Buyer's guide
Short answer: There is no single best tool; it depends on whose ideas you collect. For shop-floor improvement ideas in manufacturing, look at Rever, KaiNexus and LeanSuite; in LeanSuite an approved idea becomes a project in any method, from a quick fix to an engineering or CapEx project. For company-wide idea challenges at a published price, look at HYPE Boards (formerly Viima). For large enterprise and public-sector programs, look at IdeaScale, Planview IdeaPlace and Qmarkets.
Who wrote this: LeanSuite publishes this guide, and LeanSuite is one of the seven products on it. We describe every other product only from its own public pages, list the products in alphabetical order rather than ranking them, and say where each one fits better than ours.
Last updated . Vendor facts last reviewed October 2026. Based on each vendor's public information; tell us if something has changed at info@theleansuite.com.
Watch
· 5:17
Most suggestion programs don't fail because people have no ideas. They fail because leadership takes too long to answer, or never answers. And silence tells a floor exactly what its ideas are worth, even if no leader ever says it out loud. At an aluminum foundry where I worked, every idea went to the right manager, split by safety, cost, CI and maintenance…
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LeanSuite's whole platform next to each product, capability by capability. A question mark means the vendor does not publish it or we could not verify it, not that the product lacks it; the detailed table below has the specifics.
Swipe sideways to see every product.
| Capability | LeanSuite | HYPE Boards | IdeaScale | KaiNexus | Planview IdeaPlace | Qmarkets | Rever |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continuous improvement | |||||||
| Any method: DMAIC, PDCA, A3, 8D or your own | Yes: Incl. your own | Not published | Not published | Yes: Incl. custom processes | Not published | Not published | Partial: PDCA, DMAIC, Quick Action |
| Engineering and CapEx projects with stage-gates | Yes:Four stage-gates | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Non-manufacturing teams and projects | Yes: Any project type | Not published | Not published | Yes: Healthcare, finance | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Ideas and suggestions with configurable approvals | Yes:Approvals per idea type | Partial: Evaluations | Yes: Stage gating | Yes | Partial: Expert review | Yes: Innovation Funnel | Partial: Approvals not stated |
| Savings verified before they count | Yes:Finance signs off | Not published | Not published | Partial: ROI add-on | Not published | Partial: ROI tracking | Yes |
| Share what worked across sites (yokoten) | Yes:Best Practice Management | Not published | Not published | Yes: Knowledge base | Not published | Not published | Yes |
| Your own workflow per record, with stage rules: who moves it, what must be valid, what updates, who is told | Yes: RCA, kaizen, work orders, tags, best practices | Not published | Not published | Partial: Configurable workflows and approvals | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| AI | |||||||
| AI root cause analysis | Yes:RCA Agent | Not published | Not published | Partial: Insights coach on root cause; Checkpoints review it | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| AI time and motion study from video | Partial:Vision AI, priced separately | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Video to SOP | Yes:SOP from one video | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| AI one-point lessons (OPLs) | Yes:OPL from before-and-after photos | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| AI drafts checklists and forms | Yes:Lean Creator AI drafts | Not published | Not published | Partial: Smart Create drafts an item from text or a photo | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| AI sorts and triages ideas | Yes:Lean AI | Partial: Duplicate detection | Partial: Separate subscription | Partial: Summaries | Yes: Merges similar ideas | Yes: IRIS AI | Partial: Idea Match |
| Frontline operations | |||||||
| Daily issue management with tier escalation | Yes:F-Tags, escalation | Not published | Not published | Partial: Improvement items | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Tiered meetings and huddle boards | Yes:Lean Studio | Not published | Not published | Yes | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Audits and checklists (5S, LPA, CILR), scheduled | Yes:Daily Standard Work scheduling | No: Idea management only | No: Idea management only | Not published | No: Innovation management only | Not published | Yes: 5S and quality routines |
| Breakdown reporting and maintenance work orders | Yes:EWO; works alongside a CMMS | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Skills and training | |||||||
| Live skills matrix | Yes:Competency Management | No: Idea management only | No: Idea management only | Partial: Certification tracking | No: Innovation management only | Not published | Not published |
