A method for gathering internal ideas using brainstorming based on mobile apps.

Abstract

This invention provides an idea collection method for collectively soliciting ideas and a computer-readable storage medium. [Solution] The method comprises the steps of: entering a topic to start the first round and initiating the process for other user terminals to join the first round; entering a first idea text; upon completion of the first round, the first idea texts of other participant terminals are displayed for viewing; starting the second round by entering a second idea text; upon completion of the second round, the second idea texts of other participant terminals are displayed for viewing; starting the third round by entering a third idea text; upon completion of the third round, the third idea text of the participant terminal is displayed; selecting one of the first / second / third idea texts entered by the participant terminal and transmitting the final idea text to the moderator terminal.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to service technology based on a mobile application infrastructure. [Background Art]

[0002] People seek ideas in various ways to solve a given problem. Among these methods, brainstorming is widely known as an approach to collectively collect ideas. However, brainstorming requires people to gather in person to collect ideas, and even when people gather offline, the activity must be conducted in accordance with set psychological rules. Therefore, its application has been limited in organizations where it is difficult for members to gather and work at a fixed time and location. Although a web-based method for holding brainstorming meetings that applies such conventional methods is known (Patent Document 1), the method is not only complicated, but also requires all participants to access the web at the same time slot, which does not fit the flexible organizational environment of today.

[0003] The inventors of the present invention have conducted long-term research and development to find an effective solution for soliciting internal ideas in practice while providing a method optimized for flexible organizational environments, and finally completed the present invention. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent No. 10-0862337 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0005] The technical objective of the present invention is to provide a business application that is a mobile tool for collectively soliciting ideas within a company. Such a business application may be implemented as an application developed and distributed independently, or it may be integrated as a functional module into a conventionally distributed business application.

[0006] To further elaborate on the technical challenges mentioned above, the objectives of the present invention are as follows: Firstly, the objective of the present invention is to provide the simplest possible environment for users who generate ideas by separating the roles provided to users who generate ideas from the roles provided to users who seek ideas through the configuration of the user interface. Secondly, since people's thoughts change, and the main factors in this change are time on the one hand and the opinions of others on the other hand, the latter of which can either hinder or help the idea-generating person's thinking, another objective of the present invention is to dynamically configure the logic so that the screen for the idea-generating user changes over time, but that the opinions of others are displayed only when necessary. Thirdly, the ultimate objective of the present invention is to embody the logic of a mobile environment that allows the best ideas desired by users seeking ideas to naturally emerge.

[0007] On the other hand, other purposes not explicitly stated in the present invention should be considered to the extent that they can be easily inferred from the detailed description below and other effects. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides a method for collecting internal ideas by running a mobile application: After the moderator terminal seeking ideas opens an idea room, and the user enters a topic on the <User Screen Seeking Ideas> to start the first round, the process begins where other user terminals can join the first round. The first step involves N (where N is an integer greater than 1) participant terminals entering their first idea text on a first-round user screen where only the aforementioned topic is displayed among the <user screen for generating ideas>, and the text of other participant terminals is not visible. In accordance with predetermined rules, or when the moderator's terminal decides to end the first round, the first idea text from the other participants' terminals is displayed on the <User screen for generating ideas> for viewing; The second round begins when the aforementioned participant terminal checks the idea text of another participant terminal and then enters a second idea text. If the end-of-round button for the second round is pressed according to predetermined rules or by the moderator's own decision, the second idea texts from other participants' terminals are displayed on the <user screen for generating ideas> for viewing; The third round begins when the aforementioned participant terminal checks the second idea text of another participant terminal and then inputs a third idea text. The steps include: when the end-of-third-round button is pressed according to predetermined rules or by the moderator's own decision, the third idea text from the other participants' terminals is displayed on the <User screen requesting ideas>; The method is characterized by including the step of the participant terminal selecting one of the first idea text, second idea text, and third idea text that it has entered on the <user screen for generating ideas>, thereby transmitting the final idea text to the moderator terminal.

