Use this glossary to look up the preferred Brightidea term for a concept, along with the other names you may see for it in emails or conversations.
In this article
How to read this glossary
- Find the concept by topic, using the contents above.
- The Preferred term is the name we use in current articles.
- The Also called column lists other names you may see for the same thing.
Brightidea has used several names for the same thing over the years. For example, an Initiative may also be called a Challenge, Campaign, WebStorm, Site or Process. Two names matter most: the initiative is the front end that participants see, and the pipeline is the back end that admins use to move ideas along.
Platform basics
These are the containers everything else lives in, from the whole system down to a single program.
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | System, Affiliate | The main directory of a Brightidea platform. One customer system holds everything below. |
| Community | Pooling, Pools | A channel inside an Enterprise that splits a large system into smaller branches, often one per function or business unit. |
| Command Center | Admin home | The back-end overview of the whole system: pipelines, innovations, users and results. Opened from the gear icon in the global navigation. Built for System Administrators. |
| Initiative | Site, Challenge, Campaign, WebStorm, Process | One innovation program with its own front-end site and its own pipeline. A system can run many initiatives with different goals. |
| Idea Box | Departmental Idea Box, always-open program | An initiative with no end date, used for year-round suggestions. The Departmental Idea Box gives one team its own always-open program and routes ideas to sub-pipelines. |
| Idea Board | Submission Board, Idea Boards 3.0 | The browsable collection of an initiative's current submissions, shown as Gallery, List or Steps views. |
| Scheduler | Initiative Scheduler | Opens and closes an initiative, and its submission, voting and commenting phases, on set dates. |
| Hackathon | Hackathon app, event | A time-boxed online event where participants form teams, build projects and are scored by judges. Run by a Hackathon Event Manager. |
| Whiteboard | Canvas, brainstorm board | A shared digital canvas for sticky notes, shapes and images. Teams brainstorm here before an idea is ready for a submission form. |
| Project Room | Project workspace | A workspace created automatically when an idea enters a Stage or Gate step (and for hackathon teams). Needs the Project Room widget enabled in View Idea 3.0 to display. |
| Scout | Scout app | The AI-assisted app for finding and researching outside companies. |
| User Home | My Dashboard, personal dashboard | A personal hub for each user showing their submissions, activity, projects and metrics. |
| Setup | Enterprise Setup, Site Setup, Pipeline Setup, System Setup | The configuration screens. Available settings depend on the level you open them from. |
Ideas and the pipeline
An idea is submitted on the front end, then moves through Stages and Steps on the back end until it is advanced, archived or turned into a project.
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Submission | Idea, Project | A concept a user creates in response to an initiative's mission or goal. "Idea" is the everyday word; "Submission" is the system word. |
| Submission Form | Idea form, entry form | The questions a user answers when submitting. Built in the Submission Form Builder, and questions can be made dependent on earlier answers. |
| Status | Idea status | A label admins use to filter and track where ideas are in the current cycle, such as Evaluating. |
| Category | Idea category | A grouping chosen at submission. Used to organize ideas, prioritize them and route them to the right experts. |
| Tag | Admin tag | A label for sorting and reporting that admins can add to ideas. |
| Pipeline | Workflow, List View, Steps View | The back-end view of an initiative, used to manage ideas and automate their workflow from submission through evaluation to implementation. Breaks down into Stages, Steps, Tool Types and Action Items. |
| Stage | Phase (informal) | A development phase that groups Steps. Each Stage has a name, an Innovation State and an optional color. |
| Innovation State | Idea, Opportunity, Project | A label on each Stage (Idea, Opportunity or Project) used mainly for reporting. |
| Step | Pipeline step | A subset of a Stage showing where a submission sits in the workflow. Each Step uses one Tool Type. |
| Manage Step | Step management | The admin view of the submissions currently in a Step, with its history. |
| Configure Step | Step settings | The admin screen to enable Step settings and assign Evaluators or Groups. |
| Pipeline List View | Grid, List View | The grid where a Pipeline Manager manages every idea in the pipeline. |