| Job cover matrix: who can cover each job | Yes:Job Cover Matrix | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Training (LMS): courses, quizzes, learning plans | Yes:Trainings (LMS) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| SOP and OPL sign-off per person | Yes:Signed on a tablet | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Data and platform | |||||||
| KPI dashboards | Yes:KPI Dashboards | Not published | Not published | Yes | Not published | Not published | Partial: Improvement dashboards |
| One issue linked from tag to RCA, work order, kaizen and best practice, entered once | Yes: Enter it once; paperwork stays linked | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| SSO and a security certification | Yes:SOC 2 Type 1; Entra ID, Okta | Partial: Follows ISO 27001; SSO from Basic | Yes: FedRAMP (its claim) | Yes: SOC 2 Type 2 | Not published | Yes: SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 (company level) | Yes: ISO 27001 |
| Operator sign-in with an employee ID, no email | Yes:Employee ID | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Free plan or published prices | Yes:Free plan for ideas | Yes: Basic from $79 a month | Not published: Plans by demo, no prices | Not published: Fundamentals at one price, no figure shown; Enterprise by quote | Not published | No: Quote only | Not published |
| Mobile app (iOS and Android) | Yes:iOS and Android | Yes | Not published | Yes | Not published | Not published | Yes |
Based on each vendor's public website, reviewed October 2026; tell us if something has changed at info@theleansuite.com.
We looked for products that are sold for idea management today and that a buyer can research publicly. Each one on this list meets all of these:
How a tool gets onto this list
Products we researched
from vendors' own public pages
Idea management is a core use
Idea capture, evaluation and follow-through are a main product or module, not a template inside a general tool.
Active in 2026
A live site, still sold under the name listed, with 2026 releases, news or app updates. Renamed products are listed under their current name.
Takes ideas to done
Ideas move through evaluation or approval to an owner and an outcome, not just a suggestion box.
Public information
Enough on the vendor's own pages to describe what it does, how it is priced and how it handles security.
A range of buyers
At least one strong option for frontline manufacturing teams, for company-wide programs and for large enterprises.
7
tools on this list
each one passes every check
Board-based idea management from HYPE Innovation, which has owned Viima since early 2021 and renamed it in 2024. Each board has its own process, with Kanban and list views, evaluations, duplicate detection, workflow automations, gamification, and native iOS and Android apps. It publishes one price: Basic at $79 a month for 10 users, billed annually; Pro and Advanced are on request, and every plan starts with a 14-day trial of Pro. Its sister product, HYPE Innovation, is an ISO 27001 certified enterprise platform with on-premises options.
Best for: Small and mid-size teams that want to set up idea boards themselves at a published starting price.
Workforce innovation software for idea campaigns that can include employees, partners or the public, with configurable stage gating, idea routing and ownership, multilingual communities, and Power BI and Tableau reporting; IdeaScale AI is a separate subscription. It describes itself as the only FedRAMP-certified idea management solution. Pricing is tailored and not published.
Best for: Government agencies and large organizations running campaigns that include external participants.
Continuous improvement software founded in 2009 and used in healthcare, manufacturing and other industries. Ideas are captured from any device, routed through approvals and workflows with tasks and deadlines, tied to KPIs and kept in a knowledge base of implemented improvements, next to projects, A3 and PDSA, huddles and strategy deployment. It is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant with SAML single sign-on. Pricing is quoted, with a Fundamentals package for smaller teams.
Best for: Organizations that want ideas managed inside a broader improvement system across many kinds of teams.
Idea Management is one module of LeanSuite's lean manufacturing platform. Employees submit ideas from the shop floor and earn points for each contribution, with a live leaderboard and a prize catalogue you build. Each type of idea can follow its own multi-stage approval workflow, for example straight to the EHS manager for a safety suggestion or through several levels including Finance for a large cost saving, and Lean AI summarizes each submission and predicts whether it is an idea or a complaint, its priority and its likely status. Approved ideas become projects in any method (PDCA, A3, DMAIC, 8D or your own), from a quick fix to an engineering or CapEx project, next to issue management, audits, tiered meetings, and skills and training. Frontline staff can sign in with an employee ID, no company email needed. Idea management is free for teams of 25 and under; the full platform is one flat price per facility with unlimited users.