[0009] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in an internal idea collection method using a mobile application platform for brainstorming, the facilitator terminal confirms the final idea text transmitted from the participant terminal on the <user screen requesting ideas>, and then enters an evaluation button. The participant terminal then performs the following steps: assigning an evaluation score to one or more items from the list of final idea texts on the <User screen for generating ideas>, The method may further include the step of enabling the moderator's terminal to view the results screen by pressing the "end" button on the <user screen for requesting ideas>.

[0010] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in an in-house idea collection method utilizing brainstorming on a mobile application platform, it is preferable that the predetermined rule is such that the round automatically ends when the moderator terminal exceeds a predetermined time limit, or when input events from all N participant terminals are confirmed.

[0011] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in an internal idea collection method using brainstorming on a mobile application platform, it is preferable that the screen for viewing the results displays only the idea texts of participant terminals corresponding to the highest ranks, in a predetermined number, in order of the highest evaluation scores received.

[0012] Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in an internal idea gathering method utilizing brainstorming on a mobile application platform, it is preferable that the same topic is continuously displayed on the user screen during the first, second, and third rounds.

[0013] A second aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs preferably include instructions that cause the processor of a mobile terminal to perform the method of the present invention as described above when executed by the processor of the mobile terminal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the method of the present invention, internal idea gathering on common themes can be effectively carried out in a mobile environment. Users can express their thoughts more flexibly with less concern for others, and they can receive more beneficial influence from the ideas of others within the same organization.

[0015] It is additionally stated that, even for effects not explicitly mentioned herein, the effects described in the following specification expected from the technical features of the present invention and their provisional effects shall be treated as described in the specification of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] [Figure 1] Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a concept that forms a basic premise of the present invention in a network system. [Figure 2] Fig. 2 is a diagram conceptually showing four prerequisites that the inventor of the present invention has importantly considered while designing the system and process of the present invention. [Figure 3] Fig. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an overall process of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] Fig. 4 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a mobile application screen for executing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] Fig. 5 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a mobile application screen for executing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] Fig. 6 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a mobile application screen for executing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] Fig. 7 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a mobile application screen for executing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] Fig. 8 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a mobile application screen for executing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] Fig. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an overall process of a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] Fig. 10 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a mobile application screen for executing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] Fig. 11 is a diagram exemplifying a configuration of a mobile application screen for executing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12]This figure illustrates the configuration of a mobile application screen for implementing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] This figure illustrates the configuration of a mobile application screen implementing a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. *The attached drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only to help understand the technical concept of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] The specific details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings illustrating the structure of the present invention. The drawings are provided for the convenience of enabling those skilled in the art to understand the structure of the present invention, and it should be noted that they are not extremely precise and accurate in their depiction. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed explanation of a related prior art function would be obvious to those skilled in the art and would obscure the gist of the present invention, then such detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0018] Figure 1 is a diagram that schematically illustrates the basic concepts of the present invention in a network system.

[0019] Since this invention is a method for collecting internal ideas into a mobile application platform, it is assumed that user terminals 100 belong to the same organizational network 10. Therefore, the method of this invention cannot be performed on mobile terminals 200 that do not belong to this organizational network 10.

[0020] In other words, the mobile application supporting the services of the present invention is installed only on user terminals 100 belonging to the same organizational network 10, and the server manages the associated resources and databases. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, this mobile application may be distributed and installed on the user terminals 100 as standalone application software.

[0021] The server managing the same organizational network 10 manages and stores the account and membership information of user terminals 100. It can also record and manage the idea content described below.

[0022] This invention is a technical concept aimed at collecting internal ideas in a better way. Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the four prerequisites that the inventors of this invention focused on when designing the system and process of this invention.

[0023] Premise P1: It is assumed that the single topic of ideas will remain the same throughout the idea generation process. This is because changing the topic or presenting multiple topics would hinder participants' interest and focus on the ideas.

