Innovation Management Software - The Only Introductory Guide You’d Ever Need

By TechDogs Editorial Team

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Overview

We've all had a great idea at some point in our lives but how often do we bring them into force? There are always so many circumstances, factors and variables to take care of. It's the same with businesses, right?

A random water cooler conversation can lead to a great idea but how do you turn that into reality? More importantly, in a company with several hundred people, each with their own set of great ideas – how do you know which idea to consider and execute first? Moreover, how to filter out the feasible ideas from the over-ambitious ones?

As a wise man once said, "Ideas don't make you rich, the correct execution of ideas does." This is where Innovation Management Software comes into play!

If you're curious how a software can help you execute all the awesome business ideas you and your team have, spare some time to go over this article. It covers what Innovation Management Software is, its history, how it benefits your business and what it has in store for the future.

Don’t wait for a life-changing idea to strike – read on instead!

"I told you so!" These words seem like “the revenge of the fallen” - normally said by someone whose great idea (well, more like sound advice) was swept under the clutter of other good ideas and never made it past the brainstorming session or, worse, was considered simply as watercooler banter.

Creativity, fresh ideas and innovation contribute significantly in ensuring that your business is on the path to success. However, ask anyone who's running a business and they will tell you that nobody can control creativity and that fresh ideas are often hard to find. Whether you're developing marketing campaigns, devising sales strategies or researching product features, brainstorming with your team can help get the creative juices flowing. However, you can also get fresh ideas through customer feedback, market studies and even your office's suggestion box!

That's a lot of ideas coming from a lot of places! How do you manage them all? How do you filter out the junk and let the good ones shine? Enter Innovation Management Software - your one-stop shop for idea and innovation management, so that you never feel the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) of all the ideas and opportunities you may have missed.

With this article, we introduce you to Innovation Management Software (IMS) and why your business may need one. So, let's put our thinking caps on and explore!

What Is Innovation Management Software (IMS)?

If your in-office brainstorming session and a project management tool (like Slack or Trello) had a baby, you'd get Innovation Management Software or Idea Management Software.

In simple words, Innovation Management Software is a tool that collects ideas from various sources (employees, stakeholders and customers), helps you filter and prioritize them for execution and manages their progress. The software provides you with capabilities for idea submission, idea evaluation, workflow and campaign management, rewards and recognition, analytics, visualization, brainstorming tools and even content creation and collaboration features.

Think of it as an online suggestion box for the modern-day business to ensure that innovative ideas don't get lost in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day operations. Moreover, unlike a physical suggestion box, the software boasts collaboration features and enhanced security.
Talking of physical suggestion boxes, did you know that they were first used in 1890 – what about our digital suggestion box?

History And Evolution Of Innovation Management

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The concept of innovation management has evolved in four generations. Sometime after the Second World War, the idea of managing innovations started gaining popularity with companies setting up separate R&D (Research and Development) units for their business. While R&D centers were supposed to turn innovations into reality, there wasn't much to manage the work that was going on there. That's when the second generation of researchers focused on adapting project management methods used by other business functions in the 1960s.

For a long time, R&D units worked in isolation. It wasn't until the late 1970s that teams from other business verticals started contributing and collaborating with R&D. Thus, the third generation of innovation management began when more people were involved in the research process and it got rather tricky to have them all collaborate in one place. That's when people started sowing seeds of a software for innovation management. This solution would allow members from other business verticals to collaborate and communicate with the “ideators” AKA R&D team.

Around the 1990s came the fourth generation of innovation management, when data insights from customers and competitors were considered to drive innovation. At this time, Innovation Management Software as we know it today started making its way into the market for better innovation management and coordination.

That brings us to the next question – how do these software work?

How Does Innovation Management Software Work?

If the Brooklyn 99 team had an Innovation Management Software (would be Gina's idea, of course!), here's how that would work for them.

While eating his yogurt, Lieutenant Terry Jeffords comes up with a brilliant idea that would simplify the process of filing complaints at the precinct. He quickly types the idea and submits it to the IMS as a card. The software filters all the other ideas for Captain Holt (including Jake's idea to have a “Die Hard” movie marathon as a team-building activity!).

Captain Holt evaluates Terry's idea, adds his feedback through the software itself and discusses it with the team. At this point, Amy would quickly do a cost-benefit analysis, shape the idea into an excellent presentation (with notes!) and add it to the card. Boyle and Diaz would add their insights as well.

Once everyone is happy with the plan, a project map is shared with the IT guys to integrate the new idea within the existing filing system. All in a day's work!

