Forming the newest concepts is a daunting task at first. That’s because people often hesitate to face the unknown and to experiment. But, nowadays, there are plenty of ways to facilitate innovation. These ideas are the by-product of a software platform that provides concepts or communication between coworkers.
In this article, we’ll learn how Idea Management Helps in the Innovation Process. Let’s proceed, shall we?
A Quick Summary of Idea Management
Before we learn how managing ideas helps innovation, we need to know what idea management is first. The best way to define idea management is that it is a systematized process wherein people generate and develop ideas and then implement them.
Once implemented, these ideas are pushed forward to their full potential. It requires the help of idea management software to meet its full potential. There are four key notes in idea management, and these are the following:
- Sourcing great ideas, either within the company or externally, through mentors or other sources. The former is preferred.
- Understanding the problem and coming up with a solution that could solve them
- Evolving the concept through a step-by-step process. This section also involves developing the idea further and testing it out.
- Pushing the idea forward once it is approved and agreed upon. At this point, the company will find ways to apply the concept.
With that said, let’s learn how idea management plays a role in forming innovative concepts and new products.
How Does Idea Management Play a Role in the Innovation Process?
The process for the formation of new concepts is a lengthy road. It requires the company’s full cooperation to come up with new ideas. In this section, we’ll get a summarized but detailed view of how idea management helps in innovation. Here they are as listed:
1. Idea innovation spurs inspiration
People in the workforce will likely jump into action when asked for ideas. Idea innovation drives participation from all regarding providing ideas for a certain topic. All suggestions from the employees are then gathered and clustered together.
Everyone must provide their suggestions, putting everyone’s creative juices to work. Sometimes, a collaboration between co-workers takes place during the conception or idea-creation phase.
2. Providing Feedback and Recognition
The next section for managing ideas is to provide feedback and recognize it. Not only your co-workers or colleagues will express their thoughts and opinions. The higher-ups, such as the administration, must project their feedback on the concept.
3. Idea evaluation and selection
Evaluation and selection are the next steps in idea management. People in the organization will have to agree on an idea. As stated earlier, idea rating and voting have to take place. Employees will also share their experiences regarding the matter too.
4. Implementation of the concept
The final phase of how idea management affects innovation is the implementation phase. Once there’s a concept that the majority of the company agrees with, it sees implementation. The company will then redirect resources to nurture the voted concept further.
The concept then enters a development phase. The concept is being turned into a product or service form at this point. Resource allocation will continue until the product created from this concept is functional.
Tests will take place after the creation of the product prototype. From there, the workforce can determine whether it’s buggy. Bugs and glitches get documented, and the team applies fixes. The concept product continues to undergo tests until it’s fully functional and bug-free.
Once the concept is transformed into a product or service, the company will then form a success story around it. Ranging from how the idea was conceived, how everyone agreed upon it, and how the company learned from it.
5. Concept Refining
Not every innovation created is good right out of the box. Sometimes the ideas implemented have some rough edges that need polishing. Companies use applications such as idea management software to identify key points of interest. These key points are utilized to refine the concept even further.
This results in a much more updated version of what was previously implemented. This time, the product is now smoothened and more intuitive. It also doesn’t have the clunkiness of the initial product.
6. Idea Banking
As for the ideas that didn’t make the cut, it depends on their possible use case. If it’s something useful in the future, then they’re preserved in the idea bank. Preserving useful ideas that weren’t cut is useful since, at least, the employee who came up with that idea won’t feel that their good ideas aren’t useful. It’s just not yet the right time to use their concept.
Ideas kept inside this idea bank will undergo the same process as new ideas. They’ll undergo evaluation, feedback, and voting; and if they do make it – implementation and refining.
7. Building up the Project Portfolio
Your company creates an ideas portfolio to anticipate interactions between concepts and projects. Ideas or project portfolio monitors whether the existing projects will clash. The portfolio also monitors the resources used for the existing projects to ensure they’re being used to their fullest. Also, to see whether there’s enough that if multiple projects use the same resource, they won’t have conflicts.
Making a project portfolio usually is done around after evaluating and selecting an idea at the earliest. At the latest, a portfolio is created roughly around the implementation of the concept.
The Bottom Line about Idea Management?
To form new products and services, a company needs to explore new horizons to expand. They must manage their ideas and concepts through a platform and their workforce’s opinion to expand further. Idea management is a long process, but it is ultimately worth it when the concept becomes a product that your company is proud of.
If this has piqued your interest, perhaps it’s time for you to act. If you think your current ideas aren’t working at this point, changing up a bit isn’t a half-bad idea. Gather your co-workers, let them suggest ideas, and agree upon the concept. You’d be surprised how idea management can advance your company.
