> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ins-pi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ins-pi.com/command/features/ideation-portal.md).
# Ideation Portal
Capture innovation ideas, rate them, and move them from draft through a decision in one shared board.
The Ideation Portal is where people capture ideas and where decision makers qualify and decide them. Every idea has an owner, a category, a short prioritisation and a status, so the pipeline from first thought to decision is visible to everyone. Ideas are ordinary records in your ServiceNow instance, so they can be used anywhere else in Command.
## What it is
A full-page view with a summary strip, a pipeline funnel and a board of idea cards grouped by status.
The Ideation Portal
| Part | What it shows |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Header | **Ideation Portal**, the subtitle **From idea to impact**, and the **+ New idea** button. |
| Summary cards | **Total ideas**, **Awaiting decision**, **Approval rate** and **Added last 30 days**. |
| **Pipeline funnel** | **How many ideas are at each stage**: one band per status, with its count and its share of all ideas. |
| Board | One column per status. Each card shows the category, a quick priority number, the title, the owner and the idea number. |
An idea moves through these statuses:
| Status | Meaning |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Draft** | Saved but not yet submitted. Only a starting point. |
| **Submitted** | Waiting for a decision. |
| **Approved** | Accepted for delivery. |
| **Deferred** | Not now. It can be submitted again later. |
| **Delivered** | Done and delivered. |
| **Rejected** | Decided against. |
{% hint style="info" %}
Your instance stores the last two statuses as **Closed Complete** and **Closed Skipped**. You see those names in the Data Hub and in reports.
{% endhint %}
## When to use it
* You have an idea for a new capability, a saving or an improvement and want it recorded with an owner.
* You run an innovation or demand process and need to see what is waiting for a decision.
* You want to compare ideas on the same few priority dimensions before deciding.
## How to
### Open the portal
1. Click **Ideation Portal** in the activity rail. It opens as its own tab.
{% hint style="info" %}
The views in the activity rail depend on your persona. If you do not see **Ideation Portal**, ask your administrator. See [Personas](/command/the-portal/personas.md).
{% endhint %}
### Capture an idea
1. Click **+ New idea**.
2. Click **Name this idea…** at the top and type a name, then fill in the **Short description**. Both are required. If one is missing, the form tells you which and moves you to it.
3. Choose a **Category** and, if you know it, an **Expected date**. A new idea starts with no category.
4. Check the **Owner**. It defaults to you, and you can pick someone else. Type a name, then use the arrow keys or click to choose. The list shows active people only, not service or system accounts.
5. Under **Prioritization**, turn each dial, or focus it and use the arrow keys. Every dial starts at **Not rated**. Each dial has a short line under it saying what it asks (see the table below). An idea you leave unrated shows **Not rated yet** on its card.
6. Add any **Risks and side effects** and drop supporting files under **Attachments** (images, PDF and Office documents up to 10 MB).
7. Click **Save draft** to keep working on it later, or **Submit idea** to send it for a decision.
The New idea form
| Dial | What it asks |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Strategic value** | How well it supports our goals. |
| **Potential impact** | How much difference it makes if it works. |
| **Effort** | How much work it takes. Less is better. |
| **Complexity** | How hard or risky it is to build. Less is better. |
| **Urgency** | How soon it needs to happen. |
| **Importance** | How much it matters to the people asking. |
| **Criticality** | How much the business depends on it. |
| **Cost band** | Rough total cost. Less is better. **Not rated** means no estimate yet. |
### Work on a draft
1. Open the draft from the **Draft** column.
2. Change what you need and click **Save changes**, or click **Submit idea** to send it for a decision.
3. To drop a draft you submitted, click **Withdraw**, add a reason if you like, and confirm. The draft moves to **Rejected** with the note "Withdrawn by submitter". Nothing is deleted. A withdrawn draft was never decided, so it does not count in the **Approval rate** and has no band in the **Pipeline funnel**.
### Decide an idea
1. Click **Awaiting decision** to highlight the **Submitted** column. Click it again to go back to every idea.
2. Open an idea card, with a click or with Tab and Enter.
3. Click **Approve**, **Defer** or **Reject**. **Reject** asks you to confirm and lets you add a reason, which is kept as a work note on the idea. The idea then moves to **Rejected**.
4. A deferred idea can be sent again with **Submit again**, or rejected.
5. When an approved idea is done, open it and click **Mark as delivered**. It moves to **Delivered**.
{% hint style="info" %}
You cannot approve, defer or reject an idea you submitted yourself. The buttons stay visible but are turned off, with the reason beside them, so someone else makes the decision.
{% endhint %}
### Find ideas
* Switch between **My ideas** (the default) and **All ideas**.
* Type in the search box (it matches the name, the description and the idea number), or pick a category from the category list. **Unclassified** shows the ideas with no category.
* Click **Added last 30 days** to show only recent ideas on the board and in the funnel. Drafts count as new ideas. Click it again to go back to every idea.
* **My ideas** shows the ideas you submitted, own or are assigned to.
## Good to know
* On the dials, colour runs from red to green. For **Effort**, **Complexity** and **Cost band** the scale is reversed, because more is worse.
* The number on a card is a quick priority out of 13: value and impact count double, urgency counts once, and effort and complexity are taken away. Point at it to see this. It is a quick ranking aid, not a formal assessment score. For a structured evaluation, use an [Idea Assessment](/command/getting-started/features.md) or the [Assessments](/command/features/assessments.md) view.
* Files you add while creating an idea are uploaded when you save or submit it.
* If the ideas cannot be loaded, the board says so and offers **Try again**. Press Escape to close an idea without saving.
* There is no voting or commenting on ideas today.
* Ideas are records, so you can also find them in the [Data Hub](/command/the-portal/data-hub.md) and place them on a roadmap or a map.
{% hint style="info" %}
Categories come from your instance, so your list may differ from the default one.
{% endhint %}
## Related
* [Assessments](/command/features/assessments.md)
* [Command Dialog](/command/features/command-dialog.md)
* [Content Types](/command/the-portal/content-types.md)
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