Every initiative has a pipeline behind it: the workflow that turns a pile of submissions into clear decisions. You build it from stages and steps, and each step uses a tool type that tells Brightidea what reviewers need to do.
A pipeline, with stages across the top and steps inside each one.
In this article
- How a pipeline fits together
- Designing a pipeline that works
- Create and organize stages
- Create a step
- Configure a step
- Choose a tool type
- Manage ideas from the Steps view
- Things to know
- FAQ
How a pipeline fits together
Each new initiative comes with a pipeline already set up for its app, so you rarely start from scratch. It helps to know how the pieces relate before you change anything.
| Piece | What it is | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | A major phase of your process that groups related steps. | Improvement Evaluation |
| Step | One task inside a stage. Ideas sit in exactly one step at a time. | Expert Review |
| Tool type | The kind of work the step asks for, such as reviewing, rating or ranking. | Scorecard |
| Action item | A task sent to one person for one idea when the idea enters the step. | "Score this idea by Friday" |
Pipeline admins build and change the pipeline. Evaluators, judges and submitters receive action items and complete them from their email or User Home. Ideas move from step to step when an admin moves them or when a rule moves them automatically.
Designing a pipeline that works
A good pipeline mirrors the real decisions your team makes. A few guidelines:
- Make each stage a decision point. For example, an Idea stage answers "Is this worth a look?", an Opportunity stage answers "Is the business case strong?", and a Project stage answers "Are we delivering it?"
- Start light, then go deeper. Use quick tools such as Review or Single Scale early, when there are many ideas. Save detailed tools such as Scorecard or Development for the smaller group that makes it through.
- Give ideas a place to rest. A step with No Tool Selected works as a holding area for ideas that are done, on hold or declined.
- Automate the hand-offs. Once a step works the way you want, add rules so ideas move on as soon as their action items are complete.
Here is an example of a workflow split into two stages, Improvement Submission and Improvement Evaluation.
A two-stage workflow.
Create and organize stages
Add a stage when your process has a new phase with its own decision. To create one, select the + in the lower-right corner of the Pipeline Steps view.
This opens the Create Step window. Select Create a new stage in the lower-right to switch to the Create Stage window.
Fill in three fields, then select Create.
- Stage Name: the label admins see for this group of steps.
- Innovation State: Idea, Opportunity or Project. This is used for reporting, such as the Program Tracking chart in the Command Center and the pipeline idea list export. Choose the state that matches where ideas are in their journey: Idea for early collection and screening, Opportunity for further development and business cases, and Project for implementation.
- Background Color: helps tell stages apart. A useful trick for long pipelines is a light shade at the start and a darker shade of the same color at the end. Colors also show on the Steps View for End Users when stages are shown.
After you create a stage, drag and drop steps into it to set up your workflow.
To reorder stages, drag the icon to the left of the stage name. To edit a stage, hover over its name and select the pencil icon. This opens the same window you used to create it.
Create a step
Steps hold your ideas and decide what happens to them next. Add a step whenever ideas need a new kind of attention, such as an expert review or a final ranking. To create one, select the + in the lower-right corner of the pipeline.
- Enter a Step Name.
- Select a Tool Type. See Choose a tool type for help picking one.
- Select the Stage the step belongs to.
- Select Create.
If you picked a tool type, the step's configuration opens right away so you can choose who receives action items and how.
Configure a step
Step configuration controls who gets action items, when they're due and what happens when ideas come and go. Basic settings cover the most common options, and Advanced settings add more detail. Some settings belong to one tool type, such as the scorecard template or Development fields, but most steps share these:
Assignment method: who gets action items
- Individual assignment: pick people or groups as evaluators for every idea in the step. Adding a group adds each member as an individual evaluator.
- Group assignment: treat each group as its own reviewer pool, so every idea gets coverage from each group. See Group Load Balancing in Evaluation Steps.
- Category assignment: give each category its own evaluators, who only receive ideas in that category. If you change an idea's category after action items are assigned, that step reassigns the action item to the new category's evaluators. Other steps aren't affected.
- Owner and User Selection assignment: send action items to the idea's owner or to the person named in a User Selection field. See Owner and User Selection Assignment for Step Configuration.
Choosing an assignment method.
Load balancing: spread the work
Load balancing means not every evaluator has to review every idea. You choose how many evaluators each idea needs, and Brightidea spreads the action items across your evaluator list, giving each new idea to the evaluators with the fewest action items in that step so far.
- Raising the number of evaluators per idea assigns extra action items to ideas already in the step.
- Lowering it only affects ideas that enter the step from then on.
- Adding an evaluator doesn't give them action items for ideas already in the step. They're included as new ideas arrive.
