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One of the longest standing features of what might be considered as a “Web 2.0” initiative are idea management or ideation programmes. These support the submission, discussion, rating, approval, analysis and ultimately the “putting into action” of ideas from a large group of people. Often introduced as part of an innovation programme, they can be regarded as an example of crowdsourcing.
Not a new idea
Of course suggestion box schemes have been around for years. These have always tended to be targeted at two distinct groups – one external (customers, suppliers and other external partners) and internal (employees.) In recent years the developments on the web and the intranet have allowed specialist software to develop which facilitates the submission and discussion of ideas to these initiatives. In fact the market is relatively mature, with some providers like Imaginatik being around for over 15 years. Some corporates were also early adopters. For example BT introduced an ideas scheme in the mid-nineties and by 2001 they claimed it had already helped save the company around £100m in total.
The remainder of this article is available to DWG members on the extranet.
This is a guest post by Steve Bynghall. Steve was the content producer for IBF 24 2011 and helped research Paul Miller’s forthcoming book on the “Digital Workplace.” Steve is the founder of Two Hives Ltd, a consultancy specialising in KM, collaboration and web-based projects. Steve previously worked at accountancy firm BDO in a variety of knowledge roles, including managing their global extranet programme. He is currently co-writing a book on crowdsourcing with Ross Dawson, and writing two research briefings for IBF.
About the author
Steve Bynghall is a research associate, benchmark evaluator and knowledge manager for DWG. He is also a freelance consultant, researcher and writer specializing in knowledge management, collaboration, intranet and social business. Steve previously worked at accountancy firm BDO in a variety of knowledge roles, including managing its global extranet programme. He recently co-wrote a book on crowdsourcing with Ross Dawson.
Steve is passionate about being able to work from anywhere, and is occasionally seen in local coffee shops with his trusty laptop. When not working, Steve can be found exploring London with his family.
Duncan - Vetter
We very much agree with your 3d obvservation and in the last 3 days we’ve just done a revamp of our Idea Management System to bring ‘Challenges’ onto center-stage.
Janelle
Thank you for this informative post. One example you mention, BT, still uses Brightidea software (considered a market-leader in this space for over a decade)to power innovation management at the company. A full case study can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/gHFSQi