In short, the Innovation Management Software allows everybody in your office to add ideas from anywhere. After collecting all ideas, the software evaluates them and processes them along for your team to execute the vision. Additionally, it also allows you to track the progress of the idea, notify people who need to act on it and record all communication and feedback on it. Essentially, it captures the ideas, manages them and ensures that they progress through the proper work pipeline.

It’s so easy even Hitchcock and Scully could handle it!

Features Of Innovation Management Software

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Surely you’re impressed by now. However, apart from the awesome features we mentioned above, here are some of the top features of IMS that can help you leverage innovative business ideas with ease:

Complete project management from budgeting, planning, forecasting and communication
Automated templates for strategizing and planning
Tracking and monitoring progress of projects over timelines
Content management and presentation with the option to customize as per your needs
Secured access, Single Sign-on (SSO) integration
Mobile-friendly technology for easier access
Team collaboration and feedback mechanism
Crowdsourcing features to collect ideas from customers, stakeholders from different digital platforms
Competitor intel tracking (for benchmarking or competitor comparison)

Yup, it’s like the entire Brooklyn 99 team rolled into one! Yet, with such features, how exactly does the software help businesses innovate? That’s what we have covered next...

How Businesses Benefit From Innovation Management Software?

Here are a few reasons why an IMS is crucial to your business:

Culture And Engagement

Not just employees, human beings, in general, feel more valued when their ideas are appreciated and rewarded. It makes them happy and happy employees are more motivated towards working for the growth of the company.
Streamlined Collaboration

With an automated and centralized dashboard, your team can work together on ideas, quickly evaluate opportunities and track project progress. This puts your idea into a workflow and streamlines the decision-making and actions to be taken, decreasing the time it takes to execute ideas. #NoMoFoMo
Better Customer Experience

Not just employees, even your customers can share their ideas and inputs through IMS. As a result, when you add or remove features in a product or improve your service based on customer feedback, it boosts customer satisfaction and enhances the customer experience.

What Lies Ahead For Innovation Management Software?

So far, organizations are busy focusing on value-driven incremental innovation. Customers are struggling with payments; let's add an easy payment option. Customers are engaging heavily with the stories feature on Instagram; let's add that on LinkedIn (Well, not all ideas work out!).

That will change soon – Innovation Management Software will use analytics and data-backed insights to highlight disruptive ideas to help businesses scale better. Not just that, we also expect the scope of this software to expand from innovation to the end-to-end execution as more businesses adapt cloud capabilities and rely on Machine Learning for automation. In addition to that, we will also witness the rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence)-enabled software in idea management. With Artificial Intelligence, the implementation journey would be evaluated to highlight any shortcomings and proactively suggest the ideators to address those issues. That sounds like a bright idea!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Innovation Management Software (IMS)?

Innovation Management Software, often abbreviated as IMS, is a comprehensive tool designed to streamline the process of generating, collecting, evaluating, and implementing innovative ideas within an organization. It acts as a centralized platform where ideas can be submitted from various sources such as employees, stakeholders, and customers. IMS helps in filtering and prioritizing these ideas, facilitating their progression through the execution pipeline. With features like idea submission, evaluation, workflow management, and collaboration tools, IMS ensures that innovative ideas are not lost amidst the daily operations of a business. Essentially, it serves as a digital suggestion box, enhancing collaboration and security compared to traditional physical suggestion boxes.

How does Innovation Management Software work?

Innovation Management Software operates as a virtual hub for idea management within an organization. It allows individuals to submit ideas easily from any location, providing a centralized repository for all suggestions. Once ideas are submitted, the software facilitates the evaluation process, enabling stakeholders to review and provide feedback on each idea. Ideas can then be refined, prioritized, and progressed through the execution pipeline with clear tracking and monitoring features. Additionally, IMS fosters collaboration among team members, ensuring that ideas are developed and implemented efficiently. By capturing, managing, and monitoring ideas, IMS facilitates a structured approach to innovation management, driving positive outcomes for businesses.

How do businesses benefit from Innovation Management Software?

Innovation Management Software offers several benefits to businesses, including fostering a culture of innovation and engagement among employees. By providing a platform for idea sharing and recognition, IMS promotes employee satisfaction and motivation. Furthermore, IMS facilitates streamlined collaboration, enabling teams to work together on ideas, evaluate opportunities, and track project progress effectively. This results in faster decision-making and execution, reducing the time taken to implement innovative initiatives. Additionally, IMS allows businesses to gather feedback from customers, leading to product and service improvements that enhance the overall customer experience. Overall, IMS plays a crucial role in driving innovation and organizational success by empowering employees, streamlining processes, and enhancing customer satisfaction.

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