Integrated idea management is an approach of listening to ideas using pre-existing software and tools than the dedicated idea application. All ideas collected are fed into sideways 6; filtered, reviewed, and managed.
The purpose of idea management
The major purposes of the integrated idea management approach are:
- engages people
- encourages collaboration
The software is particularly essential for businesses with large disparate workforces using existing tools as opposed to learning to operate in another new application. Idea management has a structured process to generate, discuss, develop, and evaluate ideas, insights, or feedback from internal and external stakeholders. The purpose of the tool is to take feedback and insights into future products.
Now, various digital idea management platforms allow one to gather ideas, feedback, and insights in a structured and intuitive way. But, it is not always easy to share ideas with coworkers and decision-makers.
Excellent brainstorming sessions
Managing an idea is not easy and coming up with good ideas is difficult. Even now, companies around the world organized scheduled brainstorming sessions where the employees are forced on coming up with ways and ideas to implement them. Brainstorming sessions are not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people have problems expressing their opinion among their coworkers and managers.
The idea generation process is a bit messy and with limited feedback. There’s a specific timeframe for the discussion and meeting time is limited. The brainstorming sessions are reserved for the decision-makers and thus not everyone will have a chance to share their ideas. Successful idea management would ask for various ideas and inputs to select from.
Brainstorming sessions
Brainstorming sessions still exist in companies. It is still used daily in companies worldwide. But, more and more companies are interested in more efficient and structured ways and choose digital ways of brainstorming, either as a replacement or a complement to classic brainstorming.
Emailing
Email becomes a useful tool for business communication and idea management. It may sound messy, but it works. Not every employee feels comfortable just shipping an email to the manager or the decision-maker. Emailing was never an official idea management tool.
However, people are hungry for a better solution to be used as a fast and digital tool. When thinking about it, email idea management turned out to make sense. You may share an idea by sending it through email, but there is an 80% chance of getting ignored or forgotten. The receiver can’t structure all the ideas received. It becomes complete to check and compare.
It is essential to have all the ideas in one place to manage them. You may think about the number of emails received daily. It makes your head spin. Idea management through email turned into a step toward a brighter future.