[0024] Premise P2: This invention is based on the premise that people's thoughts can change. Therefore, participants should be guaranteed the opportunity to revise their ideas into better ones during the process of this invention. Otherwise, they may become complacent with the fact that they submitted an idea and stop thinking about improving it further.

[0025] Premise P3: Participants may express multiple ideas. However, if careful interest is sustained, better ideas may emerge. Generally, in internal idea solicitations, participants may express simple ideas or superficial thoughts. However, if a discussion atmosphere is fostered, they can concentrate on their ideas, and for that to happen, an environment that sustains interest is necessary.

[0026] Premise P4: This invention assumes that the opinions of others stimulate interest and act as a factor in change. However, when forming one's own opinion by looking at the opinions of others, there is a side effect of not being able to concentrate on one's own thoughts. Therefore, the system is designed so that the opinions of others do not inspire one's own thoughts, but rather, one's own thoughts are expressed first, and then the opinions of others act only as a factor that stimulates interest in the topic and changes in the expressed thoughts.

[0027] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the overall process of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] In this invention, the process performed on the moderator's terminal's <user screen for requesting ideas> 110 and the process performed on the multiple participant terminals' <user screens for generating ideas> 150 are configured independently (but closely interconnected). In other words, the user terminals of this invention are separated into moderator terminals and participant terminals in terms of their roles. It should also be important to those skilled in the art that the <user screen for requesting ideas> 110 and the <user screens for generating ideas> 150 are configured independently of each other conceptually, in terms of the design of the actual user interface, and in terms of the events embodied in the process.

[0029] First, the facilitator's terminal, which is soliciting ideas, runs the mobile application to open an idea room and enters a topic on the <User screen for soliciting ideas>110 to start the first round S111. Then, other user terminals that have the mobile application installed are notified that an idea room has been opened. This initiates a process in which participant terminals can participate in the first round on the topic posted in the idea room via the <User screen for generating ideas>150.

[0030] S151. Each participant's device can input the first idea text via its own app screen, i.e., via the <Idea Generation User Screen>150. N (where N is an integer greater than 1) participant devices capable of running the mobile application can participate in the first round. Only the aforementioned topic is displayed on the participant's device's <Idea Generation User Screen>150, and the first idea text entered (or previously entered) by other participant devices is not visible. In other words, during the first round, each participant's device can only see the text it is entering.

[0031] Next, the first round end event is executed on the <User screen for requesting ideas> 110 in S112. In one preferred embodiment, the end of the first round may be performed according to predetermined rules. For example, the first round may be automatically ended when all of the first idea text has been entered on the participant terminals that have entered the idea room, or the round may be designed to automatically end when a predetermined time has elapsed on the facilitator terminal. In another preferred embodiment, the first round may be ended when the round end button, which is displayed only on the <User screen for requesting ideas> 110 on the facilitator terminal, is pressed.

[0032] Once step S112 is executed, a participant's terminal will be able to view the first idea text of other participants' terminals on their own <User screen for generating ideas>150 for the first time.

[0033] Next, in S152, the second round begins when a participant's terminal checks the input list of other participants' terminals to review the idea texts of other participants, and then enters a second idea text. Since the topic is the same, the second idea text entered by the participant's terminal is also an idea related to the same topic. Participants may express changes in their thinking that occur after viewing the ideas of others. The idea texts entered by participants in the second round cannot be viewed by other participants during the round. Only the facilitator's terminal can view them.

[0034] After all participant terminal input events have been completed, the second round end event is executed on the moderator terminal's <User screen for requesting ideas> 110 S113. In one preferred embodiment, the end of the second round may be performed according to predetermined rules. For example, the second round may be configured to end automatically when all second idea texts have been entered on the participant terminals that have entered the idea room or when a set time has elapsed, which is the same configuration as described above. In another preferred embodiment, the second round may be ended by pressing the round end button, which is displayed only on the moderator terminal's <User screen for requesting ideas> 110.