Best for: Manufacturing plants that want frontline ideas tied to kaizen projects and daily shop-floor management.
Enterprise innovation management from Planview, formerly Spigit. It offers challenge templates, self-service team challenges (TeamTap), idea capture forms and workflow automation, expert review, voting, crowd predictions and pairwise ranking, language processing to merge similar ideas, gamification, and connectors that send ideas into Planview's portfolio and project tools. Pricing is not published.
Best for: Enterprises already on Planview that want ideas to flow into portfolio and project funding.
A modular innovation suite: Q-ideate for idea management and Q-optimize for continuous improvement, plus portfolio and scouting products. It offers unlimited challenges, funnel stages with automated transitions, voting, gamification, ROI dashboards, a Microsoft Teams app and IRIS AI. It holds a SOC 2 Type II report and ISO 27001 certification, and is hosted on AWS or Azure in a choice of regions, or on your own servers. Pricing is quoted as an annual license with a setup fee.
Best for: Enterprises that want idea management and continuous improvement in one suite, with a choice of data residency.
A frontline improvement app for manufacturing ("Kaizen for Everyone"). Operators log ideas and fixes from a phone, including offline; guided PDCA, Quick Action and DMAIC flows carry them through; savings are validated before they count; and Idea Match suggests fixes proven at other sites. It adds gamification and one-click translation into 18 languages, and is ISO 27001:2022 certified. Pricing is not published on its site.
Best for: Manufacturers that want operators submitting and completing improvements on their phones, with validated savings.
From each vendor's public pages. "Not published" means we could not find it publicly, not that the product lacks it.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Capability | HYPE Boards | IdeaScale | KaiNexus | LeanSuite | Planview IdeaPlace | Qmarkets | Rever |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideas | |||||||
| Built for | Teams of any size | Enterprise, government, education | Improvement programs across industries | Manufacturing plants | Enterprise innovation | Enterprise innovation and CI | Frontline manufacturing teams |
| Mobile capture | Native iOS and Android apps | Mobile-first web | iOS and Android apps | iOS and Android apps; employee-ID sign-in | Mobile-enabled web | Not published | iOS and Android apps, with offline mode |
| Evaluation and workflow | A process per board, evaluations, automations | Configurable stage gating and routing | Approvals, workflows with tasks and deadlines | Multi-stage approvals per idea type, then a project | Workflow automation, expert review, pairwise ranking | Funnel stages with automated transitions; voting | Guided PDCA, Quick Action and DMAIC flows |
| Results tracking | Not published | Power BI and Tableau reporting | Ideas tied to KPIs; impact reports | Kaizen & Projects; KPI Dashboards | Embedded Power BI dashboards | ROI dashboards | Savings validated before they count |
| AI | Not published | IdeaScale AI (separate subscription) | KaiNexus Intelligence | Lean AI summaries and predictions; AI Root Cause Analysis | Language processing for similar ideas and trends | IRIS AI: clustering and analysis | Idea Match and suggested fixes |
| Buying | |||||||
| Pricing | Published: Basic $79 a month for 10 users; Pro and Advanced on request | Not published | Not published | Suggestions module free for teams up to 25; $499 per month for smaller teams; per facility quote | Not published | Not published; annual license plus setup fee | Not published on its site |
| Trial | 14-day trial of Pro | Not published | Demo on request | Free Starter plan; 90-day pilot $3,000 per facility | Not published | Not published | Demo on request |
| Security | Follows ISO 27001 practices; GDPR | FedRAMP (per its government page) | SOC 2 Type 2 | SOC 2 Type 1 report; secure cloud hosting | Not published for IdeaPlace specifically | SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001; AWS, Azure or on-premises | ISO 27001:2022 |
| Single sign-on | Microsoft and Google; SAML on Advanced | Yes | SAML 2.0 | SAML 2.0 / OAuth (Entra ID, Okta); employee ID | Yes | SAML 2.0 (Entra ID, Okta, ADFS) | Yes; protocol not published |
This part is about our own product, so read it as LeanSuite's pitch; the entries above describe every other tool from its own pages. Each point links to the LeanSuite page that shows it.
