I've recently completed reading a somewhat lengthy case study on the Bank of Melbourne and Westpac merger. I know that tomorrow I am going to be grilled relentlessly on its contents. I know this because I have been in this class before. I have also read this case study before. Twice. Still, the chance that I will look stupid when the lecturer asks in what city did the Bank of Melbourne and Westpac staff meet prior to the merger (Stonelea) remains perilously high.
Now, as I was reading the case study and having experience reading other such case studies, plus my experience with webby things like the using tags and multiple ways of viewing structured data (Mingle grids and trees is a good example) I was thinking: I need a good note-taking piece of software with tag support. Today.
Here are my requirements:
Then, later on, I can slice and dice the information any way I want, seeing information only related to "Westpac" and "manager", for example. Or information related to cities. Or things that happened in 1997. Later, I can also see what the key issues of the article are by viewing the tags as a cloud.
Can anyone recommend a tool that can do this? Would anyone else find this useful?
[I'm thinking Mingle might even make the cut here. But it needs tag clouds and calendar views. Add it to your backlog, Thoughtworks.
I might post on using Mingle for this after I give it a try.
Continuing completely off topic, someone from Thoughtworks will be lecturing at my business analysis class at Melbourne Uni. I'm looking forward to it despite having nearly 12 hours of class tomorrow!]
Now, as I was reading the case study and having experience reading other such case studies, plus my experience with webby things like the using tags and multiple ways of viewing structured data (Mingle grids and trees is a good example) I was thinking: I need a good note-taking piece of software with tag support. Today.
Here are my requirements:
- tag support for notes
- notes as versioned wiki pages
- hierarchy of notes, like an outline form or tree
- calendar view when some of the structured data are dates. Bonus points for a GANT view.
- easily search and filter by tags
- arbitrary columns (like SharePoint lists or Mingle card attributes)
- collaborative notes with others would be amazing
| Note | Tags |
|---|---|
| Just before the merger, the banks sent key managers to Stonelea for a conference | 1997, region, city, Westpac, BML, manager |
Then, later on, I can slice and dice the information any way I want, seeing information only related to "Westpac" and "manager", for example. Or information related to cities. Or things that happened in 1997. Later, I can also see what the key issues of the article are by viewing the tags as a cloud.
Can anyone recommend a tool that can do this? Would anyone else find this useful?
[I'm thinking Mingle might even make the cut here. But it needs tag clouds and calendar views. Add it to your backlog, Thoughtworks.
I might post on using Mingle for this after I give it a try.
Continuing completely off topic, someone from Thoughtworks will be lecturing at my business analysis class at Melbourne Uni. I'm looking forward to it despite having nearly 12 hours of class tomorrow!]
4 comments:
Based on my knowledge, and depending on what compromises you're willing to make, there are two things that you could use. First, there's Mindjet's MindManager which gives you the map/outline format, tagging/flagging, and searching. Then there's Microsoft's OneNote which gives you tagging/flagging, searching, and more flexible formatting options (including some really neat automatic formatting features).
There's other note-taking software that people swear by -- like GoBinder and Evernote -- but the first two have the best integration with the rest of the software world (e.g. you can quickly assign Outlook calendar tasks from OneNote and you can import/export from both quite easily).
Hi, I think my company's note-taking program could probably help you.
With NoteScribe, you would be able to tag your notes with categories, keywords (multiple keywords which can be viewed separately), and sources. Notes in our program are arranged in a hierarchal tree by categories and subcategories. We have a global search function which will allow you to find any word or phrase in your notes, or you can search by category, keyword or source. We have arbitrary categories, keywords and sources. And, you can even export and import notes to share with fellow users!
I can honestly say I think we have exactly what you are looking for in our note-taking software. Even better? It's really cheap, and has a 30-day trial. See if you like it and let us know!
Thanks for your time, and I hope you like the program.
Jake
www.NoteScribe.net
I've tried NoteBook and Yojimbo before and didn't like them. This site has a few other options you can look at: http://theappleblog.com/2007/01/22/note-taking-application-faceoff/
TiddlyWiki is a web based wiki notetaking type tool which might do the job too.
@ameel I forgot to mention I've looking for web-based or Mac. I'm a big fan of MindManager for its good looks and usability. I have to say that I am quite interested in trying the Mac client. Evernote looks the most promising. Poor integration with office isn't a concern for my studies since I only use Office apps for work (and even then, only because I have to)
@Jake No thanks. I'm looking for something Mac of web based. The thought of storing notes on Windows and hoping to retrieve them later scares me.
@Carl I totally agree. None of these things seem to work exactly right. Evernote seems to be the closest I've found so far. That, and Mingle.
Some of the Thoughtworks team was in class yesterday and some of them were involved in Mingle's development. There were commenting how it is being used in ways they never expected.
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