An Action is a piece of work or activity that is part of a Project or Result. In other time management or project management systems, these are sometimes called Tasks or Assignments. An action may not be "doable" yet, as it might depend on other actions being completed first.

 

Activity is the general name for something that defines an outcome and requires some action to complete it. Specific activities may be Projects, Results, Actions or Next Actions.

 

An Area is a user-defined classification that can be used to collect together related items that are in different projects. Areas are inherited cumulatively inside maps, so Areas can be nested within other Areas.

 

The middle of a MindManager map. There is only one Central Topic per map, and all maps have a Central Topic. By default, ResultsManager assumes that the Central Topic of a map represents a project.

 

A Committed activity is something that you have promised to yourself or to someone else. By contrast, something you have not committed to is a "would be nice" or "Someday-Maybe" activity, and can be deferred. ResultsManager helps you keep track of Committed activities. The "Committed" Icon  is used to mark Committed activities in maps.

 

A Callout is a special type of Topic in a MindManager map - usually shown as a "speech bubble" connected to a regular Topic. ResultsManager uses Callouts in dashboard maps to show you which project a certain activity belongs to.

 

ResultsManager uses Callouts to show parent projects

 

Refer to the MindManager documentation for more information about Callouts.

 

A Category can be used in any way you prefer, but is designed for horizontal classification of Activities, so that they can be grouped across projects. Examples of categories that are independent of projects include "decisions", "deliverables", "questions" and so on. ResultsManager maintains a master list of Categories that can be used to classify Results in any map.

Note: Categories are handled differently in MindManager X5 and 6. See Appendix K for details of Categories handling in MindManager 6.

 

ResultsManager displays confirmation messages for some of its operations, so that you have the chance to cancel before proceeding. You can turn these confirmation messages off in the ResultsManager Options dialogue in Power User mode.

 

A Context identifies where an activity can be completed. This horizontal classification helps you organise your day, for example by grouping together things that require a telephone call, or could be done while travelling. ResultsManager maintains a master list of Contexts that can be assigned to Activities in any map.

 

An activity is a Deadline if it is marked with the Deadline Icon (  ). Only Activities which have due dates set on them can be Deadlines - you can't have a deadline without a date. A Deadline is something that must be done by a specific date, otherwise bad things happen. If you can afford to miss deadlines, then they are not really deadlines. Deadline Activities are displayed separately from non-deadline Activities in the Dashboards so that you can easily see which are the important due dates.

 

A Dashboard map is a map generated by ResultsManager, containing Hyperlinks to Activities in other maps and organised by date, owner, context, project, category, status, priority or any combination of these. It gives a horizontal view of activities across multiple projects. The Dashboard map represents a "snapshot" of all activity, and is designed to help prioritise and plan work for a defined period of time. Also see What is a Dashboard map?.

 

Express mode is a simpler operating mode for ResultsManager that offers s simpler set of options and input dialogues. Once you are comfortable with using ResultsManager in Express mode, you can move up to Power User mode for additional options and features.

 

A Hyperlink is a shortcut to another document (e.g. another MindManager map) or to a specific Topic in a MindManager map. ResultsManager uses Hyperlinks to discover related maps when building Dashboards, and creates Hyperlinks from Topics in the Dashboard maps back to the original Project maps. A MindManager map accessed from other maps by a Hyperlink is also sometimes called a "Multimap".

 

A Filter is a special Topic in the template maps used for creating Dashboard maps. It selects activities from the complete list collected during the sweep. For example, the "Committed" filter will select activities that are Committed. By building up a series of filters, the Dashboard map can display activities organised to support appropriate decisions. When the Dashboard is finished, you don't see the Filters any more - you only see the information that they have extracted.

 

An Icon is a small image inserted in a Topic in MindManager maps. Some Icons have special meaning for ResultsManager and control its behaviour - for example, the  Icon that stops ResultsManager exploring parts of the map or following Hyperlinks.

 

To use ResultsManager effectively, you do not need to specify every detail of every action item. If you do not specify a particular piece of information (such as the Owner of an activity), then ResultsManager will automatically assume that it is inherited from the parent Topic. So, if you are the owner of every action item in a map, then you only need to assign yourself as the owner of the Central Topic, and this will be inherited by all action items in the map if you don't re-specify another owner somewhere else. Inheritance applies to Owners, Contexts, Categories and Areas for all activities, and to Start & Due dates and Priorities for Committed activities.

 

In addition to selecting Contexts, Owners, Categories or Areas from the Master lists, ResultsManager also lets you choose from just those items in use in the current map - the Local list. So if your project does not span several maps, you can choose from only those attributes that are relevant to the current map. Local lists are created dynamically when you open the ResultsManager edit dialogue.

 

A Map Central map is a map that only contains Hyperlinks to all the other project or "Bits and Pieces" maps, which contain activities that you are responsible for. See the section on organising your maps.

 

(MindManager Pro only)  Activities may be entered into a map as a Smart Map Part from the Map Parts in the library. When the Smart Map Part is deployed in a map, the Edit dialogue is automatically opened.

