Voting with Pairwise

Overview

Planview IdeaPlace provides the flexibility to leverage multiple voting mechanisms depending on culture, use cases, and methodologies. Pairwise Voting is one of these mechanisms, using iterative idea comparisons to ensure each idea is given equal consideration by the crowd. When used in a Challenge Stage, participants are presented with two ideas side by side and asked to vote for the better of the pair. Once a pair has been voted on, additional pairs will continue to be displayed until the voter decides to stop, all pairs are completed, or the stage ends. As with many IdeaPlace features, leaderboards are available for use with Pairwise Voting.

How It Works - Basic Elements

The figure above shows the elements of a Pairwise screen.

A : Pairwise Timer.
B : Pick this idea. Choose the idea to vote.
C: Pair Counter. Displays the number of pairs completed in a set.

Use Cases

Typically, Pairwise is used in later stages of an innovation process, to help rank and prioritize a subset of ideas.
Some clients use Pairwise as the sole ranking mechanism for a challenge, when idea building and collaboration are not as important.

Pairwise Training Video

Pairwise voting can be configured for a specific voting period based on start and end dates or for a select stage in the idea lifecycle. It can also be restricted to specific member roles.

WARNING

It is not possible to change the Pairwise settings after the challenge phase that includes Pairwise voting has started. Settings must be selected before the phase starts.

NOTES

Reputation does not influence what ideas appear in Pairwise voting. Also, the idea owner's reputation is not influenced by the pairwise results.

Within challenges, it is not possible to change the Pairwise settings after the Pairwise challenge phase has begun.

How to Configure Pairwise Voting in a Non-challenge Community

Go to a non-challenge community, then Admin > Feature Management > Pairwise.

Field

Description

Countdown Clock

When set to On, additional fields appear and are modifiable: Start/End Date, Send Email Notification and Limit Number of Pairwise Votes.

Pairwise 5.jpg

Limit Number of Pairwise Votes

A toggle that allows selection of maximum Pairwise votes per user.

Pairwise new 4.jpg

Select Stages to Enable Pairwise

Selects the specific idea life cycle stages in which Pairwise voting will be enabled.

Select Pairwise Access

Limits Pairwise voting to the selected roles. Users in other roles can access the Pairwise voting to view the results, but may not vote on ideas.

Display "Skip" Option

Displays the "SKIP" button on the Pairwise page.

Display Category Selector

This enables the ability to allow Pairwise voting on ideas from selected categories. This is standard behavior for all non-challenge communities.

How to Configure Pairwise Voting from within a Challenge

In the challenge's Edit Challenge page, expand the Phase Editor and select Pairwise Voting to open the popup.

NOTE

The Pairwise Voting checkbox must be checked to access this popup in the screen shot below.

Field	Description
Select Stages to Enable Pairwise	Selects the specific idea life cycle stages in which Pairwise voting will be enabled.
Select Pairwise Access	Limits Pairwise voting to the selected roles. Users in other roles can access the Pairwise voting to view the results, but may not vote on ideas.
Display "SKIP" Option	Displays the "SKIP" button on the Pairwise page.
Limit number of Pairwise Votes	A toggle that allows selection of maximum Pairwise votes per user.
Update	Saves and applies the current settings. NOTE It is not possible to change the Pairwise settings after the challenge phase that includes Pairwise voting has started. Settings must be selected before the phase starts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I configure Pairwise for my challenge?

A: Pairwise can be opened for a single stage in a challenge, using the challenge's Edit Challenge page.

Q: How do I enable Pairwise for ideas in a specific stage?

A: Pairwise can be used to compare ideas in one or more stages, using the “Pairwise Voting” settings link, when configuring your Phases.

Q: What if I want to choose “Skip” when presented with a pairing?

A: Our experience indicates that allowing participants to choose neither may decrease the accuracy of results. However, you can enable the “Skip” button, using the “Pairwise Voting” settings link, when configuring your Phases.

Q: Can I limit who can use Pairwise?

A: Pairwise permissions can be toggled, using the “Pairwise Voting” settings link, when configuring your Phases.

Q: How many pairings do we need to complete before the rankings are accurate?

A: We recommend completing at least 40% of all possible pairings. Use the vote counter or messaging to help drive more votes.

Q. What's the minimum number of ideas for a challenge to enter Pairwise?

A. Pairwise can happen at the early part of a challenge when there are hundreds of ideas, or it can be done towards the end when there are fewer ideas, like 10 or 15. Although it's not common, Pairwise can be done with just two ideas.

For additional reading, refer to this Voting Dynamics PDF.