The Potential Score is a 0–100% rating SilkFlo gives an idea when a Standard User submits it through the Spark questions, combining how big the opportunity is (Impact) with how well-defined and achievable it is (Clarity & Feasibility). It’s a first read, before anyone on your review team has opened the idea. It isn’t a verdict; it tells reviewers where to look first.
Why two scores, not one #
Triage usually goes wrong by treating “big” and “ready” as the same thing. A huge idea described in one vague line and a small, well-understood fix can look equally promising in a list. They need different next steps:
- A big but unclear idea needs someone to sharpen it, often in a workshop with the submitter.
- A small but clear idea can go straight to assessment as a quick win.
Splitting the score into Impact and Clarity & Feasibility shows reviewers which of those situations they’re looking at, so the right ideas get the right attention.
Where it comes from #
The score comes from the Spark questions, the short set of questions asked when someone submits an idea. The Spark questions depend on the Value Driver the idea is tied to (Cost Reduction, Revenue Growth, Productivity, Customer Experience, Risk & Compliance or Employee Experience), so the questions behind each score differ by idea. See Submitting an Innovation Idea for which questions apply to which driver.
The score only appears once a Standard User has answered the Spark questions. Ideas that don’t go through the Spark don’t get a Potential Score.
Two component scores #
Every Spark question feeds one of two scores:
- Impact measures how big the opportunity is: its scale, urgency, and how many people or how much value it touches.
- Clarity & Feasibility measures how well-defined and achievable the idea is: how confident the submitter is in the outcome, and how complex the path looks.
Every Value Driver’s Spark mixes both kinds of question.
How it’s calculated #
Each answer earns points. Each score is the share of points earned out of the maximum possible:
- Impact Score: points from the Impact questions ÷ maximum possible for those questions × 100.
- Clarity & Feasibility Score: the same, using only the Clarity & Feasibility questions.
- Potential Score (overall): points from every Spark question ÷ maximum possible total × 100.
The overall score isn’t an average of the two. It’s worked out from total points, so if a Value Driver has more points on offer in one category, that category counts for more.
Reading the score #
All three scores run from 0 to 100%. Higher is stronger.
| Impact | Clarity & Feasibility | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| High | High | Strongest candidates. Fast-track to a full assessment. |
| High | Low | Compelling but underdefined. Often worth assessing to sharpen the case, rather than parking. |
| Low | High | A quick, easy win, just not a big one. |
| Low | Low | Likely low priority for now. Keep it visible in case things change. |
The submitter sees all three scores on the last step of submitting. Reviewers see the Potential Score on the idea’s Original Submission card.
Potential Score and Idea Score #
The Potential Score is only for ideas a Standard User submitted through the Spark. Ideas that go through a full Smart Assessment get a separate Idea Score, shown on idea cards and in the Smart Assessment’s Automation Viability panel. The Idea Score is the average of two automation scores, Primed and Fitness, both worked out from the Productivity questions in the assessment. It measures how ready a process is for automation, not the size of the opportunity.
The Idea Quality Matrix #
On the Review stage of the pipeline, the Idea Quality Matrix plots every idea in review on one chart:
- Up the side: Impact Score (%).
- Along the bottom: Clarity & Feasibility Score (%).
- Bubble size: the overall Potential Score.
Ideas in the top-right are your highest-priority candidates for a full assessment. Ideas without Impact and Clarity scores, such as ideas that didn’t go through the Spark, aren’t plotted. If no idea in review has a score yet, the chart says so. Anyone whose role gives them access to the Pipeline sees the chart.
FAQs #
How does SilkFlo prioritise new AI ideas? #
Each idea a Standard User submits through the Spark gets a Potential Score from 0 to 100%, built from its Impact and its Clarity & Feasibility. Reviewers use the score and the Idea Quality Matrix to decide which ideas go to a full assessment first.
Is a low Potential Score a rejection? #
No. It’s an early signal, not a decision. A high-impact idea with low clarity is often worth assessing precisely to sharpen the case.
Why is the Potential Score not an average of the two scores? #
It’s calculated from total points across every Spark question, so the category with more points on offer for that Value Driver counts for more.
