Glossary

Certain terms are important to understand as you use PrOp IdeaBase .  

 
  • PrOp: A simple, powerful system to help you and or your organization become more innovative.   PrOp is based on proven principles for fostering an innovative organization, and the PrOp Innovative Thinking Process.  Both are integrated into the PrOp system components of training, PrOp IdeaBase, Idea Inspiration, and PrOp Member Community.
 
  • Problem: Something that is wrong or broken, a source of perplexity, distress or aggravation.
 
  • Opportunity: Something to be gained, a good chance for advancement or progress.
 
  • PrOp IdeaBase Basic Mode:  The problem/opportunity work area has links for Summary, Attachments, What If and Ideas.  Basic mode is use primarily when you want to quickly capture ideas for a problem/opportunity that is not very complicated.
 
  • PrOp IdeaBase Ideation Mode:  The idea generation/brainstorming mode is used when you want to deliberately stimulate out of the box thinking and get more information about the problem/opportunity.  The PrOp IdeaBase provides areas to input detailed information, create idea generation stimulus, enter ideas, evaluate them and refine ideas.
 

Definition: What the problem or opportunity is about.  All definition aspects are stimulus for idea generation.

 
  • Boundary: Limits or parameters placed on potential ideas.  For example “Must use our salesforce.”
 
  • Success Criteria: Standards or requirements that ideas must meet to be considered for development or implementation.  For example, “It must be safe for small children”
 
  • Focus Area: Aspects of the problem or opportunity or potential solutions that deserve high attention.  For example, when developing a new car wax the focus areas might be 1) Durability, 2) Sheen, 3) Smell, 4) Safety, and 5) Cost. 
 
  • Barrier: Something that obstructs or restrains efforts to solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity.
 
  • Need: A requirement or urgent desire by those involved in, or impacted by, the problem or opportunity. 
 
  • Assumptions: Something presumed or taken for granted. Believing something to be a fact or the way it must be.  Assumptions and traits are closely related and may overlap
  

Description: Details about different aspects of the problem or opportunity.

 
  • Who: The people involved, those who should be involved, those affected, those who should not be involved.
 
  • What: Describes what has happened, is happening, or should hen.
 
  • Where: The location of something, someone, or event.
 
  • Why: For what cause, reason or purpose?
 
  • When: The time frame something happens, happened or should happen.
 
  • How: The process of how something happens or works
 
  • Traits: Distinguishing characteristics and qualities.  Descriptive of the way something is.  Traits can be physical or emotional.
 
  • Attachment: Documents and Internet links that help explain and communicate different aspects of your problem, opportunity or idea.
 
  • Analogy: A similarity between two things on which a comparison may be made.  Analogies are great inspiration for ideas.  To find analogies, ask “Who or what else does this, or has overcome this?” or “What else is like this?”
 
  • Principle: A basic truth or proposition about how or why something works or hens. Principles are great inspiration for ideas.
 
  • What If? Question: A question that causes a person to imagine what could be possible.  It is a temporary break from reality and barriers.  What ifs may be the start of an idea, a thought provoker that leads to ideas, or something that leads you to find a similar situation (analogy).
 
  • Idea: Quick ideas are the very brief description of an idea so it can be remembered and perhaps built upon or combined with other initial ideas.  Record them quickly before they pass out of your mind. Refined ideas are initial ideas that have been more fully explored and explained.
 
  • Quick Idea: Ideas that are entered directly into the PrOp IdeaBase without first attaching it to a specific problem or opportunity.
 
  • Refined Idea: An idea of high interest for potential development, for which additional detail has been added.
 
  • Refined Idea Details
 
  • Benefits: Things that are advantageous, good or useful about the idea.
 
  • Concerns: Things that are worrisome or troubling about the idea.
 
  • Questions: Things that are puzzling or need to be further investigated about the idea.
 
  • Info Needed: Information and knowledge that is needed for the idea.
 
  • Technology: Science, methods, machines, processes, software, services necessary to develop the idea, or implement the idea. 
 
  • Impact: How the idea interacts with or affects current processes, methods, machines, software, services, or systems.
 
  • Other: An area to note anything that does not fit into the other categories of idea refinement.
 
  • Financials+: Up to 16 different areas to record specific information about the refined idea.  These areas are customizable by your organization’s PrOp administrator(s).
 
  • Next steps: A brief action plan for developing or implementing a refined idea.