name: concept-map description: Use when the user needs to explain concepts and the labeled relationships between them, especially definitions, dependencies, evidence, or cross-domain connections.
Concept map
What / why
A concept map is a semantic network: concepts are nodes and labeled propositions connect them. It tells the story “how are these ideas related, and what kind of relationship is it?” Choose it over a mind map when cross-links and relationship meaning matter.
How to model
- State the focus question before modeling.
- Use noun or noun-phrase concepts; connect them with explicit verbs or relation labels.
- Make each path read as a proposition:
concept — relation — concept. - Use hierarchy only for real general-to-specific relationships; allow cross-links.
- Distinguish evidence, examples, and claims from concepts themselves.
Styling and customization
Use directional links, high-contrast labels, and enough space for relation text. Use color for concept categories, not relationship meaning alone. Add a legend for arrowheads, line styles, and confidence/status. For a dense map, provide a focused subgraph as well as the overview.
Renderer choices
Preserve the user’s renderer choice. Mermaid, Graphviz, D2, PlantUML, and diagrams.net can represent labeled graphs; Graphviz is useful for automatic layout, while D2 or diagrams.net suit deliberate composition. No diagram.zip renderer enforces concept-map propositions or validates relationship labels; the skill supplies that semantic discipline.
Review
Read every edge as a sentence. Check labels are specific, arrow direction is meaningful, cycles are intentional, and the focus question is answered. Remove unlabeled edges unless adjacency itself is the claim.
Prior art and gaps
See references/prior-art.md. The ISO 704 terminology principles are useful prior art for clear concepts and relations, but diagram.zip does not implement a terminology interchange format.