The in-house developed Synthetron Discussion Software tool is an on-line discussion and collaboration platform where participants can anonymously and interactively comment, exchange and validate opinions or ideas via a structured process on a realtime basis, using their own pc’s. The immediate outcome of such a discussion is a structured list of the most supported statements of the group.
Benefits of using the Synthetron Discussion Software
Easy to use – Scalable – Save time and money – Speed up efficiently – Anonymous, confidential and authentic – Deep insights – Actionable – Engaging
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Easy to use : The Synthetron tool is offered as an online service and does not require any setup or download. Like a meeting, you just invite your participants to the discussion by giving them a unique discussion URL. The user interface is easy to pick up and feels like being in a real meeting with 7-8 people despite there being maybe hundreds of participants in the discussion.
Scalable (upto 1000 people) : A productive, efficient meeting involving more than 8 people has been practically impossible… but now Synthetron allows hundreds of participants to engage in real-time collaboration and stimulation of insights, ideas, and opinions.
Save time and money : A Synthetron discussion takes about an hour, while online training only takes about 5 minutes. Hence, it helps you save a substantial amount of time and money as participants have no need to travel or relocate.
Speed up efficiently : The discussion is parallel processed giving you an enormous efficiency gain; during a one hour discussion, a group of 30 people will easily exchange 300-400 statements and filter and weight 30-50 of these statements as the most relevant. All original statements are saved in case further detail is required.
Anonymous, confidential and authentic : A Synthetron discussion is anonymous and confidential so participants can safely say what they really think. Politics and hierarchy cease to influence what is said and groupthink is no longer an issue. All comments made by participants are authentic, candid and in their natural language even when the subject matter is sensitive. For your business confidentiality all communication is encrypted and secured.
Deep insights : Synthetron meets all of the conditions named by James Surowiecki, in his book “The Wisdom of Crowds” to obtain the best insights: independence, decentralisation of participants and an effective aggregation system.
Actionable : The Synthetron tool automatically provides a short report showing a clear list of the most supported insights, ideas or opinions – rather than a long stream of consciousness which is interesting to read but difficult to act upon. This valuable information is almost impossible to obtain in any other way and is only a step away from appropriate management action.
Engaging : Participants recognize that they are genuinely being listened to and feel more engaged in the process or topic of discussion. They do not need to wait for their turn to speak, or pluck up the courage to make a point. Everyone can make a comment when they want to.
If you would like to experience the working of such a discussion, you can sign up for an open debate at the Thinking Tank.