[0035] As the second round concludes, the participant's terminal checks the second ideas entered by other participant terminals in the second round, and then the third round begins when the participant enters their third idea text on their own <User screen for generating ideas>150 S153

[0036] Next, the moderator terminal may end the third round as in steps S112 and S113 (S114). Then, the participant terminal may view the third idea text of other participant terminals on its own <user screen for generating ideas> (150).

[0037] Next, the participant's terminal selects one of the first idea text, second idea text, and third idea text that they entered on the <User screen for generating ideas>150, so that the final idea text is transmitted to the facilitator's terminal S154.

[0038] In this way, the moderator's terminal can request the final idea text from the participant's terminal. Next, after the moderator's terminal confirms the final idea text transmitted from the participant's terminal on the <user screen for requesting ideas>110, the evaluation process begins when the user presses the evaluation button S115.

[0039] Then, the participant's terminal performs an evaluation by assigning an evaluation score to one or more of the final idea texts on the <User Idea Generation Screen>150. The user can assign a pre-set score on the user screen or a star rating.

[0040] Finally, the moderator's terminal can be made to view the results screen by pressing the end button on the <User screen for requesting ideas>110. Preferably, on the results screen, only the idea texts of the participant terminals corresponding to the highest ranks are displayed in a predetermined number, in order of the highest evaluation scores received.

[0041] Figures 4 to 13 illustrate the configuration of a mobile application screen that implements a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of the user screen 112 for soliciting ideas regarding topic registration and round in step S111 described above. The topic 112a for which ideas are sought is entered as "How can we improve the atmosphere of the company office?" A time limit can also be set. Then, the first round starts when the user presses the start button 112b.

[0043] Figure 5 shows an example configuration of user screen 153 for generating ideas in the first round. It displays the question, "How can we improve the atmosphere of the company office?" and the message, "Only ideas submitted by the participant will be visible in this round." The participant's terminal will then be used to input the text of their first idea.

[0044] The round end button 113a is activated only on the user screen 113 of the moderator's terminal. As described above, the moderator's terminal will press the round end button 113a after the idea text has been entered on the participant's terminal and the event has been notified.

[0045] Then, as shown in the first round completion screen 154 in Figure 6, the participant can view the first idea text of other participants' terminals. The participant's terminal can then input a second idea text by pressing the button to participate in the second round. Figure 7 shows an example of the configuration of the user screen 15 for generating ideas in the second round. The topic is still displayed in the same way. In the first round, this participant came up with a light idea, "Get a dog," but after viewing the ideas of other participants, their thinking changed (they became more focused on the topic and generating ideas), and in the second round, they entered the second idea text, "The office feels a little stuffy, so I think we should improve the ventilation."

[0046] The round end button 115a is activated only on the user screen 115 of the moderator's terminal. As described above, the moderator's terminal will press the round end button 115a after the idea text has been entered on the participant's terminal and the event has been notified.

[0047] Figure 8 shows an example of a user screen 156 for submitting ideas, where participants can view other people's ideas after the second round has ended. When a participant's terminal presses the next round button on this screen, the third round begins. Figure 9 shows an example of a user screen 116 for submitting ideas, where the facilitator's terminal can view the progress of the third round.

[0048] Figure 10 shows the user screen 157 after the third round has ended, where the user submits an idea to check other participants' idea lists. Pressing the final selection button proceeds to the user screen 158 in Figure 11, where the user submits their final selected idea. A list of idea texts entered by the participant's terminal in the first, second, and third rounds is displayed on the screen, and the participant's terminal selects one of them. The button 117 to proceed to evaluation is activated only on the facilitator's terminal's idea-requesting screen, not on the participant's idea-submitting screen. This is to prevent evaluation from taking place while other participants have not yet selected their final ideas.

