How we standardized our idea capturing process with Aha!

Nanxi Liu

CEO

We had a problem

Enplug thrives on ideas. Our team loves sharing new ways to improve. We also value customer feedback and try to keep an open dialogue with them at all times. So, what was the problem? Tracking all ideas and suggestions was impossible. We had no way to manage every new idea that came in or assess their relevance to our objectives. And without a tool that could help us track ideas, we also lacked a way to add relevant data or comments.

This painted an unclear picture of each idea; even if they sounded great on the surface, we could not see at a glance if they were worth pursuing.Eventually, we noticed that everyone — colleagues, customers, and stakeholders alike — seemed more hesitant to share ideas at all. Without clarity surrounding ideation, it became tough to distinguish when ideas “should” be shared (far into the future vs. right away). People started to hold back — and that was when I knew I needed to research solutions.

Aha! as a solution

The Aha! ideas portal is exactly what we needed. We can create as many ideas portals as we need and customize settings for each one. The ability to create separate ideas portals for colleagues and customers has been a huge help; it keeps idea submissions organized in a way that was impossible before.

Aha! gives our team an effective channel to contribute product feedback and ideas at their convenience.

Users within each portal can vote on new idea submissions and track them through email updates. They also get notified when ideas that they’ve submitted or engaged with have been completed or prioritized as features. The ideas portal is a tangible way for everyone to see what is being worked on and pursue discussions about why certain ideas get prioritized. We love the ability to comment on ideas. And uploading photos or documents to back ideas up is another huge help.

Life is good

Enplug uses Aha! on a daily basis. It saves us time, increases collaboration, and clarifies the big picture of what we are building. It also inspires new levels of action.

The difference one tool can make is amazing. When strong product teams are empowered to take their work to new levels, the possibilities are endless.

Before Aha! someone often said, “I have an idea.” Now, they take that sentence a step further: “I have an idea — here is the link to it in Aha! Please feel free to offer your feedback.”