Idea Manager Corporate Idea Management System

I want to talk about the corporate idea management system Idea Manager, developed by our team.
We ( Collective Intelligence Systems ) are engaged in creating products based on crowdsourcing, that is, on 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 used with might and main, we still have, unfortunately, no, and much of Enterprise 2.0 is just beginning to develop. However, in more detail about the theoretical side of the issue is written in the relevant Habrablog and in open sources . Here we will talk about the product, which was the result of our development of one of the directions - Idea Management .

Why do you need it
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The company, if it is certainly not a state monopoly like Gazprom or Russian Railways, is constantly faced with the problem of winning its place in the sun in a highly competitive environment. And whatever methods are used for this, the result is what management theorists call core competencies, that is, a set of unique advantages that distinguish the company from others in its sector. What is the basis of these very core competencies? Today it is undoubtedly an idea . In the form of new technologies, modernization / optimization of existing business processes, proposals for improving interaction with suppliers and customers, and so on. and so on Ideas rule business just like the rest of the world. To search for their core competencies, companies are not resorting to anything: they hire consultants, inflate R & D departments, 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? The answer: of course, her own employees . It is they who produce, consider, deliver, analyze, negotiate, etc., every day. It is they who face shortcomings, they see flaws, they notice opportunities. It is in their minds that thoughts appear about improvements that could be used for the benefit of business. But unfortunately, these ideas are not always poured into concrete proposals, and even less often these proposals reach 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, the banal lack of opportunities for expressing one’s opinion. Fortunately, information technology can solve most of these problems.

How the system works

The principle is simple: company managers put forward “themes”, that is, they formulate the main problem areas that require ideas and suggestions from employees. For example, “How do we reduce costs”, “Optimization of suppliers' work,” “Improvement of category A products”, etc. .
For each "topic", the manager who created it chooses a system of awarding winners: specific prizes, money or cumulative points, which can then be converted into prizes. In the case of scoring awards can be awarded to users who have proposed ideas, winners, and other participants who voted for these ideas.
The voting itself takes place by distributing a limited number of “votes” among the chosen ideas of others. Algorithms for awarding points are built in such a way that it would be beneficial for users to vote not for one idea, but to determine a circle of several which, in their opinion, are the most attractive. This is done to avoid the effect of "beauty contests." You can also leave a comment-addition to someone else's idea, which only system managers see and can reward in addition.
As a result, after the end of the “theme”, managers receive a ready list of the best ideas selected by the “collective mind” forces . And at the same time it receives them with minimal additional costs, since the participants are not hired consultants, but their own, already paid human resource. The users themselves do not see their authors before summing up, which makes the selection process as independent as possible. Moreover, the current number of votes 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 chances of winning as the idea of ​​the novice trainee.

Other system functionality:

• Comfortable admin: manage users, groups, approval of newly registered
• The book of complaints and suggestions - functionality for reviews of the company from persons not registered in the system itself (partners, customers)
• News on the main, published as a robot (create / change / end 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 that there are more potential rewards.
• 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 placing on our server as the easiest and most accessible way. However, there is an implementation option for large companies or for those who are not comfortable with SaaS. Product page here http://ci-systems.ru/Idea_Manager.html

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

I am pleased to hear any comments / suggestions / opinions.

UPD. Given the comments, added a small demo

demo.ci-systems.ru