Idea management software for facilitate continuous improvement processes and PDCA

Abstract

This study explores the impact of implementing an Idea Management System (IMS) to facilitate Continuous Improvement Processes (CIP) and the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)methodology in organizations. The main focus was to determine whether IMS can improve the ease of implementing CIP and if a web-based software provides improvement over a traditional Excel-based system by measuring various metrics which are determined in chapter 2. Additionally, this thesis answers the question of applicability of the conceptual framework for idea management by Gerlach and Brem in the context of IMS.Using Design Science an artifact, a web-based IMS for the Fraunhofer Institute, was developed and assessed. The software was evaluated via a user study involving professionals from various industries, utilizing both hard and soft metrics obtained from a structured interview process.The findings suggest that the implementation of CIP, through a IMS, have the possibility to increase profits and reduce costs, there by enhancing organizational effectiveness. Moreover,web-based software was found to provide a superior user experience, emphasizing the importance of design in software development. The user study showed a slight preference for web-based software due to its collaborative features and scalability, although the results were not unequivocal and requires further research to evaluate its efficiency across different industries.The results also show the benefits of applying the conceptual framework by Gerlach and Brem in an IMS context and the value of having PDCA as a tool for idea generation,monitoring, and implementing of ideas. However, better user experience and design improvements are required to substantiate these claims In conclusion, this thesis provides evidence of the importance of idea management frameworks in enabling CIP, suggesting that web-based software solutions should be considered for introducing idea management into organizational workflows. These findings have minor implications for organizations seeking to grow and stay competitive in their respective markets. Further research should focus on gathering hard metrics of changes in profits and costs over a medium- to long-term time period with a more varied group of organizations.