Compendium diagrammatically represents thoughts as nodes displayed as labeled icons—with types such as issues/questions, ideas/answers, arguments, references, and decisions—and represents interconnections between different nodes.^[5] It can be used for applications as varied as: issue mapping in meetings, design rationales and requirements analysis, meeting management (agendas and minutes), action item and issue tracking, requirements management, classification, management templates, and reference databases (such as personal knowledge bases).^[5][6]

The software can be used by a group of people in a collaborative manner to document their collective ideas using visual diagrams. A group facilitation method called dialogue mapping is especially suited for use with Compendium.^[7]

Compendium templates for critical thinking can be used to create argument maps using the argumentation schemes developed by argumentation theory scholars such as Douglas N. Walton, Chris Reed, and Fabrizio Macagno.^[8] Argumentation schemes are pre-defined patterns of reasoning for analysing and constructing arguments; each scheme is accompanied by a list of critical questions that can be used to evaluate whether a particular argument is good or fallacious. By using these argumentation schemes, users of Compendium can examine claims in more detail to uncover their implicit logical substructure and improve the rigor and depth of discussions.^[9]

There are ten default types of node: question, answer, list view, map view, pro, con, note, decision, reference, argument.^[5] There are three types of relationship between nodes: associative, transclusive, categorical.^[5] Images can be placed directly into a view, assigned to a node, or assigned to the background picture.^[5] Features of Compendium include:^[5]

• Drag and drop documents and websites onto a map
• Complete freedom to arrange icons
• Keyword tagging
• Map and label the connections between concepts to illustrate links
• Create dialogue maps to display links between everyone's ideas in group projects
• Create argument maps collaboratively, editing each other's writing
• Create issue/problem templates
• Share learning pathways
• Organise large amounts of information
• Place resources in sequence to develop a learning path

Users can choose to use Compendium with either the Apache Derby (internal) or MySQL (external) relational database management system.^[2]

The software is networked and supports concurrency and different views when using MySQL.

Compendium is the result of fifteen years of development in collaborative modeling, initiated in the mid-1990s by Al Selvin and Maarten Sierhuis at NYNEX Science & Technology; the theory behind the software hails from the 1970s, when IBIS was first conceptualised by Horst Rittel. Selvin and Sierhuis built on Jeff Conklin's earlier hypertext issue mapping software: gIBIS and QuestMap.^[2]

Many associations have thence contributed ideas to the development of Compendium. These institutions include Blue Oxen Associates, Center for Creative Leadership, Open University's Knowledge Media Institute, Verizon, CogNexus Institute, and Agent iSolutions.^[10] In 2012, the Compendium community established CompendiumNG to further advance and develop the software.^[11]

• Argument map
• Concept map
• Graph database
• Issue tree
• Knowledge base
• List of concept- and mind-mapping software

• Buckingham Shum, Simon J (19 February 2007a). "Argumentation schemes: Compendium templates for critical thinking". Compendium Institute. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
• Buckingham Shum, Simon J (2007b). "Hypermedia discourse: contesting networks of ideas and arguments" (PDF). In Priss, Uta; Polovina, Simon; Hill, Richard (eds.). Conceptual structures: knowledge architectures for smart applications. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 4604. New York: Springer. pp. 29–44. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-73681-3_3. ISBN 978-3540736806. OCLC 155834300.
• Buckingham Shum, Simon J; Slack, Roger; Daw, Michael; Juby, Ben; Rowley, Andrew; Bachler, Michelle; Mancini, Clara; Michaelides, Danius; Procter, Rob; Roure, David de; Chown, Tim; Hewitt, Terry (2006). "Memetic: an infrastructure for meeting memory" (PDF). In Hassanaly, Parina (ed.). Cooperative systems design: seamless integration of artifacts and conversations — enhanced concepts of infrastructure for communication. Frontiers in artificial intelligence and applications. Vol. 137. Amsterdam; Washington, DC: IOS Press. pp. 71–85. ISBN 9781586036041. OCLC 71214536.
• Conklin, E Jeffrey (2006). Dialogue mapping: building shared understanding of wicked problems. Chichester, UK; Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0470017686. OCLC 60491946.
• Conole, Gráinne (2008). "Using Compendium as a tool to support the design of learning activities" (PDF). In Okada, Alexandra; Buckingham Shum, Simon J; Sherborne, Tony (eds.). Knowledge cartography: software tools and mapping techniques. Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing. New York: Springer. pp. 199–221. doi:10.1007/978-1-84800-149-7_10. ISBN 9781848001480. OCLC 195735592.
• Culmsee, Paul; Awati, Kailash (2011). The heretic's guide to best practices: the reality of managing complex problems in organisations. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, Inc. ISBN 9781462058549. OCLC 767703320.
• Kirschner, Paul Arthur; Buckingham Shum, Simon J; Carr, Chad S, eds. (2003). Visualizing argumentation: software tools for collaborative and educational sense-making. Computer supported cooperative work. New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-4471-0037-9. ISBN 1852336641. OCLC 50676911. S2CID 46267938.
• McCrickard, Scott (2012). Making claims: the claim as a knowledge design, capture, and sharing tool in HCI. Synthesis lectures on human-centered informatics. Vol. 15. San Rafael, CA: Morgan & Claypool. doi:10.2200/S00423ED1V01Y201205HCI015. ISBN 9781608459056. OCLC 847741769.
• Ohl, Ricky (2008). "Computer supported argument visualisation: modelling in consultative democracy around wicked problems". In Okada, Alexandra; Buckingham Shum, Simon J; Sherborne, Tony (eds.). Knowledge cartography: software tools and mapping techniques. Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing. New York: Springer. pp. 267–286. doi:10.1007/978-1-84800-149-7_13. ISBN 9781848001480. OCLC 195735592.
• Selvin, Al; Buckingham Shum, Simon J (2015). Constructing knowledge art: an experiential perspective on crafting participatory representations. Synthesis lectures on human-centered informatics. Vol. 23. San Rafael, CA: Morgan & Claypool. doi:10.2200/S00593ED1V01Y201408HCI023. ISBN 9781627052603. OCLC 896432029.
• Walton, Douglas; Reed, Chris; Macagno, Fabrizio (2008). "Schemes in Compendium". Argumentation schemes. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 400. ISBN 9780521897907. OCLC 181424052.
• Zubizarreta, Rosa (2006). "Practical dialogue: emergent approaches for effective collaboration" (PDF). In Schuman, Sandy (ed.). Creating a culture of collaboration: the International Association of Facilitators handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 257–278. ISBN 0787981168. OCLC 70659897. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2015.

• Official website  
• "Compendium review: detailed look at Compendium mind mapping software". Graphic.org mind mapping software reviews. 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
• "Relevant online content". CogNexus Institute links to places where issue mapping, dialogue mapping, IBIS, Compendium, wicked problems and many other related topics are discussed online. 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.