| Steps View | Step view | A view of ideas laid out by Step, available on the Idea Board and in the pipeline. |
| Action Item | Task, evaluation task | A task assigned to a specific user, usually to complete an evaluation. The user is notified and responds from their account. |
| Rules Engine | Automation, rules | Per-pipeline automation. Each rule reads: when (Event Trigger), if (Condition Check), then (Perform Action). Only pipeline admins can create or change rules. |
| Advance | Move forward, promote to next step | Move an idea to the next Step or Stage. Different from a user Promoting (voting) an idea. |
| Stage Gate | Stage and Gate Approvals | A structured process of Stages separated by decision gates. At each Gate an idea is advanced, modified or terminated. |
| Gate | Gate Approval | The leadership review step where a Gate Lead and approvers score a project on a Scorecard before it moves on or receives funding. |
| Archive | No Tool Selected step, hold | Park an idea that needs no further action. The No Tool Selected Tool Type holds or archives ideas. |
| Business Impact | Benefits tracking | The tab on an idea where projected and actual financial and non-financial benefits are recorded. Rolls up to dashboards. |
| View Idea 3.0 | View Idea page, idea pop-up | The page and pop-up where people read, discuss and act on one idea. Built from templates and widgets. |
These terms are easy to mix up:
- Initiative and pipeline: the initiative is what participants see; the pipeline is what admins use to move ideas.
- Stage and Step: a Stage groups Steps; a Step uses one Tool Type.
- Stage and phase: a Stage is part of the pipeline workflow; a phase is a date-based window set in the Scheduler for submission, voting or commenting.
- Promote and advance: users promote (vote on) ideas; admins advance ideas to the next Step.
- Project can mean a submission, the Project innovation state, or a Project Room, depending on the context.
- Notification and communication: a notification is an in-app alert; a communication is an email.
Evaluation and scoring
Every Step uses one Tool Type. The Tool Type decides how evaluators score or decide on ideas.
| Tool Type | What the evaluator does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Review | Checks that a new idea meets the qualification criteria. Can change status or category, toggle visibility, add comments and tags, and fill in additional info. | First-pass screening |
| Single Scale | Gives each idea a numeric rating, such as 1 to 7, with optional comments. | Quick, early expert feedback |
| Scorecard | Answers questions from a customizable template to score the idea. | Detailed, criteria-based scoring |
| Stack Rank | Puts assigned ideas in order from best to worst. | Forcing a priority order |
| Pairwise | Sees two ideas at a time and picks the better one, or neither. An algorithm ranks ideas by points. | Large idea sets, reducing bias |
| Judging | Judges select the best submissions in real time as ideas are presented. | Live pitch events and hackathon finals |
| Development | Gathers more detail on chosen ideas with custom questions. The action item goes to the idea's submitter. | Building out ideas that move forward |
| Stage and Gate Approvals | Stage teams submit their work; gate approvers complete Scorecards. | Funded, multi-phase projects |
| No Tool Selected | No evaluation. Holds or archives ideas. | Parking or closing ideas |
These terms cover scoring, voting, and engagement:
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluator | Reviewer, assignee, subject matter expert (SME) | A user assigned an action item in a Step. Can be assigned individually or through a Group. |
| Scorecard template | Scorecard, scoring template | The reusable set of questions and weights an evaluator answers. The default can be used, or any existing template. |
| Voting | Promote, like | How end users show support for ideas on the Idea Board. Admins can switch to Chips Voting as an alternative scheme. |
| Chips Voting | Chip voting | A voting scheme where each user gets a limited number of chips to spend across ideas. |
| Comment | Discussion | A message on an idea. Comments are color coded for admins so engagement is easy to spot. |
| Reputation Points | Points, leaderboard score, I-Score | Points users earn through engagement. Shown on leaderboards such as Top Users by Reputation Points in the Command Center. |
| Engagement | Activity | Actions such as logging in, commenting, promoting or creating a submission. |
People, roles and access
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| User | Member, participant, innovator, end user | A registered account that engages with submissions and other users. |
| System Administrator | System Admin, Enterprise Admin | Manages the whole system, including every Group, benefit and cost types, and the Command Center. |
