The goal of inventive work is ideas, and usually, the more good options you capture, the better the final outcome. Ideas Manager is the central place in a project where every recorded idea lives, so you can review them, comment and rate them, rank them when you have enough, and mark a winner before you propose a solution.
In the sidebar, the stage is labeled Ideas. The page heading is Collection of your generated ideas. The one-liner under it is: This list contains all the ideas you have generated during your inventive work on the project. Unlike Overview, Problem statement, or Creative tools, Ideas has no right-hand guidance panel — just the title, actions, and the list.
For the full project map, see Project Structure. For capturing insights before you record ideas, see Creative tools.
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This document assumes you have already registered, logged in, and created a project. If you need help with those steps, see Sign Up & Login Instructions and Creating Projects.
What is an idea in PRIZ?
An idea is any potential solution (or part of a solution) to the problem you are working on. It can be bold, incomplete, or unconventional; that is fine. Record it early so the team can refine it later.
In PRIZ, an idea is rich text (including formatting and images). There is no separate title field. When you edit an idea later, you can also add Details, value & risks, and set a status.
What you see on this page
Open Ideas from the left menu, or click Next from Creative tools. Breadcrumb: Home → Projects & Tools → Project → Ideas. Learn more » points to this article.
The Ideas page footer shows Task, Meet, Back, and Next. There is no footer Idea button here (you add ideas with Record an idea / Add idea instead). Back returns to Creative tools. Next opens Propose solution.
Empty Ideas
A new project starts with no ideas. You see:
- You still do not have any recorded ideas.
- Click “+ RECORD AN IDEA” to record one. (helper copy is in all caps; the button label is Record an idea)
Ways to record an idea
You can record an idea from almost anywhere in the project:
- Ideas page — Record an idea (empty) or Add idea (when the list already has items)
- Header + menu — Record new idea
- Footer Idea on Overview, Problem statement, Creative tools, Propose solution, and inside tools (tooltip: Record an Idea)
When you record from a creative tool, the idea can keep a link back to that tool. On the Ideas list, that shows as a clickable source on the card.
Tools do not automatically push their internal brainstorm items into Ideas. You choose what becomes a project idea.
The idea dialog (create)
The create dialog title is Record new idea. The editor placeholder is Start describing your idea… Use the rich-text toolbar as needed.
Buttons: Cancel and Save. There is no autosave for ideas — you must click Save. If the field is empty, you get Idea cannot be empty.
On create, you only enter the idea content. Status and Details, value & risks appear when you edit.
Your ideas list (one or more ideas)
After the first idea is saved, the empty state is replaced by the list. The header action becomes Add idea. With only one or two ideas, that is the only list action — ranking is not available yet.
Each card shows:
- The idea content
- Author avatar and name, and the date (MMM d yyyy)
- Status chip (or Select status if unset)
- Star (winning marker)
- Comments (with count when comments exist)
- View, Edit, and Delete
- Optional source-tool link, if the idea was recorded from a tool
- Optional Ranking Score chip after Round-Robin Ranking has scored the idea
The list is sorted by latest ranking score (highest first) when scores exist.
Status
Click the status chip to choose: Pending, Approved, Rejected, or Implemented.
Edit an idea
Click Edit (pencil). The dialog title is Edit an idea. You can update:
- The idea content
- Details, value & risks (second rich-text field)
- Status
View an idea
Click the eye icon (View). The dialog title is Idea. You see the content, details (if any), and a side panel with Status, optional Rating (from comments), Author, and Date created. Close with Close.
Delete an idea
Click the trash icon. Confirm with Confirm idea deletion — Are you sure you want to delete this idea? This operation cannot be undone! Then Cancel or Delete.
When you have three or more ideas
As soon as the project has three or more ideas (ideas.length > 2), a second header button appears: Rank all ideas.
Note: older documentation said “more than 3.” In the current product, ranking unlocks at 3 ideas, not 4.
That is the main Ideas-page unlock at this threshold. Winning star, status, comments, view/edit/delete, and source links are available even with fewer ideas.
Rank all ideas (Round-Robin Ranking)
Click Rank all ideas to start a Round-Robin Ranking session for the ideas on this list. You choose a ranking method, then compare ideas in that tool until you finish.
How Full and Smart ranking work — pairwise comparisons, Save & Next, and the ranking summary — is covered in the Round-Robin Ranking articles: Round-Robin Ranking, Full Ranking, and Smart Ranking.
When you return to Ideas Manager (Back to ideas manager), each ranked idea shows a numeric Ranking Score chip next to the winning star (tooltip: Ranking Score). The list re-sorts with higher scores first.
