Brainstorming Mind Map Template with Prompts
A mind map puts one topic in the centre and grows branches around it. It is quick to draw, and it shows at a glance which parts of a problem you have explored and which are still empty.
This template starts with six branches that move from understanding the problem to deciding what to do: who is affected, what goes wrong, ideas, limits, risks and next steps. Each branch has two prompts to answer. Replace the prompts with your own notes, add leaves, or delete the branches that do not apply.
Scroll sideways to see the whole diagram
Start from this diagram and edit it on your own board.
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What each part does
- Your topic
- The question or project in the centre. Rewrite it first, in a few words, for example “Onboarding for new customers”.
- Users
- Who is affected, and when. Name real groups of people rather than “everyone”.
- Problems
- What goes wrong today and what people do instead. Workarounds show how much the problem matters.
- Ideas
- Write the obvious idea first to get it out of the way, then add a wild one. Collect first and judge later.
- Constraints
- Time, budget, tools and anything that cannot change. Constraints narrow the ideas down to ones you can do.
- Risks
- What could make an idea fail, and what you do not know yet. The unknowns are the things to test.
- Next steps
- End with action: the smallest test you can run this week, and who to ask. A brainstorm without a next step is easy to forget.
How to work through it
- Rewrite the centre so it names your topic in a few words.
- Go through the branches one at a time and answer each prompt in a few words. Do not judge yet.
- Add leaves wherever a branch has more to say. Move or delete the branches that do not fit.
- Mark the two or three ideas that survive the constraints and the risks.
- Finish with Next steps: choose one test and one person to do it.
When to use it
- Thinking alone: getting a vague project out of your head and onto a page.
- A team session on a product or process problem, with everyone adding leaves.
- Planning a talk, an article or a study by branching out its main questions.
Common variations
Fewer branches for a short session
In ten minutes keep only Problems, Ideas and Next steps, and delete the rest.
Add a second ring
Give a promising leaf branches of its own to dig into it, for example the steps behind one idea.
Turn the winner into a diagram
Once one idea is chosen, draw how it would work with a flowchart such as the CI/CD pipeline, or with an AWS architecture template if it runs in the cloud.
Make it yours
Rewrite the centre with your own topic first, then replace the prompts on each branch with your own notes.
Opens this diagram as a board you can edit.
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, including sending images of your strokes, diagram labels and similar data to providers in the United States (Cloudflare, Inc. and TypeSafe AI, Inc.) for AI conversion.