# Concept map

A concept map differs from a mind map in one important way: the links are labelled, and any concept can link to any other. That turns a hierarchy into a network, and the labels carry most of the meaning.

It is the better choice when the relationships between ideas are the thing you are trying to understand.

---

## When to reach for one

* Learning or teaching a domain, where the relationships matter.
* Domain modelling before committing to entities.
* Untangling a subject where everything seems to relate to everything.

---

## How to draw it in Capable

| **Route** | **Use when**                                               |
| --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- |
| Graphviz  | Arbitrary graphs with labelled edges and automatic layout. |
| Mermaid   | Smaller maps where the flowchart syntax is enough.         |

---

## A worked example

Concepts and the relationships between them, labelled:

![Concept map](https://help.gocapable.com/images/att1418592423.svg)

The source, which you can paste into a new diagram and edit:

```
digraph concepts {
  rankdir=TB;
  node [shape=ellipse, fontname="Helvetica"];
  edge [fontname="Helvetica", fontsize=10];

  page -> macro [label="contains"];
  macro -> diagram [label="renders"];
  diagram -> source [label="is stored as"];
  source -> custom_content [label="lives in"];
  custom_content -> page [label="attached to"];
  diagram -> language [label="is written in"];
  language -> renderer [label="chooses"];
  renderer -> image [label="produces"];
}
```

---

## A few things that catch people out

* Label every edge. An unlabelled concept map is a mind map with extra lines.
* Read each link aloud as a sentence: subject, verb, object. If it does not read, the link is wrong.
* Cross links between branches are the valuable part; a map with none is a hierarchy.

---

## Related

[Fishbone diagramCauses grouped by category, pointing at one effect.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/fishbone-diagram.html)

[Venn diagramOverlaps, and what lives in them.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/venn-diagram.html)

[ExamplesWorking diagrams you can copy.](https://help.gocapable.com/diagrams/examples.html)

---

_Generate first. Organise second._