GROUP ASSIGNMENT

SEMESTER II 2015/2016

SESSION 01

COMMERCIALIZATION & INNOVATION

CASE STUDY:

DESIGN THINKING AND INNOVATION AT APPLE

PREPARED FOR:

PROF. DR. ROSELINA AHMAD SAUFI

BY:

ABDULMAJID TAHER MOHSEN ALHUMAIKANI

(MBS141076)
HUZAIMAH YAHYA
(MBS 141112)
OEKE EMMANUEL OBUMNAEME
(MBS141163)
RAJA NOSYITA RAJA HUSSIAN
(MBS141050)

DATELINE:

28 MAY 2016

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 Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction ............................................................................3

2.0 Case Synopsis ..........................................................................3

3.0 Case Issues ..............................................................................4

4.0 Design Thinking .......................................................................4

5.0 Product development, strategy and execution .........................6

6.0 CEO as ChiefInnovator.............................................................8

7.0 Bold Experimentation ..............................................................9

8.0 Conclusion and Recommendation .......................................... 10

9.0 List of reference..................................................................... 10

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1.0 Introduction

Apple is one of the leading organizations that is prestigious for its one of a kind
products and brand. A short chat with an Apple user uncovers there is a passionate
connection amongst buyers and the company's products, including each "i" item made in the
previous two decades. Why are Apple products not quite the same as their rivals' products?
How does Apple figure out how to accomplish development in its products families? Noting
these inquiries gives intriguing understanding into Apple's history and how it survived its
most basic time somewhere around 1985 and 1997.

At the point when Steve Jobs came back to Apple in the wake of being let go, the
organization offer was just worth US $5 and its future was questionable. Today, in 2016,
Apple's offer cost is around US $108 and the organization accomplished incomes of US
$233.7 billion in 2015 with net wage of US $53.39 billion. This smaller than normal
contextual analysis reveals insight into the part that outline speculation and development
played in helping Steve Jobs salvage Apple with his buyer driven methodology and vision for
the organization.

2.0 Case Synopsis

Apple is the world’s most successful and leading brand. Due to unique vision,
philosophy and dedication of Steve jobs and employees, Apple has possessed the capacity to
keep up its focused position till date. The representatives of Apple give new values to client
through one of a kind outline and development. Apple can comprehend and convey the
client's needs in basic and advanced way. The significant purpose for the achievement of
apple is its procedure where it creates item that are totally uniquely in contrast to contenders
i.e. it has faith in being trend-setter as opposed to imitator.

The case is mostly about Apple's way to deal with innovation, administration, and
design thinking. For quite a long while, Apple has been positioned as the most creative
organization on the planet, yet how it has made such progress stays puzzling in light of the
organization's fixation on mystery. This note considers the elements of Apple's prosperity and
its mission to create, in the expressions of CEO Steve Jobs, madly extraordinary items.

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Concentrates on 1) design thinking, 2) product development strategy and execution, 3) CEO
as chief innovator, and 4) bold business experimentation.

3.0 Case Issues

There are some questions have arisen within this case that need to be answered.
Questions about the creativity that keeps Apple the among its rivals. For instance, what are
the key factors that have contributed to the innovation and creativity at Apple? Is there any
systematic approach to innovation at Apple? Will Apple be able to keep up with customer’s
expectation and continue to be a leading brand without its founder Steve Jobs? Which is more
important? Innovation or Brand image? The answers to these questions are in the discussion
of this case.

4.0 Design Thinking

Design Thinking is a solution-oriented method used by designers to solve complex

problems, and find desirable solutions for clients. Developed by IDEO founder David Kelley,
design thinking is defined as “a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the
designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the
requirements for business success.” Thus, the method focuses on three main elements of a
product or solution: people, technology, and business. All of these aspects evolve around the
customer. (Turnali, 2016).

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Source : www.designorate.com

Back in the early days in mid-1970s, computer usage was limited big company and
government agencies, not accessible for everybody and used only by experts. Computer main
function was for data processing and automation. When Apple enter the industry, they
offered a mind blowing value proposition, namely computer for individual usage and benefits
with less complexity.