| Innovation Program Manager | IPM, program owner | The person who owns the innovation program across initiatives. Usually a System Administrator. |
| Pipeline Administrator | Pipeline Manager, initiative admin | Configures and manages one initiative's pipeline, Steps and Rules Engine. |
| Idea Box Manager | Ideabox Manager | Manages an always-open Idea Box, including routing ideas to sub-pipelines. |
| Hackathon Event Manager | Event manager, hackathon admin | Runs a hackathon event. |
| Moderator | Community moderator | A user with permission to moderate content in part of the system. |
| Judge | Hackathon judge | An evaluator assigned to a Judging step. |
| Gate Lead | Gate approver | The leader responsible for a Gate review. Other approvers join the Gate Lead. |
| Submitter | Idea owner, innovator | The user who created a submission. Receives Development action items. |
| Group | User group, panel | A named list of users, usually tied to one initiative. Used to restrict an initiative, assign pipeline action items or share a Whiteboard. |
| Permissions | Access level, role permissions | What a user is allowed to moderate, evaluate or configure. |
| Restricted initiative | Private initiative, Group restriction | An initiative limited to members of assigned Groups. |
| SSO | Single sign-on, SAML | Lets users sign in with the company identity provider instead of a Brightidea password. |
| Provisioning | Employee Data Sync, user import | Creating or updating user accounts, by import, sync or on first SSO sign-in. |
| Deactivate | Disable user | Turns an account off while keeping its history. Different from deleting a user. |
See the Role Descriptions article in the Help Center to learn what each role can do.
Configuration and communication
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Widget | Enterprise Widget, Site Widget | A unit of content on a page, such as User Activity, Sponsors or Top Contributors. Admins add, remove and drag widgets to change a layout. Available widgets vary by level. |
| Template | View Idea template (Small, Medium, Large) | A preset layout. Medium and Large View Idea templates show a cover image. |
| Custom field | Additional info, extra question | A question added to a submission form or idea page beyond the defaults. |
| Communications | Email Templates, Email Messages | Emails sent to users when a condition or engagement is triggered. Can be scheduled with the Scheduler. |
| Notification | System notification, alert | An alert in the navigation bar for Action Items, Messages and System Notifications. Not the same as an email. |
| Subscription | Follow, subscribe to idea | A user's choice to be alerted about activity on an idea or initiative. |
| Navigation bar | Global nav | The top bar with the gear menu, notifications and links to main areas. |
| Branding | Site branding, theme | Logos, colors and images applied to a system or initiative. |
| Import | Submission Import | Bulk loading of ideas from a file. |
| HTTP Request | Outgoing webhook | A Rules Engine action that sends data to another tool when something changes. |
| Memo | Memo document | A writing tool inside Brightidea for drafting and expanding documents, with AI help. |
| AI features | Generate, Scout, recommendations | AI built into submissions, Memo, Whiteboard, Images, Scout, Project Room research and User Home recommendations. Admins can turn AI on or off. |
Reporting and analytics
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics Dashboard | Engagement Dashboard, Innovations Dashboard, Site Dashboard | Tracks statistics on innovations, engagement and site activity. Each dashboard shows different data. |
| Key Program Results | Headline numbers | The Command Center block of headline figures for a timeframe you choose, such as unique participants and actual benefits. |
| Program Tracking | Trend graphs | Graphs of key program metrics over time in the Command Center. |
| Innovations per Status | Status breakdown | A Command Center view of how many ideas sit in each status. |
| Action Item Alerts | Overdue work | Shows which pipelines and which people have overdue action items. |
| Projected Net Benefit | Expected benefit | Total projected value recorded in Business Impact. |
| Actual Benefits | Realized benefit | Value actually achieved, recorded in Business Impact. |
| Export | Report download | A file of ideas, groups, group members or Business Impact pulled from the system. |
| Activity Feed | Updates feed | A live stream of recent actions in the system or on User Home. |
| API | REST API | Programmatic access to Brightidea data and actions for custom integrations. |
Use this glossary to look up the preferred Brightidea term for a concept, along with the other names you may see for it in older articles, emails or conversations.
In this article
How to read this glossary
- Find the concept by topic, using the contents above.
