In Innovation We Trust 
A recent poll conducted by Gallup in 2022 found that trust in institutions is at an all-time low, but that might not come as a surprise to most given recent headlines around bank failures, economic headwinds and political gridlock. However, there is one institution missing from the Gallup findings which time and time again has led us out of darkness when our backs were against the wall, and that my friends is the institution of innovation. While trust may indeed be eroding in conventional institutions, our best option is to put our shoulders into what we know will not let us down and trust in our ability to innovate.
Our Spring Release is focused on new features, enhancements and bug fixes to help our customers be more efficient than ever while also bolstering the ability to ideate, innovate and track and measure the ROI of your programs.
Custom Idea Code Prefix 
You can now customize your idea code at both the system level and the site/initiative level for better flexibility and organization when managing multiple pipelines. This unlocks new functionality to help users:
- Easily filter ideas at the system list view by custom idea codes.
- Search for ideas more efficiently with custom prefixes by initiatives.
- Quickly surface ideas in URL strings by typing in custom code prefix.
- Build reporting around initiatives and ideas that have the most potential, impact and ROI.
We are pleased to be bringing this customer request to the platform.
To learn more about how to customize your idea codes, check out our knowledge base article.
Idea Submission Form 
We are thrilled to be addressing some common customer requests to upgrade the idea submission form. These upgrades will allow innovation managers more access to data and deeper customization of the submission form.
- Idea submission form export options have been enhanced with secondary options for “Include Development fields,” and “Include hidden submission form questions.”
- Added a “Linked Submissions” field to the submission form, so that submitters can link related ideas, right at time of submission.
Learn more about how to customize your submission form and export your submission data via our knowledge base article.
Brightidea ↔ Jira Integration 3.1 
The Brightidea ↔ Jira Integration has been updated to make it easier than ever to create or link ideas directly from Brightidea to Jira, groom your backlogs and provide seamless transparency between each platform.
- Added Jira widget to View Idea 3.0 for transparency and configuration.
- Added custom Jira field when ideas are sent to Jira from Brightidea that contains a link back to the original idea within Brightidea.
- Upgraded to Jira Oauth 2.0 for a 2-click authentication to connect Brightidea Innovation Cloud to your Jira Cloud instance.
Pro-Tip: Reverse Backlog Integration
Hey Jira admins, is your backlog getting out of control? Did you know you can automate deep backlog collection from Jira > Brightidea? All you need to do is configure your Jira backlog to submit tickets or incidents to your Brightidea initiatives via status automation for better prioritization, evaluation and grooming of your deep backlog.
These enhancements to the Brightidea ↔ Jira integration make it easier than ever to monitor progress and report on impact and ROI from ideation > execution.
Learn more about the Brightidea ↔ Jira integration from our knowledge base article.
Whiteboard Updates 
We are excited to say that we have also addressed several customer requests for upgrades, enhancements and new features for Whiteboards.
- Improved ability to size and scale Stacks.
- Now text boxes will retain the properties of the last text box that was added or edited and text that is copied and pasted into a text box will also retain original formatting.
- Added zoom to fit all contents button to easily view all contents within a Whiteboard.
Learn more about all of the new Whiteboard capabilities in our knowledge base article.
Brightidea Memo 
This release includes updates to Brightidea Memo to make it easier than ever to start Working Backwards and develop your investment ready innovation bets.
- Added advanced AI prompts to the Memo document editor dropdown to; complete your next sentence, answer a question, or reword your content.
- Enhanced team site design and left rail to help drive top actions and JTBD.
- Simplified create memo experience to surface templates and availability of all three editors.
The feature updates to Brightidea Memo make creating and reviewing memos easier and more efficient than ever before. With improved integration, visual representations, and flexibility, you’ll be able to work more effectively with your team and get more done in less time. Plus, enhanced third-party linking and email notifications make it even simpler to collaborate and stay on top of things.
Learn everything about Brightidea Memo in our knowledge base article.
A few more items to mention…
We have addressed several bugs including; Slack integration issues for initial authentication, rich text widget editor improvements. We also added the ability for Administrators to remove evaluators from the Step Configuration screen. We have also continued to work on global 508 compliance across the Brightidea platform.
Trust in innovation yields outsized returns for your businesses.
Let’s not allow our companies to become the next Gallup Poll, and place our trust in our ability to innovate effectively. We are here to partner with your teams to deliver products and services that will help you ideate, manage your backlogs, seek truth about ideas, place big bets, execute on those opportunities, track ROI and ultimately innovate better than your competitors can.
After all, your competitors are probably listening to conventional wisdom and taking austerity measures to cut spending on innovation, making now the time to double down on expanding your moat and leave them in the dust. But don’t just take our word for it, check out our recent blog covering findings from McKinsey and Company that found that companies that invested in innovation during economic uncertainty achieved a +30% CAGR above their peers that did not.
As Winston Churchill once said, “Never waste a good crisis!”
Stay bright,
Brightidea