Application of design thinking by Steve Jobs was mainly focusing on people’s needs
and desires rather than sole needs of the business. To make sure that consumers love Apple
product, their way of thinking was based on empathy and attention to detail. Worries about
design details have make Apple produce simple design and get sophisticated with being
simple. For example, the early version of Mac did not include diskette slot, which later was
followed by other firms, and simple function of iPod was designed only for music
maneuvering gadget. Simplicity was the “wow” factor that makes products more desirable
and services more appealing to users.

The vision characterized above can be clearly identified in modern Apple products.
Although other competitors focus on the features and product capabilities, Apple focuses on a
holistic user experience. For example, the iMac is renowned for being quiet, having a quick
wake-up, better sound, and a high-quality display.

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5.0 Product development, strategy and execution

It is debatable to understand that not all ideas are good ones, and even good ideas
don’t guarantee success. According to Griffin (1997) he argued that approximately 86 percent
of new product ideas never make it to market; of those that do, 50 to 70 percent fail. Apple’s
CEO Steve Jobs says that, among other practices, the seed of Apple`s innovation is "saying
no to 1000 things" so as to concentrate on the "really important" creations.
Innovation and new product development (NPD) are often closely tied together as the former
is frequently a key element in the latter. The word or term "innovation" refers to the
generation of new ideas and the work of people to find ways to implement those ideas in
practical ways. New product development occurs over time and covers various stages
necessary for a business to conceive and create a new product. It can be a tangible good or an
intangible service. Innovation and new product development are often synergistic forces, as
innovative spur NPD, which in turn can inspire further advancement with a company and
industry.

It is important to know that innovation can be a major technological leap, such as the
introduction of a completely new product that has no discernible competition. Simpler forms
of innovation can include new developments within an existing market which alter the way in
which people use and view such products and we can vividly see this on this case study of
Apple.

Apple based most of its innovation and NPD on the simplicity of use (beautiful,
smooth, and consistent) and functionality. Apple goes beyond superficial trends and gets to
the essence of customer experience. At Apple problems were moving targets, not something
that was to be solved once and for all. Why? It is because the company based on innovation
and trend adaptability. Apple has a sequence of things to assess and consider before the
inception of any product development. It must consider the marketing, engineering, and user-
experience as the 3 main core drives for its NPD. Again, setting up a design group, team
leader, and a budget, anticipated release date of the product, ad cycle and pricing details must
be considered before any NPD take place. Nonetheless, the process connotes first the
evaluation of marketing requirement document, an engineering requirement document and

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user-experience document. Once these documents are being reviewed by the executives and
approved, then the design group would get the budget and a team leader. The product
development team will work on the product based on these mentioned 3 requirement
evaluations. Moreover, the need to figure out the release date, ad cycle and pricing details are
imperative for the commercialization process.

Apple has a certified excellence ways of executing its product to the market.
Although there is no specific system for its product execution but the company is based on
the great process because the process makes them more efficient as a result of innovative
mindset.

Apple has its distinctive core competence in design. It designed and developed its
products from scratch and has unique hardware with the proprietary operating system.
Immediately after licensing program was stopped, Apple scrapped 70% of its new product,
manufacturing was moved abroad and a website was launched for direct sales. These consist
of efficiency in the processes.

On the Apple platform strategy, It made sure that the company achieved high
efficiency, lower costs and simplicity. The company created a platform that can
accommodate development and production of derivative products, which has it, significant
benefits to Apple, its suppliers, and customers as well.

Apple deployed participatory design strategy as well on its NPD. This involved
designing products based on user needs and wants. It involved more users testing in order to
create smoother software and user-desired design through customer involvement. Apple
pressed more value on its product, which generated beautiful products. As a result of this,
more attention was paid on supply chain of acquiring materials and manufacturing techniques
to creating steady beautiful products. Apple gave attention to its product colour and design.
As a result of colour, the making of pristine iPod white was successful which later enhanced
by deploying different materials and new production techniques to achieve colorful iPod that
increased its market share dramatically.

