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Frequently asked questions

# How long does it take for the platform to be up and running?

**Short answer** 

Innguma's platform can be active and configured in less than 24 hours from when the watch needs are defined. How long it takes before the watch is useful depends mainly on what happens before and after: defining well what to watch, and fine-tuning sources and filters with the first real results until they let through what is relevant and keep out the noise.

## What does the real timeline depend on?

A set-up has three phases, and only one depends mainly on the platform:

| Phase | What is done | What its length depends on | What your organisation contributes |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1\. Defining what to watch | Identifying decisions, topics, priority sources and recipients | The availability of the people who decide in each area | A reference person, and each area’s needs in writing |
| 2\. Activating | Creating the watches, connecting sources, defining the initial filters and starting capture | Phase 1 being closed; the configuration itself can be completed in under 24 hours | The list of sources you already use, and those that require a subscription |
| 3\. Fine-tuning and starting to receive | Reviewing the first results, adjusting filters and sources, activating newsletters and access to the Library | How many adjustment rounds each watch needs | Readers who say what is superfluous and what is missing |

## Why is fine-tuning needed after activation?

Because no filter gets it right first time. Information retrieval measures two things that pull in opposite directions: precision, the share of what is retrieved that is relevant, and recall, the share of what is relevant that is retrieved[\[1\]](https://www.innguma.com/en/resources/faq/onboarding-time/#ref-1). A broad filter on a technology brings in what matters but also a lot of noise; a narrow one leaves out signals that someone would miss. The balance is only found with real results and with the judgement of those who read them.

A typical case: a watch on solid-state batteries starts with a filter on the name of the technology. In the first week it brings, alongside the useful items, consumer news and opinion pieces. The adjustment consists of requiring the term to appear alongside manufacturing or materials terms, adding the patent databases as a source, and removing two general-interest outlets. Illustrative example.

UNE 166006:2018 reflects this logic: it adopts the common structure of management systems and orders the operational requirements by type of output, from source control through search, processing, value-adding, distribution and storage[\[2\]](https://www.innguma.com/en/resources/faq/onboarding-time/#ref-2). The standard, in force since April 2018[\[3\]](https://www.innguma.com/en/resources/faq/onboarding-time/#ref-3), also includes performance evaluation and improvement: a watch is not configured once and for all.

## What tends to lengthen a set-up?

-   **Wanting to cover everything on the first day.** Starting with one or two areas that have clear needs shortens phase 1.
-   **Needs with no decisions behind them.** ‘We want to be up to date with the sector’ cannot be filtered; ‘which competitors are patenting in this field’ can.
-   **Nobody to validate the first results.** Without readers who respond, phase 3 stalls.
-   **Subscription sources not clarified.** If a key source requires a licence, it is worth resolving this before activating.
-   **Integrations that depend on third parties.** Integration with Active Directory requires your organisation’s IT team.

## When can the watch be considered operational?

A practical criterion: when each area receives its newsletter, reads it, and has been able to flag at least one signal that helped it decide or anticipate something. From then on, the watch enters continuous review: filters, sources and recipients are reviewed when priorities change. The full methodology is explained on its own page.

## Sources and references

1.  \[1\] [Manning, C. D., Raghavan, P. and Schütze, H. Introduction to Information Retrieval, ch. 8: Evaluation of unranked retrieval sets. Cambridge University Press, 2008](https://nlp.stanford.edu/IR-book/html/htmledition/evaluation-of-unranked-retrieval-sets-1.html)
2.  \[2\] [Utrilla, F. Watch and intelligence systems in R&D+i management. UNE Standardisation Review (La Revista de la Normalización Española), No. 3, May 2018](https://revista.une.org/3/sistemas-de-vigilancia-e-inteligencia-en-la-gestion-de-la-id.html)
3.  \[3\] [UNE. Standard record for UNE 166006:2018, R&D+i management: watch and intelligence system](https://www.une.org/encuentra-tu-norma/busca-tu-norma/norma?c=N0059973)

## Related

- [How a watch is set up with Innguma: a methodology in four steps](https://www.innguma.com/en/onboarding-methodology/)
- [Academy](https://academy.innguma.com/en/)
- [Watch filters: what they are, how they work and why they decide the quality of a watch](https://www.innguma.com/en/resources/software/filters/)
- [Does Innguma integrate with Active Directory?](https://www.innguma.com/en/resources/faq/active-directory/)

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