- The Preferred term is the name we use in current articles.
- The Also called column lists other names you may see for the same thing.
Brightidea has used several names for the same thing over the years. For example, an Initiative may also be called a Challenge, Campaign, WebStorm, Site or Process. Two names matter most: the initiative is the front end that participants see, and the pipeline is the back end that admins use to move ideas along.
Platform basics
These are the containers everything else lives in, from the whole system down to a single program.
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | System, Affiliate | The main directory of a Brightidea platform. One customer system holds everything below. |
| Community | Pooling, Pools | A channel inside an Enterprise that splits a large system into smaller branches, often one per function or business unit. |
| Command Center | Admin home | The back-end overview of the whole system: pipelines, innovations, users, and results. Opened from the gear icon in the global navigation. Built for System Administrators. |
| Initiative | Site, Challenge, Campaign, WebStorm, Process | One innovation program with its own front-end site and its own pipeline. A system can run many initiatives with different goals. |
| Idea Box | Departmental Idea Box, always-open program | An initiative with no end date, used for year-round suggestions. The Departmental Idea Box gives one team its own always-open program and routes ideas to sub-pipelines. |
| Idea Board | Submission Board, Idea Boards 3.0 | The browsable collection of an initiative's current submissions, shown as Gallery, List or Steps views. |
| Scheduler | Initiative Scheduler | Opens and closes an initiative and its submission, voting, and commenting phases on set dates. |
| Hackathon | Hackathon app, event | A time-boxed online event where participants form teams, build projects, and are scored by judges. Run by a Hackathon Event Manager. |
| Whiteboard | Canvas, brainstorm board | A shared digital canvas for sticky notes, shapes, and images. Teams brainstorm here before an idea is ready for a submission form. |
| Project Room | Project workspace | A workspace created automatically when an idea enters a Stage or Gate step (and for hackathon teams). Needs the Project Room widget enabled in View Idea 3.0 to display. |
| Scout | Scout app | The AI-assisted app for finding and researching outside companies. |
| User Home | My Dashboard, personal dashboard | A personal hub for each user showing their submissions, activity, projects, and metrics. |
| Setup | Enterprise Setup, Site Setup, Pipeline Setup, System Setup | The configuration screens. Available settings depend on the level you open them from. |
Ideas and the pipeline
An idea is submitted on the front end, then moves through Stages and Steps on the back end until it is advanced, archived or turned into a project.
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Submission | Idea, Project | A concept a user creates in response to an initiative's mission or goal. "Idea" is the everyday word; "Submission" is the system word. |
| Submission Form | Idea form, entry form | The questions a user answers when submitting. Built in the Submission Form Builder, and questions can be made dependent on earlier answers. |
| Status | Idea status | A label admins use to filter and track where ideas are in the current cycle, such as Evaluating. |
| Category | Idea category | A grouping chosen at submission. Used to organize ideas, prioritize them, and route them to the right experts. |
| Tag | Admin tag | A label for sorting and reporting that admins can add to ideas. |
| Pipeline | Workflow, List View, Steps View | The back-end view of an initiative, used to manage ideas and automate their workflow from submission through evaluation to implementation. Breaks down into Stages, Steps, Tool Types, and Action Items. |
| Stage | Phase (informal) | A development phase that groups Steps. Each Stage has a name, an Innovation State and an optional color. |
| Innovation State | Idea, Opportunity, Project | A label on each Stage (Idea, Opportunity or Project) used mainly for reporting. |
| Step | Pipeline step | A subset of a Stage showing where a submission sits in the workflow. Each Step uses one Tool Type. |
| Manage Step | Step management | The admin view of the submissions currently in a Step, with its history. |
| Configure Step | Step settings | The admin screen to enable Step settings and assign Evaluators or Groups. |
| Pipeline List View | Grid, List View | The grid where a Pipeline Manager manages every idea in the pipeline. |
| Steps View | Step view | A view of ideas laid out by Step, available on the Idea Board and in the pipeline. |
| Action Item | Task, evaluation task | A task assigned to a specific user, usually to complete an evaluation. The user is notified and responds from their account. |
| Rules Engine | Automation, rules | Per-pipeline automation. Each rule reads: when (Event Trigger), if (Condition Check), then (Perform Action). Only pipeline admins can create or change rules. |
| Advance | Move forward, promote to next step | Move an idea to the next Step or Stage. Different from a user Promoting (voting) an idea. |
| Stage Gate | Stage and Gate Approvals | A structured process of Stages separated by decision gates. At each Gate an idea is advanced, modified, or terminated. |
| Gate | Gate Approval | The leadership review step where a Gate Lead and approvers score a project on a Scorecard before it moves on or receives funding. |
| Archive | No Tool Selected step, hold | Park an idea that needs no further action. The No Tool Selected Tool Type holds or archives ideas. |
| Business Impact | Benefits tracking | The tab on an idea where projected and actual financial and non-financial benefits are recorded. Rolls up to dashboards. |
| View Idea 3.0 | View Idea page, idea pop-up | The page and pop-up where people read, discuss, and act on one idea. Built from templates and widgets. |
These terms are easy to mix up, so check which one a customer means:
- Initiative and pipeline: the initiative is what participants see; the pipeline is what admins use to move ideas.
