Idea Manager Corporate Idea Management System



    I want to talk about the Idea Manager corporate idea management system developed by our team.
    We (the company Collective Intelligence Systems ) are engaged in the creation of products based on crowdsourcing, that is, on the technologies of “collective intelligence”: the ability of a group of people to predict, make joint decisions and do many more useful things using appropriate information tools. In the West, such systems are being used with might and main, we have - unfortunately not yet, and much of Enterprise 2.0 is just starting to develop.However, more information about the theoretical side of the issue is written in the corresponding hubblog and in open sources . Here we are talking about a product that was the result of our development of one of the areas - Idea Management .

    Why is it necessary

    Before the company, if it is certainly not a state monopoly like Gazprom or Russian Railways, there is always the problem of gaining its place under the sun in a highly competitive environment. And no matter what methods are used for this, the result is what management theorists call key competencies, that is, a set of unique advantages that distinguishes the company from the rest in its sector. What lies at the heart of these very core competencies? Today, these are undoubtedly ideas. In the form of new technologies, modernization / optimization of existing business processes, proposals for improving interaction with suppliers and customers, etc. and so on. Ideas rule business just like the rest of the world. Companies just resort to finding their core competencies: they hire consultants, inflate R&D departments, and borrow from foreign "brothers."
    However, everything is much simpler. The development of the company and the search for ideas is the work of the company itself.
    Question: who knows the company better than others? Answer: of course, her own employees. They do it every day, consider it, deliver it, analyze it, negotiate, etc. It is they who encounter shortcomings, see flaws, notice opportunities. It is in their minds that thoughts arise about improvements that could be used to benefit the business. But unfortunately these thoughts do not always translate into concrete sentences, and even less often these proposals reach those people who could use them. There are many reasons: lack of interest, fear of falling under the principle of “initiative is punishable”, administrative and hierarchical barriers, psychological moments, banal lack of opportunities to express one’s opinion. Fortunately, information technology can solve most of these problems.

    How the system works

    The principle is simple: company managers put forward “topics”, that is, formulate the main problem areas that require ideas and suggestions from employees. For example, “How can we reduce costs”, “Optimization of suppliers' work”, “Improvement of category A products”, etc. ... Users, in turn, publish their ideas, providing them with a description and attaching the necessary materials, and simultaneously vote for the likes of others .
    For each “topic”, the manager who created it chooses a system for rewarding the winners: with specific prizes, money or cumulative points, which can then be converted into prizes. In the case of a point bonus, both users who have proposed winning ideas and other participants who have voted for these ideas can be awarded.
    Voting itself takes place by distributing a limited number of “votes” among selected other people's ideas. Points reward algorithms are designed in such a way that it would be beneficial for users to vote not for one idea, but to define a circle of several, in their opinion the most attractive ones. This is done to avoid the effect of "beauty contests." You can also leave a comment, an addition to someone else's idea, which only system managers see and can additionally reward.
    As a result, after the end of the “topic”, managers receive a ready-made list of the best ideas selected by the “collective mind”. And at the same time gets them with minimal additional costs, since the participants are not hired consultants, but their own, already paid human resource. Users themselves do not see their authors until the debriefing, which makes the selection process as independent as possible. Moreover, the current number of votes cast for ideas is also hidden - the user must make an independent decision. The idea put forward by the director of the company has the same chance of winning as the idea of ​​a new trainee.

    Other system functionality:
    • Convenient admin panel: managing users, groups, approval of newly registered
    • The book of complaints and suggestions - functionality for reviews about the company from persons not registered in the system itself (partners, customers)
    • News on the main page published both by the robot (creating / modifying / ending topics) and by the managers themselves
    • The system of additional incentives for users: the better they vote, the more votes they have in subsequent topics, which means more potential bonus
    • Polls
    • Extended personal / general statistics separately for users, administrators and system managers




    We focus on the distribution of Idea Manager in the form of System as a Service with deployment on our server, as the most simple and affordable way. However, there is an implementation option, for large companies or for those who are not satisfied with SaaS. The product page is here http://ci-systems.ru/Idea_Manager.html.

    The site has a 15-day full trial version of the system that requires minimal registration . I know that the site needs a redesign until it reaches its hands)

    I will listen with pleasure to any comments / suggestions / opinions.

    UPD. Given the comments, a small demo

    demo.ci-systems.ru was added
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