- Don't reassign action items between evaluators from the Manage Step screen when load balancing is on, because the two evaluators may share ideas. Use Update Assignees on a single idea instead. For Development steps, which don't support Update Assignees, use Manage Step > Action Item Progress > Edit Team.
Due dates, emails, and results
- Due Date: a dynamic due date is a set number of days after the action item is assigned. A static due date is a fixed date, due at midnight UTC, which may differ from your system's time zone.
-
Email Alert: choose whether assignees get an email, and whether it goes out immediately or in one daily summary. You can customize the email with rich text, images and links. Links need
http://orhttps://to work. - Results and Rules: choose what happens when ideas leave or return to the step, such as canceling open action items, and whether step results show in View Idea.
Once you save, every idea that enters the step gets action items based on these settings.
Choose a tool type
The tool type decides what reviewers actually do. Use this table to pick one, then read the section below it for details.
| Tool type | Best for | Reviewers |
|---|---|---|
| Review | Checking that new ideas qualify and cleaning them up | Read, update status or category, comment |
| Single Scale | A fast first rating from experts when there are many ideas | Rate each idea on one scale, such as 1 to 7 |
| Scorecard | A detailed, consistent evaluation of a shortlist | Answer a set of weighted questions |
| Stack Rank | Putting a shortlist in order of preference | Drag ideas from best to worst |
| Pairwise | Comparing many ideas without scoring each one | Pick the better of two ideas, again and again |
| Judging | Live events where judges score presentations | Score in real time as teams present |
| Development | Gathering more detail on ideas that are moving forward | Submitters answer extra questions |
| Stage and Gate | Formal go, change or stop decisions on projects | Gatekeepers approve at each gate |
| No Tool Selected | Holding ideas that need no action | None |
Review
Use a Review step right after submission to make sure ideas meet your challenge's criteria before anyone spends time evaluating them. Reviewers can read the idea, change its status or category, show or hide it, add comments and tags, and fill in Additional Info fields.
Single Scale
Use Single Scale to bring subject matter experts in early. Each evaluator gives each idea a quick number rating, such as 1 to 7, after looking at its attachments, votes, comments and other details. They can also comment to ask the submitter or other evaluators a question.
Scorecard
Use a Scorecard when you need every idea judged against the same criteria. You build a template of questions, evaluators answer it for each idea, and you track scoring progress in one place. Scorecards work best for a shortlist, since each one takes more time than a quick rating.
Stack Rank
Use Stack Rank when you need a clear order, not a score. Each evaluator drags their assigned ideas from best to worst.
Pairwise
Pairwise is an A/B comparison. Evaluators see two ideas at a time and pick the better one, or neither. Brightidea then ranks all the ideas with a point system. It's a good fit when you have many ideas and want a ranking without asking people to score each one.
Judging
Use Judging for pitch days, hackathon demos and other live events. Judges are assigned to the step and score each submission in real time as it's presented.
Development
Use a Development step once an idea is moving forward and you need more from the submitter. You create custom Development questions, and the submitter gets an action item to answer them.
Stage and Gate Approvals
Stage and Gate is a disciplined approach for projects that need formal sign-off. Work is split into stages separated by gates, and at each gate reviewers decide whether the project should go ahead, change or stop. It's built for Innovation Process, Incubate, Accelerate, Venture and Transform initiatives.
Learn more about Stage and Gate Approvals
No Tool Selected
A step with no tool sends no action items. Use it to hold ideas that are finished, on hold or declined, so your active steps only show ideas that need attention.
Manage ideas from the Steps view
The Steps view isn't just for setup. You can also work with ideas directly. Filter ideas by status and category:
Sort ideas by title, code, submission date or step result:
To act on ideas, select them (they turn blue), then right-click or open the Actions menu.
Things to know
- Scorecard templates lock once action items exist. You can't switch a step to a different template while it has assigned action items. See Scorecard Templates for Pipelines.
- Evaluators see more comment types. Anyone assigned an action item can post and view General Access, Private and Submitter Q&A comments.
- Rules point to specific steps. If you delete a step or stage that a rule uses, the rule is switched to Inactive.
The scorecard template setting is locked while action items are assigned.
FAQ
I added an evaluator, but they didn't get any action items. With load balancing enabled, a new evaluator isn't assigned to ideas already in the step. They'll receive action items as new ideas arrive.
Evaluators got duplicate action items after I edited the step. Saving a step's configuration while ideas are in it can issue action items again. To change who reviews a specific idea, use Update Assignees, or Manage Step > Action Item Progress > Edit Team, instead of editing the step configuration.
How do I change who an action item is assigned to? See Updating Action Item Assignment. You can also resend or re-trigger action items.
I'd love to see a print function for these topics or the option to print as a PDF.
This is a very useful one. Thanks Ron.