Import existing idea and campaign data from 3rd party tools into ITONICS

What is it?

ITONICS offers an easy upload procedure for migrating existing campaigns, their submissions, and evaluations from a 3rd party tool to the ITONICS Innovation Platform.

Via a dynamic xls-import, you can transfer the data fast into the ITONICS application and make sure to not lose track of your history. Follow the steps described below:

How does it work?

(1) Creating or importing campaigns

Before you can import the submission and evaluation data from previous campaigns, you need to create the campaign(s) first. A campaign is like a container in which all the submissions and evaluations are organized and in which the process with its stages and gates is defined. 

You can create a campaign either from the create button in the top navigation menu or via an import. The dynamic import enables you to:

  • import campaigns based on a blueprint,
  • define the title, abstract, and other meta-information of a campaign,
  • set a challenge manager,
  • move campaigns into phases

To import existing campaign data, go to the Settings Wheel > Campaign> Campaign Import to open the campaign import page.

Download the import template by clicking on the “Generate Import Template” button on the right-hand side.

Import template.png

The generated import template consists of the following columns:

    • ID: The ID column expects a positive integer value. ITONICS is looking into solutions for choosing the ID as a unique identifier as well during import. For now the ID column is just relevant during the export and therefore can be left empty.
    • Generated ID: The generated ID / Key column. This column is merely used as a reference column, concatenating the Key defined for the respective entity type in the entity configuration with the actual system. Note that this ID is not used as a unique identifier during the import.
    • Link: The link column expects a correct URL as a value. This column is just relevant during the export and therefore can be left empty. 
    • Created By: The Created By column expects an existing username to set the creator information for the respective element. If the username does not exist or the cell is not filled, the user which is logged in will be saved as the creator.
    • Created At: The Created At column expects a valid date format (yyyy-mm-dd) and sets the create date accordingly. If the column is empty, the current date will be used.
    • Edited At: The Edited At column expects a valid date format (yyyy-mm-dd) and sets the edit date accordingly. If the column is empty, the current date will be used.
  • Publication Status: The Publication Status expects a string value. You can choose between these different values i.e., Draft, Review, Published
  • Archived: The Archived columns expect a string value. You can choose between the options “yes” (= is archived) and “no” (= is not archived).
  • Blueprint: The Blueprint column expects the exact value of the blueprint on which basis the campaign should be created. Please note: This value is case-sensitive!
  • Campaign Type: The Campaign Type column expects the exact value of the campaign type on which the campaign should be imported. You can choose between “time-bound” and “always-on”.
  • Active Phase: The Active Phase column expects the exact value of the active phase in which the campaign should be. Please note: This value is case-sensitive! 
  • Campaign Title: The Campaign Title column expects a string value. 
  • Abstract: The Abstract column expects a string value.
  • Description: The Description column expects a string value.
  • Profile Image: Find the:
      • Add an external URL link to an image that's available online (Right-click on the image > Copy Image Link).
      • Add a local image file that should be present in the image directory.
  • Campaign Managers: The Campaign Managers column expects the user's username who is responsible for managing the campaign as a string.
  • Start Date: The Start Date column expects a valid date format (yyyy-mm-dd) and accordingly sets the campaign's start date. If the column is empty, no start date will be set.
  • End Date: The End Date column expects a valid date format (yyyy-mm-dd) and accordingly sets the campaign's end date. If the column is empty, no end date will be set.
  • Tags: The Tags column expects a string value. You can populate this field with multiple values by separating them with a semicolon.
  • Relations: The Relation column expects the title of related elements as a string value. You can populate this field with multiple values by separating them with a semicolon.

Upload it to the platform by clicking the Choose file button.

Choose file.png

You can also select an option to:

  • Import as Draft: Only new elements will be imported as draft, while this option won’t affect existing elements.
  • Skip/Ignore existing elements: This will prevent overwriting existing fields and elements.

Import the excel file to the platform by clicking the Import button.

If the import was successful, you'd get a pop-up confirmation.

successful elements.png

(2) Importing submissions to campaigns

Once you have your campaign imported, you may want to add more data to your campaigns. You can import existing submission/idea data via the dynamic idea import. The ideas can be imported via the upload icon on the detail page of a campaign.

idea_import_1.png

To find it, go to Explorer (from the main menu navigation) and filter for Campaigns. Open the campaign that you want to populate with ideas/submissions. Click on the Upload icon on the right-hand side of the campaign detail page. You will be redirected to the idea import interface. Download the import template by clicking on the Generate Import Template button. After clicking the button, an Excel file will be downloaded.

idea_import_2.png

Note: The import template consists of default information, but also the configuration you have applied for your submission form in the campaign configuration. The different attributes are listed column by column. Please fill in the information for your data row by row. 

