Brightidea app for Slack


Brightidea can be connected to Slack in a couple ways:

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Brightidea app for Slack

Brightidea offers an official app for Slack that can be found in the Slack App Directory or directly installed by following along below. 

The app is designed to help you quickly save ideas directly from Slack conversations without leaving the context of your chat. 

With the app you will be able to:

  • Capture ideas directly from messages in Slack
    • Add idea details and attachments from Slack
    • Establish a link from submitted ideas back to original conversations
    • Admins and Idea Box managers can efficiently submit ideas on behalf of other users
  • Preview ideas when the corresponding URL is posted in a chat
  • Submit any idea on demand without leaving Slack
  • Add messages as comments to existing ideas
  • View and access your recent submissions

Installation

The app can be reviewed & installed from the App Directory.

After choosing to add the app you will:

  • Review and approve permissions
  • Log into your Brightidea system and account using the OAuth prompts

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The app will be installed and will send you a welcome message with further guidance. Type /brightidea help at any time for more assistance. 

 

Updating the App

Version 2 of the app includes features for adding comments to ideas and submitting ideas on behalf of other users. If you have previously installed v1, the app must be reinstalled in order to accept new permission scopes that enable this functionality. 

 

Logging into the App

You must have a Brightidea account to use the main idea submission functionality of the app. The installation flow will guide you to the Brightidea login prompts. There are also a few ways to log in as needed:

  • Continuing directly from the installation steps above, click the "Log In" button in the welcome message
  • From the "Home" tab of the Brightidea app, review the guidance and click the "Connect to Brightidea" button
  • From any message input field in Slack, type /brightidea login
  • From the "Messages" tab of the Brightidea app, type login to the chatbot 

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  • You will need to know the system domain where you log into Brightidea, which is usually in the form: company.brightidea.com
  • If your site has SSO enabled you will be prompted to log in using SSO after entering the domain
  • Otherwise you will use your Brightidea username and password to log in

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Note:

  • Log out at any time by sending a chat to the bot, "logout" (or /brightidea logout)
  • Log in at any time by sending a chat to the bot, "login" (or /brightidea login)
  • View help tips and instructions by sending a chat to the bot, "help" (or /brightidea help)
  • App installation may require administrator approval depending on workspace and organization policies

Using the App

Capture Ideas from Messages

The Brightidea app is most typically used to capture ideas from messages without leaving the conversation. Ideas are efficiently captured in Brightidea's idea management platform where they can later be managed, evaluated, developed, and implemented.

  • From any message, hover & click the vertical ellipsis button for the menu, then find the command: Send to Brightidea
    • You may need to click "More message shortcuts..." if it does not appear in the main menu

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On the submission form:

  • You will be prompted to select an activity to submit the idea to (required)
    • The list of available activities will be based on your administrative and general access in Brightidea
    • Previously used activities will be automatically selected on a per user per channel basis, and can be changed as needed
  • Choose from the selected activity's available categories (required)
    • Last-used category will be automatically selected
  • The title will automatically be populated with the first 100 characters of the message text (required)
    • Edit this text as desired with a short but descriptive title for the idea 
  • The description will be automatically pulled from the selected message, and can also be edited as needed from this screen (required)
  • If the message contains any attachments or images, those will be shown at the bottom of the form and can optionally be included as links on the submission
    • Attachments are included by default
    • The attachments will be linked, so will still be hosted in Slack and thus maintain permission enforcement and data security
    • Attachment links are appended to the idea description in Brightidea

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  • Click "Submit"
  • Once the idea is submitted, a confirmation message will be sent to the idea submitter that is only visible to that user:

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  • The idea submitter can choose whether to have the app post the confirmation to the channel for everyone to see:

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A note on private channels and DMs: ideas can be captured from private channels & DMs, but the app must be given explicit access in order to post feedback and confirmations.

