The document summarizes an ideation meeting discussing tools to aid the ideation process. It includes an agenda covering what ideation is, why ideation tools are needed, benefits and disadvantages of tools, and a tool evaluation matrix. It then examines two use cases - one for a financial services firm needing collaboration among departments, and one for an IT manager with an international team. For the first case, Mindjet Catalyst was selected for its integration and access controls. For the second use case, the free and browser-based Bubbl tool was chosen for its synchronous and asynchronous collaboration abilities across locations.

1. Ideation and Brainstorming

2. Team Members Meeting Times : Tuesdays 7pm Kate Gory Researcher Lauren Johnson Project Manager Munib Rizvi Webmaster Olufadekemi Teriba Presentation Lead

4. Why Ideation tools are needed

5. Benefits of ideation tools

6. Disadvantages of ideation tools

7. Dimensions matrix

8. Tool evaluation

9. Software list

10. Use Case #1

11. Use Case #2

12. Wiki Page

14. Why Ideation is Needed Uncovers/discovers new high-potential products, markets, needs, and features. Provides a mechanism for the discussion and building of all known possibilities Businesses Students Individuals

16. Virtual Synchronous Collaboration

17. Asynchronous Collaboration

18. Efficiency in idea generation

19. Ideas are captured in a structured fashion

20. Condensing material into a concise and memorable format.

21. Encourages those involved to submit their ideas.

23. Lack of follow through

24. Repetition

25. Difficulty communicating meaning of output

26. Soliciting input from reluctant participants

29. Web based

30. Accessible anywhere

31. Compatible with all web browsers

32. Cost:

33. Cost per user/license

34. Ease of Use:

35. User friendly; easy to understand/use

36. Intuitive GUI

37. Storage Capacity:

38. Sufficient storage space

39. Functions:

40. Tool should accommodate a wide range of users and functions.

41. Brainstorm/generate ideas

42. Organize & plan projects

43. Share files

44. Manage tasks

45. Create and plan presentations.

46. User scope

48. Use Case #1 Background Kari Peters - Program Manager, Verity Inc. Verity Inc. is an international financial services firm maintaining average revenue over the past 3 years of 1 billion US dollars. Given their strong revenues and desire for control, Verity has decided to become its own clearing agent for all of its business. Kari wants a tool that will allow for collaboration among project targets in determining departmental requirements as well as allowing the project managers to collaborate with the program manager and identify interdependencies of the various projects. The tool will be used to allow the approximately 100 operational employees of each functional area to submit, view, associate/link and rank requirements for the project/program. Since some operational areas will be distributed geographically, the tool will also ideally integrate with other collaboration tools such as instant messenger, video conference calls and emails.

49. Use Case #1 Requirements & Affordances Must Haves: Ability to document the requirements and desired software abilities of each department. Ability to produce task lists and mind maps Ability to save and retrieve mind-maps and task lists Ability to organize and prioritize ideas Ability to restrict user access Ability to organize information by project and department Nice To Haves: Integration with MS Outlook Integration with other collaborative technologies such as Instant Messenger and Video Conferencing

50. Use Case #1 Tool Selection Mindjet Catalyst : https://catalyst.mindjet.com/?lang=en Paid collaboration tool Includes the MindJet MindManager mind mapping software. $200 per user per year but the firm will save on their current video conferencing cost. No contract term is required, so Verity can purchase the software for the duration of the project and then only retain the licenses for the PMO afterwards. Catalyst was the ideal tool for Verity because it included full integration with Microsoft Outlook and Office. It also has the ability organize and prioritize ideas, group maps into workspaces by department, restrict user access, and easily document the requirements of each department and then use the software to track the duration, priority, resource assignment and status of each task.

52. Nick manages a 30 person international project team that consists of software developers, project managers, and analysts from the US, Ireland, and India.

53. All team members have regular access to the internet as well as tools used to conduct international conference calls but Nick is finding it difficult to work collaboratively.

55. Must haves:

56. Team members must be able meet virtually synchronously and/or asynchronously

57. Low cost tool

58. Support no less than 75 users

59. Nice to haves:

60. Video conference and e-mail notifications

61. Document storage

63. Other tools considered included Buzan's iMind Map, Mapmyself (Mapul), and Mind Genius. Of the three Mind Genius offered the best options but it was among the most expensive and therefore was not selected but should be considered as an option in the future.

65. Q/A