The generated import template consists of the following columns:

  • ID: The ID column requires a positive integer value. The ID can be selected as the unique identifier during the import process.
  • Link: The link column requires a correct URL as a value. This column is only relevant during the export and therefore can be left empty for the import.  
  • Created By: The Created By column requires an existing username to set the creator information for the respective Element. If the username does not exist or the cell is not filled, the user, who performs the Excel import, will be saved as the creator of the Idea. Note: You have to fill in the username (not an E-Mail address, first-/last name).
  • Created At: The Created At column requires a valid date format (yyyy-mm-dd) and sets the creation date accordingly. If the column is empty, the current date will be used.
  • Edited At: The Edited At column requires a valid date format (yyyy-mm-dd) and sets the edit date accordingly. If the column is empty, the current date will be used.
  • Publication Status: The Publication Status requires a string value. You can choose between these different values i.e., Draft, Review, Published.
  • Archived: The Archived columns require a string value. You can choose between the options “yes” (= is archived) and “no” (= is not archived).
  • Idea title: The Idea title column requires a string. The title is the name of your Idea.
  • Summary: The Summary column requires a string and is used as a short description of your submission.
  • The Image column can be populated in two ways:
    • Add an external URL link to an image that is available online (Right-click on the image > Copy Image Link).
    • Add a local image file that should be present in the image directory.
  • Tags: The Tags column requires a string value. You can populate this field with multiple values by separating them with a semi-column.
  • Phase: The Phase column requires an available phase as a string value.
  • Author:  The Author column requires the user's username who is responsible for the submitted idea as a string.
  • Custom fields: These columns are generated depending on the campaign-specific field configuration.
    • All single-line input fields require a string without any formatting or HTML tags included. You can apply different validators to the single-line input field, which change the expected string value:
      • The email validator requires a valid email address (name@domain.top-level-domain)
      • The URL validator requires a valid URL ([https://www.]domain.top-level-domain/path)
      • The number validator requires a valid float number (1024.12 for English language and 1024,12 for German language). Please note that leading zeros are being stripped during import.
    • All simple text fields require a string without any formatting or HTML tags included.
    • All rich text fields (e.g. "Definition & Scope") require a string that can include formatting or HTML tags (e.g. <p>...</p>). 
  • Relations: The Relation column requires the title of related Elements as a string value. You can populate this field with multiple values by separating them with a semi-column.
  • Reference: The Reference column requires references as a hyperlink. 

Info: Please note that all multiple values like tags, multi-select dropdown fields, multi-select user search fields, or links from the reference section need to be separated using the semicolon (";") as the delimiter.

4. Upload it to your system by clicking the Choose file button (1).

Select the unique identifier. Based on the selected unique identifier, the import checks if there are already Elements with the same title or ID in the system (2):

  • Element title
  • Element ID

You can also select an option to:

  • Import as Draft: Only new Elements will be imported as draft. This option will not affect existing Elements (3).
  • Skip/Ignore existing Elements: This will prevent overwriting existing fields and Elements (4).

Click on the Import button to start the import process (5).

idea_import_3.png

If the import was successful, you will get a pop-up confirmation.

idea_import_4.png

If the import identifies errors, warnings, or missing values, the import will be canceled by showing the identified issues.

(3) Importing existing ratings to submissions

As for the submission import to a campaign, go to Explorer (from the main menu navigation) and filter for Campaigns. Open the campaign that you want to populate with evaluations to ideas/submissions. Click on the Upload icon on the right-hand side of the campaign detail page. Choose the option Import Idea Ratings.

submission_rating_import.png

You will be redirected to the idea rating import interface. Download the import template by clicking on the Generate Import Template button. After clicking the button, an Excel file will be downloaded.

Note: The idea rating template consists of default information, but also the configuration you have applied for your idea form. The different fields are listed column by column. Please fill in the information for your ideas row by row.

The generated import template consists of the following columns:

  • ID: The ID column requires a positive integer value. The ID can be selected as the unique identifier during the import process.
  • Rated By: The Rated By column requires an existing username to set as the rater information for the respective element. Note: You have to fill in the username, not an E-Mail address, or first-/last name.
  • Idea title: The idea title column requires a string. The title is the name of your idea.
  • Rating: 5-Star Rating: The 5-Star Rating column requires a number with a value between 1-5.
  • Rating: Rating Name (Phase): The Rating Name (Phase) column requires a string with existing rating criteria.

4. Upload it to your system by clicking the Choose file button and selecting the right template.

Click on the Import button to start the import process.

  • If the import was successful, you will get a pop-up confirmation.
  • If the import identifies errors, warnings, or missing values, the import will be canceled by showing the identified issues.

(4) Importing existing comments to submissions

Communication is crucial for effective innovation management. Use the dynamic comment import to populate your ITONICS platform with existing communication, e.g., from a previous system.

To import your comments, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Settings Wheel > Export/Import Data > Comment Import > Entity to open the comment import page for an entity.

2. Download the import template by clicking on the Generate Comment Import Template button on the right-hand side. (1)

comment_import_1.png

The generated import template consists of the following columns:

  • ID: The ID column expects a positive integer value. ITONICS is looking into solutions for choosing the ID as a unique identifier as well during import. For now, the ID column is just relevant during the export and therefore can be left empty. 
  • Title: The Title column expects a string value of an existing element. This field is mandatory.
  • Commented By: The Commented By column expects an existing username to set the submitter information for the comment. This field is mandatory.
  • Created At: The Created At column expects a valid date format (yyyy-mm-dd) and sets the create date accordingly. This field is mandatory.
  • Body: The Body column expects a string value. This field is mandatory.

3. Upload it to the platform by clicking the Choose file button. (2)

4. Import the Excel file to the platform by clicking the Import button. (3)

 

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