Idea workflow

This section describes the metaphases and subordinate phases in the life cycle of an idea.

Search for	Example	Results
A single word	`cat`	Topics that contain the word "cat". You will also find its grammatical variations, such as "cats".
A phrase. You can specify that the search results contain a specific phrase.	`"cat food"` (quotation marks)	Topics that contain the literal phrase "cat food" and all its grammatical variations. Without the quotation marks, the query is equivalent to specifying an OR operator, which finds topics with one of the individual words instead of the phrase.

Search for	Operator	Example
Two or more words in the same topic	`AND` `and` `+` (plus symbol) `&` (ampersand)	`cat AND dog` `"cat food"+milk` `"cat food"&"dog food"`
Either word in a topic	`OR` `or` `\|` (pipe)	`cat OR dog` `cat \| dog`
Topics that do not contain a specific word or phrase	`NOT` `not` `!` (exclamation point)	`NOT cat` `! dog`
Topics that contain one string and do not contain another	`^` (caret)	`cat ^ mouse`
A combination of search types	`( )` parentheses	`cat + (dog \| mouse)` `cat \| dog + (! mouse)`

The idea workflow relies on business rules. Rules repeat from one phase to another when the end user can make a change to a field affected by a business rule during that phase. For more information about the out-of-the-box business rules defined for the idea workflow, see Idea process - Business rules.

Metaphase: Refinement

The first metaphase in the idea's lifecycle, where the idea enters into the Draft or Refine phase.

Phase	Transition	Description
Draft	Manual	In Service Portal, if the idea creator clicks the Save as Draft button while creating an idea, the idea enters into the Draft phase. In this phase, the idea cannot be publicly viewed. When the idea is ready to publish, the user who is creating this idea can manually transition the idea to the Refine phase so that the idea can be engaged in social activities. The user who is creating this idea can manually transition the idea to the Abandon phase if the idea is not valid. Next phase: Refine or Abandon
Refine	Manual	When the idea is submitted, the idea enters into the Refine phase. The result of the phase is the successful publication of an idea. The idea creator can continue to work on the idea in this phase, while other users can also view and comment on this idea. The idea reviewer can manually transition the idea to the Review phase if the idea is worth reviewing. Next phase: Review

Phase

Transition

Description

Draft

Manual

In Service Portal, if the idea creator clicks the Save as Draft button while creating an idea, the idea enters into the Draft phase. In this phase, the idea cannot be publicly viewed.

When the idea is ready to publish, the user who is creating this idea can manually transition the idea to the Refine phase so that the idea can be engaged in social activities.
The user who is creating this idea can manually transition the idea to the Abandon phase if the idea is not valid.

Next phase: Refine or Abandon

Refine

Manual

When the idea is submitted, the idea enters into the Refine phase. The result of the phase is the successful publication of an idea.

The idea creator can continue to work on the idea in this phase, while other users can also view and comment on this idea.

The idea reviewer can manually transition the idea to the Review phase if the idea is worth reviewing.

Next phase: Review

Metaphase: Assessment

In this phase, the Idea reviewer can perform the following actions:

Review and categorize ideas
Prioritize ideas
Approve ideas
Decide the subsequent process: create a proposal or change record

The idea reviewer also needs to decide how to proceed with the ideas in one of the following ways:

Create a change record from the idea
Create a proposal record from the idea
Reject the idea
Transition the idea back to the Draft phase so that idea creator can provide more information

Phase	Transition	Description
Review	Automatic	If the review decision is Reject, Create a change, or Create a proposal, the idea is automatically transitioned to the Close phase. If the review decision is Need more information, the idea is automatically transitioned back to the Draft phase. Next phase: Close or return to Draft

Phase

Transition

Description

Review

Automatic

If the review decision is Reject, Create a change, or Create a proposal, the idea is automatically transitioned to the Close phase.
If the review decision is Need more information, the idea is automatically transitioned back to the Draft phase.

Next phase: Close or return to Draft

Metaphase: Done (End)

The final stage in the workflow. Ideas are completed.

Phase	Transition	Description
Close	None	The idea is completed. Possible results of this phase are: A proposal or change record is created from this idea. The idea is rejected without any implementation plan. Next phase: None
Abandon	None	The idea is abandoned by the user who created this idea and is inactive. Next phase: None

Phase

Transition

Description

Close

None

The idea is completed. Possible results of this phase are: