Hindsight is 20/20: Reflections on the evolution of concept mapping

•Concept mapping began through interactions with graduate students around thesis projects.•The method was developed through a series of pilot projects between 1982 and 1989.•The 1989 special issue of Evaluation and Program Planning was the major introduction of the method to the field of evaluation.•Bibliometric analysis shows that the method continues to grow in use, has an influence on the evaluation literature.•Key possible improvements or extensions to the method are described. This paper considers the origins and development of the concept mapping methodology, a summary of its growth, and its influence in a variety of fields. From initial discussions with graduate students, through the rise of the theory-driven approach to program evaluation and the development of a theoretical framework for conceptualization methodology, the paper highlights some of the key early efforts and pilot projects that culminated in a 1989 special issue on the method in Evaluation and Program Planning that brought the method to the attention of the field of evaluation. The paper details the thinking that led to the standard version of the method (the analytic sequence, “bridging” index, and pattern matching) and the development of the software for accomplishing it. A bibliometric analysis shows that the rate of citation continues to increase, where it has grown geographically and institutionally, that the method has been used in a wide variety of disciplines and specialties, and that the literature had an influence on the field. The article concludes with a critical appraisal of some of the key aspects of the approach that warrant further development.