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6.0 CEO as ChiefInnovator

Steve Jobs had a larger vision in his mind and he would go to any lengths to achieve
it. It is also his vision that has distinguished Apple as the leader in innovation. His vision
emphasized on across the board excellence, from aesthetics to superior operations. His main
ideology was to combine the intellectual with artistic view and to put individuals and their
problem solving efforts above everything. His belief in simplicity as the ultimate
sophistication helped to create a people driven product design

After Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 (upon Apple’s acquisition NeXT), he
started to apply the design thinking characteristics discussed above, which reflected his vision
for Apple products. The vision discussed below was used to form Apple’s strategy from 1997
until today. Steve Jobs applied design thinking by focusing on:

 People’s needs and desires, rather than only the needs of the business
 Building empathy by helping people to love Apple products
 The design rather than the engineering work; designers consider both the form
and the function of the product
 Building simple yet user-friendly products rather than complex hard-to-use
products

The vision characterized above can be clearly identified in modern Apple products.
Although other competitors focus on the features and product capabilities, Apple focuses on a
holistic user experience. For example, the iMac is renowned for being quiet, having a quick
wake-up, better sound, and a high-quality display. This vision was formed in Apple’s
development strategy that includes:

a) Excellence in Execution

In this part, Steve tended to improve the execution process by closing 2 divisions,
eliminating 70% of the new products and focusing on the higher potential products, reducing
the product lines from 15 to just 3, and shutting facilities to move manufacturing outside the
company. Apple also launched a website for direct sale of its products and started to take an

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interest in materials and how products are manufactured within a consumer-driven culture.

b) Platform Strategy

Apple streamlined their product portfolio to a family of products that can be produced
much more quickly while keeping the existing design elements. Also, the company targeted
product that require less repair and maintenance.
Iterative Customer Involvement
The consumer experience should be integrated into the design and development stages
through participating in usability testing. Also, the design for interfaces should focus on the
user experience.

c) Beautiful Products

In addition to the function of the product, the form should beautiful, which can be
achieved through continuous innovation and development. Apple also focused on the
materials and manufacturing process and took a bold approach to trying new ideas rather than
sticking with the ordinary design forms.

7.0 Bold Experimentation

Apple’s brand image is distinctly based on its ability to innovate continuously and
adaptively. In the past, Apple has always focused on differentiation, which provided
competitive advantage to its competitor by making better products for bigger markets like
MP3 players, smart phones and tablets. Apple has been able to sustain in this competitive
environment due to its innovative idea. But the question arises what if it stops being
innovative? Will it still survive due to the brand image or will fade away like other popular
brands?

Without compelling new products in big markets, there is creeping concern that Apple has
lost its innovation edge. Apple CEO Tim Cook who had worked alongside Jobs in past is
often seen as smart operations leader rather than a creative innovator. During recent years,
the company has updated existing products its cutting edge technology, and it has continued

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to strive on its brand image that it has built based on its innovation and creativity. But for a
company like Apple, innovation is must before brand image. Though it has sustained the
innovation due to its revolutionizing products, which quickly dominated the market, the
inability to introduce such breakthrough products may put the brand image of Apple at stake.

8.0 Conclusion and Recommendation

“Design Thinking and innovation”, is the principle vision in each evolution, Apple
has taken towards any product design and development. Therefore, being the most
imaginative brand, Apple is required to move past PCs, advanced mobile phones and tablets
into other innovation to stay aware of the vision of Jobs and to stay aware of its dedication to
item plan and improvement. Be that as it may, the dispatch of Apple watch may uncover
Apple, its item area into wearable innovation and demonstrate that Apple is still a visionary.
The absence of any out of the case move to lead the organization's item to another vertical
business sector may prompt disappointment like that of other verifiably awesome tech
organizations like Nokia and Sony. What's more, in this way, Apple certainly needs to
continue improving and concentrating on its creativity.

9.0 List of reference

Griffin, A (1997)PDMA Research on New Product Development Practices: Updating Trends

and Benchmarking Best Practices,J production innovation managing, Vol. 14, pp. 429-458

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