Mark a winning idea
Each card has a star. Tooltips:
- Mark this idea as winning
- Mark this idea as not winning (when already winning)
- Winning (when the project is read-only)
You can mark a winner with or without ranking first. Marking at least one idea as winning completes the Ideas sidebar indicator (Winning idea selected). With ideas but no winner, the tooltip is Awaiting a winning idea. With no ideas: Awaiting ideas.
Comments and Gain / Cost / Risk rating
Comments let the team evaluate each idea with three scored dimensions — Gain, Cost, and Risk — plus written explanations. Valid comments roll up into a percentage Rating on the idea card and in the View dialog. This is separate from Round-Robin Ranking scores next to the star.
Open Comments
On a card, click Comments. If nobody has commented yet, the dialog title is Comments with the info message There are no comments yet. Use Add comment or Close.
Record a comment (Gain, Cost, Risk)
The form title is New comment (or Edit comment when you change your existing one). The left side has three blocks — Gain, Cost, and Risk. Each has:
- A slider from 0 to 10 (marks on each step)
- A value chip once a number is set (you can clear it with the chip delete control)
- A text field for the explanation
- An AI hint control next to the dimension label
The right side has tabs Idea (read-only idea text) and Assistant (AI output). Footer: Submit (create) or Update comment (edit), plus Back and Close. On edit you also get Remove comment.
Until all three numbers and all three explanations are filled, you see the warning: To ensure rating calculation, set Gain, Cost, Risk, and add comments. Incomplete comments can still be saved, but they do not count toward the rating.
Use AI hint
Click AI hint beside Gain, Cost, or Risk. The dialog switches to the Assistant tab and loads factors for that dimension (heading like Factors that may affect gain). Each factor has a short title and description.
AI does not auto-fill the slider or the text field. Use the factors as prompts, then set the number and write your own explanation. Empty assistant state says Click “AI hint” for assistant.
AI hint needs project context filled (background, Problem statement fields, and background completeness at least about 30%). If something is missing, the control stays disabled and the tooltip explains what is required.
Valid for rating calculation
When all three values and all three explanations are present, the warning becomes the green banner Valid for rating calculation. Then click Submit.
Each person may leave one comment per idea. After you submit, the list footer shows Edit my comment instead of Add comment.
Comments list and Summary
After at least one valid comment, the Comments dialog shows a Summary (for example Summary of 1 comment) with:
- Overall Rating as a percentage
- Average bars for Gain, Cost, and Risk
Below the summary, each comment shows the author and the Gain / Cost / Risk values with explanations. Incomplete comments show a warning that they are not completed and are excluded from the rating.
Rating formula (valid comments only): round( total Gain ÷ (total Gain + total Cost + total Risk) × 100 ). Example: Gain 8, Cost 3, Risk 4 → 53%.
Remove comment asks Confirm delete / Are you sure you want to delete your comment? then Confirm or Cancel.
How the Ideas list looks with comments
Once comments exist, each card updates:
- Comments (n) — count of comments on that idea
- A colored Rating chip (for example 53%) when at least one comment is valid for rating (tooltip: Rating)
Do not confuse the rating % with the Round-Robin Ranking Score number beside the star. Ranking compares ideas pairwise; the % comes from Gain / Cost / Risk comments.
Rating in View
Open View on an idea. The side panel shows Rating with the same percentage when valid comments exist, along with Status, Author, and Date created.
Footer: Task, Meet, Back, Next
- Task — create a task
- Meet — schedule a meeting
- Back — move toward Creative tools
- Next — open Propose solution
Remember: footer Idea is hidden on the Ideas page itself. Use Add idea / Record an idea, or record from other stages and tools.
Ideas and Creative tools
Creative tools help you generate insights. Ideas Manager stores what you choose to keep as project ideas. Record from a tool with footer Idea when something is worth keeping; the card can show the source tool so you can jump back.
How to pick and run tools: Creative tools.
Permissions, archived projects, and plan limits
You need to be on the project team, and the project must not be archived or locked by certification, to add, edit, delete, rank, comment, or change winning status. View may still open when the project is read-only.
Banners match other stages (Archived, Readonly, Finalized, Review, Certified).
Some plans limit how many ideas a project can hold (Max ideas). If you hit the limit, recording opens the upgrade path. Free plans that allow only a small number of ideas may reach that limit right as ranking becomes available at three ideas.
Tips
- Record ideas as soon as they appear — do not wait until the end of a tool session.
- Use status and comments so the team can evaluate without rewriting the idea text.
- At three ideas, use Rank all ideas when you need a structured comparison; use the star when you already know the winner.
- Completing the Ideas stage means marking a winning idea — ranking is optional but helpful.
- Keep idea text focused; put trade-offs in Details, value & risks.
That’s it. I hope it’s clear and easy.
P.S. Please, let us know if you require any assistance.