'.
On the board: the topic in the center, nothing else. Do not pre-draw branches, that is the work.
Tell participants it is a divergence session: no evaluation, no 'we tried that', for one hour.
Agenda
5 min
State the topic Write it in the center. Agree on the one thing you are exploring and the things you are explicitly not.
10 min
First-level branches Each person proposes main branches: angles, actors, moments, constraints. Keep 4 to 7. Merge overlaps.
15 min
Solo expansion Each person takes one branch and expands it alone: sub-branches, examples, questions. Two levels deep minimum.
15 min
Rotate Everyone moves to the next branch and adds to what is there. Two rotations. Nobody edits, only adds.
10 min
Read the map Walk the map together. Circle the branches that are dense (known territory) and the ones that are thin (blind spots or dead ends).
5 min
Pick the threads Choose the 2 or 3 sub-branches worth a real investigation. Write them as next steps with an owner.
Pitfalls
Do not start evaluating during expansion. The moment someone says 'that will not work', the map stops growing.
Thin branches are information. Do not pad them to look balanced; ask why they are thin.
A mind map is a starting point, not a deliverable. If it ends up in a slide deck as is, the session failed.
Afterwards
The selected threads become research questions, HMW questions, or assumptions to map. The map itself is archived; nobody needs to read it again.