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The three outcomes

When the auto-decision rule fires, an idea lands on one of three outcomes. This page explains each one.

Approved

Section titled “Approved”

The idea passed. The weighted score is at or above the category's approve threshold (default 3.5).

What changes when an idea is approved:

  • The status changes to approved.
  • Auto-feedback is written, including the score, the thresholds, the strongest and weakest criteria, and the AI's summary if available.
  • The submitter is notified by email and in-app.
  • If the idea was Visible to reviewers only, visibility flips automatically to Visible to everyone so all members can see what got approved.

The next step is implementation. An admin moves the idea to In implementation when work begins. See From approved to done.

Rejected

Section titled “Rejected”

The idea didn't make the bar. The weighted score is at or below the category's reject threshold (default 2.0).

What changes when an idea is rejected:

  • The status changes to rejected.
  • Auto-feedback is written, with the same structure as approval feedback. The lowest-scoring criteria are usually the most informative part.
  • The submitter is notified.
  • Visibility doesn't change.

A rejected idea isn't gone. It stays in the workspace and on the submitter's record. Admins can override a rejection later if context shifts.

Needs discussion

Section titled “Needs discussion”

The idea landed in the middle. The weighted score is between the two thresholds, or no scores were recorded for an unusual edge case.

What Needs discussion means in practice:

  • The auto-decision rule didn't have a clear answer.
  • An admin should look at the idea, talk it through with the relevant people, and override the outcome to Approved or Rejected.
  • Auto-feedback is written and explains that the score landed between the thresholds.

This is not a failure mode. Needs discussion is the right outcome for a lot of ideas. The pipeline is designed to surface them, not to bury them.

Default thresholds

Section titled “Default thresholds”

Every category has its own thresholds. Defaults shipped to new workspaces:

  • Approve at >= 3.5.
  • Reject at <= 2.0.
  • The constraint approve > reject is enforced and both must be in the range 1.0 to 5.0.

Admins change thresholds in Settings → Categories. See Categories and criteria.

Admin overrides

Section titled “Admin overrides”

An admin can override an outcome later. Allowed transitions:

  • Needs discussion → Approved or Rejected.
  • Approved → Rejected or In implementation.
  • Rejected → Approved.
  • In implementation → Implemented.

Every override requires admin feedback text; the override form blocks save until something is written. The change is recorded on the idea's status timeline with the admin's name and the new feedback.

Admins can also edit an idea's content (title, description, and related fields) at any status, including after a decision has been reached. This is separate from overriding the outcome. Content edits are made inline on the idea's detail page and appear in the activity feed.

What's next

Section titled “What's next”