 

ResultsManager looks after four Master Lists of Contexts, Owners, Categories and Areas. These lists are available to be used in any map created on the system where ResultsManager is installed. They are stored in the system Registry and may be imported and exported in the ResultsManager Options dialogue.

 

MindManager is the business mapping software that ResultsManager uses as its platform. You can purchase MindManager and ResultsManager licenses bundled together from your reseller or Gyronix. You must have MindManager X5, MindManager X5 Pro, MindManager Basic 6 or MindManager Pro 6 to use ResultsManager v2.

 

For a glossary of MindManager-specific terms (e.g. Topic, Relationship and so on) please refer to the MindManager documentation.

 

Multimap is the term for a MindManager map that is linked to another one with a Hyperlink. Large subjects or volumes of information can be broken up into several Multimaps, making access and navigation easier. ResultsManager will follow Multimap Hyperlinks to discover all action items in all linked maps, unless the link is blocked by a special Icon on the Topic ().

 

A Next Action is something that can be done straight away, i.e. is "doable". Next Actions do not depend on any other tasks that must be completed before they can be started. ResultsManager can work out which are the Next Actions within a Project or Result by using the Funnel Timeline planning technique in MindManager.

 

ResultsManager maintains a master list of Owners that can be assigned responsibility for Activities in a map. This list may contain individuals or named groups, and can be interpreted in two different ways - see Assigning Owners.

 

When ResultsManager is creating Dashboard maps, it may create large numbers of subtopics on a single Topic. For example, if you have 80 activities that can be done at the office, then there may be 80 subtopics on the "Office" Topic under Contexts. This can be difficult to navigate, so ResultsManager has the option to paginate them into groups for easier handling. This is configured in  the ResultsManager tab | Options group | Options | ResultsManager Options, in Power User mode.

 

A Bits and Pieces map is a map that contains activities that don't belong anywhere else. You will need at least one of these - some users also use a separate map for collecting research and "interesting" items. See the section on organising your maps.

 

Power User mode offers all the ResultsManager features and options for advanced use. Users should start with Express mode and then move up to Power User mode when familiar with the basic concepts and use of ResultsManager.

 

A Project identifies a group of actions or sub-projects that belong together, and will usually have a sequence or project plan that specified their completion order. ResultsManager determines whether an activity is a Project from the settings on the Topic, or by what kind of Topic it is. Also see Project or Next Action?. Projects are the major elements to keep track of in the Getting Things Done method.

 

A Project Map is a map that contains the activities for at least one project. It is good practice to have one map per project, then you can archive and share maps with others. See the section on organising your maps.

 

A Result is a smaller scale achievement within a Project, that contributes to the overall project objective. Grouping actions together under Results helps identify the next action to take to reach the Result without having to re-think the project plan. For example, if you had a project to purchase a new car, selecting the make and model would be an important milestone in that project, and you could class this as a Result.

 

If you prefer the term "Subproject" to "Result", there is an option in the ResultsManager Options in Power User mode that lets you use this term instead.

 

ResultsManager from Gyronix is an Add-in for Mindjet's MindManager X5, X5 Pro, MindManager Basic 6 or MindManager Pro 6 software. ResultsManager requires MindManager to be present as its platform, and extends MindManager from a brainstorming and capture tool into a system for tracking and delivering activities.

 

ResultsMerlin from Gyronix is the configuration Wizard for Gyronix ResultsManager. It runs as a standalone programme and can be launched from the Windows Start menu or from within MindManager. ResultsMerlin provides step-by-step configuration and setup of ResultsManager.

 

A shared map is a map that you and other people access. It might be the notes from a meeting, or a project plan containing action items for several people. Shared maps are stored on shared drives, such as a network drive. ResultsManager Professional edition keeps track of shared drives and will observe interlocks when accessing shared maps, to avoid accidental overwriting while someone else is editing a shared map.

 

An Activity that is not Committed - something you might do one day, but is not a key project or action. ResultsManager marks Someday-Maybe topics with the "Hourglass" icon (  ) in maps.

 

An alternative term for a Result. You can elect to see Results labelled as Subprojects in the ResultsManager Options dialogue, in Power User mode only.

 

Dashboard maps are built from a template map that defines the style, the contents and the filters used. These are regular MindManager maps, and are stored by default in the "My Dashboards" folder under MindManager's default map folder. Dashboard template maps are not necessarily MindManager templates; they can be, but do not have to be.

 

A Topic is a "branch" in a MindManager map. An Activity is a special kind of Topic that has been marked with task information, indicating that it is something to be done, as opposed to just information. A "subtopic" is a child branch of a parent.

 

A "Funnel Timeline" is a way of using a MindManager map to represent the flow of activities in a project. Outcomes and objectives are nearest the centre of the map, and the further away an activity is from the centre, the earlier it is required in a project. As you move further through your project, it "funnels" down towards the single outcome. The process is described in the section on Visualising your Project.

 

Funnel Timelines were previously called "Tunnel Timelines" or "left to right planning" in earlier versions of the documentation, but the principle is otherwise the same.

 

See "ResultsMerlin" above.