MindMapping

There is a free software called FreeMind that allows you to start with a simple, central concept and drill further into each tangent that connects to the main concept. Here is an example of a map I am working on:












I began the map above yesterday; totally a rough beginning, but I imagine you can see what it means. It is a way to depict use case models, but is easier to use than Visio. Also, it is free! I've read about people using this kind of tool for personal growth and such, but I find that it lends itself perfectly to software development by allowing you to define the functional parts of the whole without knowing what the whole looks like. Nifty shit.