[0049] Figure 12 illustrates an evaluation screen 159, which is part of the user screen for generating ideas. Participants can evaluate the idea text entered during this process. Preferably, the button 118 to finish and view results is activated only on the user screen of the facilitator's terminal.

[0050] Figure 13 illustrates a screen 130 for viewing idea results. On such a results screen, it is preferable to display only the idea texts of participant terminals that correspond to the highest ranks, in a predetermined number (for example, 3) in order of the highest evaluation scores.

[0051] Incidentally, the internal idea collection method using brainstorming on a mobile application platform according to one embodiment of the present invention can be embodied in the form of program instructions that can be performed via various computer means and recorded on a computer-readable medium. On the other hand, a computer-readable medium in which the above steps are embodied in the form of program instructions may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., individually or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be publicly known and usable by those skilled in the art of computer software.

[0052] Examples of computer-readable media may include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes; optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs; magneto-optical media such as floptical disks; and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code, such as that produced by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The aforementioned hardware devices may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

[0053] On the other hand, the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited to the descriptions and expressions of the embodiments explicitly described above. A variety of substitutions and modifications are possible within the scope of protection of the present invention. Furthermore, it should be added that the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited by obvious modifications or substitutions made in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Claims

1. A method for collecting ideas within the company by running a mobile application: After the moderator terminal seeking ideas opens an idea room, and the user enters a topic on the <User Screen Seeking Ideas> to start the first round, the process begins where other user terminals can join the first round. The first round user screen, in which N (where N is an integer greater than 1) participant terminals input the first idea text, is a user screen for generating ideas where only the aforementioned topic is displayed and the text of other participant terminals is not visible. In accordance with predetermined rules, or at the discretion of the moderator's terminal, when the "End Round 1" button is pressed, the first idea texts from other participants' terminals are displayed on the <User Screen for Idea Generation> for viewing; The second round begins when the aforementioned participant terminal checks the idea text of another participant terminal and then inputs a second idea text. If the "End Round 2" button is pressed according to predetermined rules or by the moderator's own decision, the second idea texts from other participants' terminals are displayed on the <User Screen for Idea Generation> for viewing; The third round begins when the aforementioned participant terminal checks the second idea text of another participant terminal and then inputs a third idea text. The steps include: when the end-of-third-round button is pressed according to predetermined rules or by the moderator's terminal's own decision, the third idea text on the participant's terminal is displayed on the <User screen requesting ideas>; A method for collecting internal ideas using a mobile application-based brainstorming platform, characterized by the step of the participant terminal selecting one of the first idea text, second idea text, and third idea text that it has entered on the <user screen for generating ideas>, thereby transmitting the final idea text to the facilitator terminal.

2. The moderator's terminal confirms the final idea text transmitted from the participant's terminal on the <User screen for requesting ideas>, and then enters an evaluation button. The participant terminal then performs the following steps: assigning an evaluation score to one or more items from the list of final idea texts on the <User screen for generating ideas>, A method for collecting internal ideas using a mobile application platform brainstorming according to claim 1, further comprising the step of enabling the moderator's terminal to view a results screen when the moderator inputs an end button on the <user screen for requesting ideas>.

3. The predetermined rule is that the round will automatically end if the moderator's terminal exceeds a predetermined time limit, or if input events from all N participant terminals are confirmed, as described in claim 1, for internal idea gathering using a mobile application platform.

4. The method for collecting internal ideas using brainstorming on a mobile application platform, as described in claim 2, wherein the screen for viewing the results displays only the idea texts of participant terminals that correspond to the highest rank in a predetermined number, in order of the highest evaluation scores received.

5. A method for collecting internal ideas using a mobile application platform brainstorming, as described in claim 1, wherein the same topic is continuously displayed on the user screen during the first, second, and third rounds.

6. A computer-readable storage medium for storing one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs include instructions that cause the processor of a mobile terminal to perform the method described in any one of claims 1 to 5 when executed by the processor of the mobile terminal.

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