- Stage and Step: a Stage groups Steps; a Step uses one Tool Type.
- Stage and phase: ask whether the customer means a pipeline Stage or a Scheduler phase (a date-based window for submission, voting, or commenting).
- Promote and advance: users promote (vote on) ideas; admins advance ideas to the next Step.
- Project can mean a submission, the Project innovation state, or a Project Room, so check the context.
- Notification and communication: a notification is an in-app alert; a communication is an email.
Evaluation and scoring
Every Step uses one Tool Type. The Tool Type decides how evaluators score or decide on ideas.
| Tool Type | What the evaluator does | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Review | Checks that a new idea meets the qualification criteria. Can change status or category, toggle visibility, add comments and tags, and fill in additional info. | First-pass screening |
| Single Scale | Gives each idea a numeric rating, such as 1 to 7, with optional comments. | Quick, early expert feedback |
| Scorecard | Answers questions from a customizable template to score the idea. | Detailed, criteria-based scoring |
| Stack Rank | Puts assigned ideas in order from best to worst. | Forcing a priority order |
| Pairwise | Sees two ideas at a time and picks the better one, or neither. An algorithm ranks ideas by points. | Large idea sets, reducing bias |
| Judging | Judges select the best submissions in real time as ideas are presented. | Live pitch events and hackathon finals |
| Development | Gathers more detail on chosen ideas with custom questions. The action item goes to the idea's submitter. | Building out ideas that move forward |
| Stage and Gate Approvals | Stage teams submit their work; gate approvers complete Scorecards. | Funded, multi-phase projects |
| No Tool Selected | No evaluation. Holds or archives ideas. | Parking or closing ideas |
These terms cover scoring, voting and engagement:
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluator | Reviewer, assignee, subject matter expert (SME) | A user assigned an action item in a Step. Can be assigned individually or through a Group. |
| Scorecard template | Scorecard, scoring template | The reusable set of questions and weights that an evaluator answers. The default can be used, or any existing template. |
| Voting | Promote, like | How end users show support for ideas on the Idea Board. Admins can switch to Chips Voting as an alternative scheme. |
| Chips Voting | Chip voting | A voting scheme where each user gets a limited number of chips to spend across ideas. |
| Comment | Discussion | A message on an idea. Comments are color-coded for admins, so engagement is easy to spot. |
| Reputation Points | Points, leaderboard score, I-Score | Points users earn through engagement. Shown on leaderboards such as Top Users by Reputation Points in the Command Center. |
| Engagement | Activity | Actions such as logging in, commenting, promoting or creating a submission. |
People, roles, and access
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| User | Member, participant, innovator, end user | A registered account that engages with submissions and other users. |
| System Administrator | System Admin, Enterprise Admin | Manages the whole system, including every Group, benefit, and cost type, and the Command Center. |
| Innovation Program Manager | IPM, program owner | The person who owns the innovation program across initiatives. Usually a System Administrator. |
| Pipeline Administrator | Pipeline Manager, initiative admin | Configures and manages one initiative's pipeline, Steps and Rules Engine. |
| Idea Box Manager | Ideabox Manager | Manages an always-open Idea Box, including routing ideas to sub-pipelines. |
| Hackathon Event Manager | Event manager, hackathon admin | Runs a hackathon event. |
| Moderator | Community moderator | A user with permission to moderate content in part of the system. |
| Evaluator | Reviewer, assignee, SME | A user who completes action items in a pipeline Step. |
| Judge | Hackathon judge | An evaluator assigned to a Judging step. |
| Gate Lead | Gate approver | The leader responsible for a Gate review. Other approvers join the Gate Lead. |
