What is an Idea Management Platform and How to Use it
After you identify what process you will be using, consider the tech stack that will facilitate your innovation programs. An idea management platform can be used to manage the process of generating, collating, analyzing, and implementing ideas as part of a wider innovation strategy.
The right software will help you recognize, formalize, and replicate the early success you achieve, but also lead to a faster idea to market time. An idea management platform can help you build an end-to-end process by:
Capturing and evaluating ideas within your organization, in a structured way
Generating ideas as part of dedicated innovation campaigns and increasing revenue through continuous idea capture
Selecting and refining ideas that offer the greatest potential business value
Managing the idea process effectively to have a more engaged, productive workforce, especially when your team is spread across different offices, geographic locations, and time zones.
Spreadsheets, an email inbox, a physical suggestion box, social enterprise networks, and idea management tools have all been used to manage ideas.
All come with their own set of strengths and weaknesses depending on goals, budget, timeline, and business strategy. Choosing the right tech to achieve your goal depends on several factors.
Consider your business requirements and innovation goals and think about what software can make it easier for you to achieve them.
Understand the time and input necessary to set up the technology.
Find out more about the ecosystem - what support you will have available, both initially to train people to use the platform and subsequently, once you are up and running.
Become familiar with how the software allows you to map the workflow of your idea and the innovation process.
Do I have one accessible location to capture, track, evaluate, and collaborate on ideas for everyone I want to involve in the process?
What devices will my audience be using to share ideas?
If I need it to, will this tech integrate with my current systems?
Do I have a workflow setup to fairly and easily evaluate ideas, in a timely fashion?
How will I launch a new technology to the business?
How will I enable idea submitters to see how their idea has progressed?
Will everyone involved in this process be able to find similar ideas and mitigate duplicates?
How can I promote engagement of the platform across the whole organization?
If technology is the enabler of innovation, does the organization have the right people in place to build a culture of innovation?
Yes
No
Partially
Not applicable