Opinions are important, and gathering and taking note of opinions rapidly is not always easy without a good tool to help. Impact Explorer allows you to gather a group of people, from 3 to 500 in size, and find out what they feel about a subject. Whether the group are experts in your organization, your customers, or a management team, you can rapidly put together a list of topics and use the various tools to find out valuable information.
Impact Explorer™ can be used for simple data gathering where the results are not displayed, or it can be used as a focus for debate and discussion. In the latter mode, you can identify disagreements amongst the participants, and then discuss them to gain a better understanding of the situation. Impact Explorer™ is designed to be flexible - you can use it for impromptu meetings, or for fully pre-prepared formal workshops. It can integrate with other tools like PowerPoint® and Decision Explorer® for seamless operation, and can use data from a variety of sources including disk and clipboard. It doesn't get in the way when facilitating a workshop - you do not have to remember to save results because it does that for you automatically. At the end of the workshop, you can generate a report with the results using Microsoft® Word or Excel, saving you time typing the data in again.
You can use Impact Explorer™ as a stand alone tool or you can use it with Banxia's Decision Explorer® software (an ideas mapping package). With Decision Explorer® as a public display a "map" of ideas about (for example) potential risk factors can be shown. The group works together with the easy to use electronic keypads to assess the impact and probability of any potential risk. The keypads that Impact Explorer™ uses are just like the ones you may have seen used on television shows for audience participation. The keypads allow you to quickly gather opinions from everyone involved in your meeting or event and to see how their thoughts about risk factors vary.
In addition to the main facilities, Impact Explorer™ packs in a number of facilities that make your life as a facilitator much easier. These keep with the theme of quick and impromptu capability while allowing for more structured, pre-prepared workshops too.
Spell Check
You can quickly spell check the element texts and the voting prompts to ensure that you are putting on a good presentation. British and American dictionaries are included as standard.
Agenda manager
Impact Explorer™ 3 includes a full "agenda manager" which allows you to prepare not only activities like voting and ranking, but also statements, discussions, breaks, and timers.
PowerPoint integration
Impact Explorer™ 3 improves the PowerPoint integration by not only including a button on the toolbar which will take you straight to your current PowerPoint presentation window, and allowing PowerPoint Actions to switch to Impact Explorer, but you can now control your whole presentation using a "master keypad" and automatically switch between PowerPoint and Impact Explorer according to the agenda you have defined. These allow you to seamlessly integrate Impact Explorer™ into a workshop using PowerPoint as a tool for explanation and Impact Explorer for voting.
Microsoft Word & Excel document building
Impact Explorer™ can export to Microsoft Word® or Excel® to create a summary of the workshop, saving you having to type the basic meeting details in again, and can full results can be included as well as the pictures generated. This can be done at the end of the workshop, or later back at your office for more considered feedback.
Demonstration mode
Impact Explorer™ includes a demonstration mode that enables you to show people how the software works without having to set up a radio keypad system. It includes a single on-screen keypad and 49 emulated keypads which will produce random responses.
Full screen mode
You can tell Impact Explorer™ to fill the whole display with just the data, thus removing the window borders. Along with the auto-hiding toolbar, this encourages 100% focus on the topic in hand.
Full background customization
You can specify the color of the display background to the questions, either as simple color, or a gradient fill. In addition you can include a bitmap which might be a corporate logo, or a bitmap, perhaps related to the workshop theme or to match your PowerPoint presentation.
Full service options
Our service options don't just stop at supplying the software and hardware. If you want coaching in the use of the software and facilitation techniques, it is available as part of a package. Facilitation and consultancy are also available.
Training courses
A training course introducing Impact Explorer™ and facilitation to professionals is now available.
Impact Explorer 3 requires XP, Vista or 7. A USB port will be needed to connect the base station. You will usually need a projector to display the screen.