| Submitter | Idea owner, innovator | The user who created a submission. Receives Development action items. |
| Group | User group, panel | A named list of users, usually tied to one initiative. Used to restrict an initiative, assign pipeline action items, or share a Whiteboard. |
| Permissions | Access level, role permissions | What a user is allowed to moderate, evaluate, or configure. |
| Restricted initiative | Private initiative, Group restriction | An initiative limited to members of assigned Groups. |
| Reputation Points | Points | Engagement score per user. Can be reset for a Group. |
| SSO | Single sign-on, SAML | Lets users sign in with the company identity provider instead of a Brightidea password. |
| Provisioning | Employee Data Sync, user import | Creating or updating user accounts by import, sync, or on first SSO sign-in. |
| Deactivate | Disable user | Turns an account off while keeping its history. Different from deleting a user. |
See the Role Descriptions article in the Help Center for what each role can do before you promise a customer access to a feature: Role Descriptions.
Configuration and communication
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Widget | Enterprise Widget, Site Widget | A unit of content on a page, such as User Activity, Sponsors, or Top Contributors. Admins add, remove, and drag widgets to change a layout. Available widgets vary by level. |
| Template | View Idea template (Small, Medium, Large) | A preset layout. Medium and Large View Idea templates show a cover image. |
| Custom field | Additional info, extra question | A question added to a submission form or idea page beyond the defaults. |
| Communications | Email Templates, Email Messages | Emails sent to users when a condition or engagement is triggered. Can be scheduled with the Scheduler. |
| Notification | System notification, alert | An alert in the navigation bar for Action Items, Messages, and System Notifications. Not the same as an email. |
| Subscription | Follow, subscribe to idea | A user's choice to be alerted about activity on an idea or initiative. |
| Navigation bar | Global nav | The top bar with the gear menu, notifications, and links to main areas. |
| Branding | Site branding, theme | Logos, colors, and images applied to a system or initiative. |
| Import | Submission Import | Bulk loading of ideas from a file. |
| HTTP Request | Outgoing webhook | A Rules Engine action that sends data to another tool when something changes. |
| Memo | Memo document | A writing tool inside Brightidea for drafting and expanding documents, with AI help. |
| AI features | Generate, Scout, recommendations | AI built into submissions, Memo, Whiteboard, Images, Scout, Project Room research, and User Home recommendations. Admins can turn AI on or off. |
Reporting and analytics
| Preferred term | Also called | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics Dashboard | Engagement Dashboard, Innovations Dashboard, Site Dashboard | Tracks statistics on innovations, engagement, and site activity. Each dashboard shows different data. |
| Key Program Results | Headline numbers | The Command Center block of headline figures for a timeframe you choose, such as unique participants and actual benefits. |
| Program Tracking | Trend graphs | Graphs of key program metrics over time in the Command Center. |
| Innovations per Status | Status breakdown | A Command Center view of how many ideas sit in each status. |
| Action Item Alerts | Overdue work | Shows which pipelines and which people have overdue action items. |
| Projected Net Benefit | Expected benefit | Total projected value recorded in Business Impact. |
| Actual Benefits | Realized benefit | Value actually achieved, recorded in Business Impact. |
| Export | Report download | A file of ideas, groups, group members, or Business Impact pulled from the system. |
| Activity Feed | Updates feed | A live stream of recent actions in the system or on User Home. |
| API | REST API | Programmatic access to Brightidea data and actions for custom integrations. |
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