  • View the members list in the upper right corner of a channel
  • Click to the "Integrations" tab
  • Add the Brightidea app

Alternatively, type /invite @Brightidea in the input area to open the prompt.

 

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Submit on Behalf

Admins have the additional ability to submit ideas on behalf of other users. This is convenient for activity & Idea Box managers who often see good ideas in Slack, but sometimes struggle to get users to submit them to Brightidea.

We are also introducing a new beta option to open this permission to either all users in an activity or a select user group. See below for more information.

  • If a user has permissions, they will see a "Submitter" field on the submission form
    • When using the message shortcut to submit, Brightidea will attempt to match Slack message authors to a Brightidea account. If a match is found, the user will be automatically populated as the submitter.
    • When submitting ideas on demand, the submitter will always default to the acting user 
    • Type in the field to search for users who have access to the selected activity 
    • Recent users will be shown in the dropdown menu

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  • When the idea is submitted, the selected user will be attributed as the submitter
  • Submit-on-behalf history will be captured for posterity in the History tab

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Ideas Submitted from Slack

In Brightidea, once the idea has been submitted:

  • Attachments will be listed by file name and linked to the source in the description of the submitted idea
  • The description will also contain a link back to the original Slack message
  • The idea can be edited and enhanced, and additional submission questions can be completed in the Brightidea platform

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Idea Previews in Slack (aka Unfurling)

With the app installed, pasting a link to an idea in a message will automatically insert a rich preview.

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Submit Any Idea on Demand

You can also submit any idea at any time, without starting from a message.

  • Type /brightidea submit in any message input to open a blank submission form

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  • On the app "Home" tab, click "Submit an Idea" in the My Submissions section to also open a blank submission form

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Add Comments to Existing Ideas

Did you just have a conversation relevant to an idea you're already tracking? Add the message as a comment in Brightidea, with an automatic backlink to the original message thread.

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  • From any message, hover & click the vertical ellipsis button for the menu, then find the command: Add to Idea
    • You may need to click "More message shortcuts..." if it does not appear in the main menu

On the comment form:

  • You will be prompted to select the idea to comment on
    • Search by title, keyword, or idea code
    • The available ideas will include ideas you have access to that are currently accepting comments (i.e. will respect idea & activity permissions as well as scheduler and activity settings)
    • The dropdown menu will show recently viewed ideas
  • The comment text will automatically be populated with the selected message
    • Edit this text before submitting with any additional context and information

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  • Click "Add Comment"
  • Once the comment is posted, a confirmation message will be sent to the submitter that is only visible to that user:

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  • The submitter can choose whether to have the app post the confirmation to the channel for everyone to see:

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  • The comment will automatically include a backlink to the Slack thread to close the loop 

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Accessing Recent Submissions

You can find your most recent submissions on the "Home" tab. Click "Refresh Submitted Ideas" to refresh this section for new submissions.

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Important Things to Know

  • Coordinating with your workspace admin(s) will make for a smooth app installation experience 
  • Type /brightidea help at any time to information about what the app can do:

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  • To completely revoke access to Brightidea from Slack: visit your Brightidea profile page, click Edit, scroll to the bottom, and remove Brightidea app for Slack from my external applications
    • This may be necessary when installing to a different workspace and/or updating your connection to a different Brightidea system

Submit on Behalf Beta

We have introduced a new beta option to open "submit on behalf" functionality to non-admin users.

  • Locate the "Submit Ideas on Behalf of Other Users" option for your Activity in Site Setup > Beta > Idea Options
    • Read and accept prompts to opt into the beta

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  • This option will enable a new "Submit on Behalf" group in Site Setup > Ideas > Ideas
    • By default, only admins can submit on behalf
    • "All users" will allow any user in this activity to submit ideas on behalf of others
    • "Group" allows the activity admin to specify a particular user group to grant submit-on- behalf permissions to

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  • In addition to opening this functionality in the Slack app submission form, approved users will also be able to submit on behalf of others from the standard web submission form:

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Support

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