Build custom, multi-stage approval workflows per idea type: a simple safety suggestion can go straight to the EHS manager, while a large cost-saving idea goes through several levels, including Finance.
Idea ManagementAn approved idea gets an owner and becomes a project, run as PDCA, A3, DMAIC, 8D or your own method, from a quick fix to an engineering or CapEx project.
From idea to projectLean AI groups similar ideas, summarizes each new submission and predicts whether it is an idea or a complaint, its priority against your goals and its likely status. Reviewers apply or override in one click.
Lean AI for ideasCampaigns, points and a live leaderboard, plus a prize catalogue you build, where employees redeem points for swag, gift cards or anything else you choose.
Recognition and rewardsA DMAIC project can't close until Finance verifies its savings. Savings are calculated from your own labor, downtime and scrap rates, and a stage-gate can require review above a savings amount you set.
CI portfolio and ROIIdea management is free for teams of 25 and under, and frontline staff sign in with an employee ID instead of a company email.
PricingStart from what your plant needs
Which of these sounds most like your plant?
“Customer support has been exceptional. The team is always available to answer questions and consistently provides prompt responses. I have been working closely with them to set up KPIs and time studies for our company, and their level of support throughout the process has been outstanding”
Luis R.CI Engineer, Tomball Controls“Great user-friendly software! It's covering everything that WCM or similar Lean Programs are asking to do, in a very effective way.”
Elena M.Global Head of Marelli Manufacturing System Automotive, MarelliNext step, if you want one
For idea management, the demo follows one idea from an operator's phone to a closed project.
Bring one process you want to fix, and how you run it today. We show the same job in LeanSuite and answer your questions.
Want to run LeanSuite on your own lines instead? The 90-day pilot is $3,000 per facility, set up by our team, with the first module live in under a week.
FAQ
Software that collects improvement and innovation ideas from employees (and sometimes customers or partners), routes each one to someone who evaluates it, and tracks it through to implementation and results. Most tools add challenges or campaigns, voting, notifications and reports on participation and impact.
Look for capture from a phone without a company email, a path from idea to an improvement project, and savings or KPI tracking. On this list, Rever, KaiNexus and LeanSuite are built around operations and continuous improvement; HYPE and Qmarkets also serve manufacturers with enterprise-wide programs.
In several of these tools, yes. LeanSuite lets you build custom, multi-stage approval workflows per idea type, so a safety suggestion can go straight to the EHS manager while a large cost saving goes through several levels, including Finance. IdeaScale publishes configurable stage gating and routing, Qmarkets funnel stages with automated transitions, and KaiNexus configurable workflows that route improvements through approvals.
Yes, for small teams. LeanSuite's idea management is free for teams of 25 and under. HYPE Boards has a 14-day free trial, then Basic at $79 a month for 10 users. Larger programs move to paid plans.
HYPE Boards publishes its Basic plan at $79 a month for 10 users, billed annually; Pro and Advanced are on request. IdeaScale, KaiNexus, Planview IdeaPlace, Qmarkets and Rever quote on request. LeanSuite publishes its free plan for teams of 25 and under and its pilot price: 90 days for $3,000 per facility.
Because it is one of the options a manufacturing buyer would consider, and leaving it off would be odd. We wrote this page, so read it with that in mind: products are listed alphabetically, every other product is described only from its own public pages, each entry says who it fits best, and we will correct anything a vendor or reader shows us is wrong.
We read each vendor's own public pages in September 2026 and used only what they publish. Where we could not find something, the table says not published, which does not mean the product lacks it. LeanSuite is our product. If something has changed, email info@theleansuite.com and we will update the page.
Last reviewed October 2026. Based on each vendor's public information; tell us if something has changed at info@theleansuite.com.
A 45-minute demo: bring the process you want to fix, and we will show how LeanSuite handles it and what a 90-day pilot would cover.
