IDEO Product Development

IDEO is one of the worlds largest and most successful product development firm founded by
David Kelley. It started its operations in 1991 when David Kelley Design merged with two
firms ID Two and Matrix which brought together the capabilities to offer the design,
development, and manufacturing of products for client companies. Major IDEO clients
included Apple Computer, AT&T, Samsung, Philips, Amtrak, Steelcase, Baxter International
and NEC Corp. In the late 1990’s IDEO employed over 300 staff and maintained design
centers in Boston , Chicago, San Francisco, London, Palo Alto, Grand Rapides, New York ,
Milan , Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

The IDEO philosophy was a unique blend of Californian iconoclasm with a genuine respect
for new ideas and invention. Central to IDEO’s design philosophy was the role of prototyping
and it served as the most important way to communicate with clients, marketers, experts
and end users. All IDEO offices had shops staffed by highly skilled machinists to rapidly
produce both simple and sophisticate prototypes. Rapid prototyping at IDEO followed the
three R’s ‘Rough, Rapid and Right’. The final R ‘Right’ referred to building several models
focussed on getting specific aspects of a product right. Quick and dirty prototyping allowed
for a greater number of iterations and failure is treated as enlightened trial and error.

IDEO sought to generate as many ideas as possible early in design process through almost
daily brain storming sessions. At times discarded ideas were archived and kept for possible
future products. When progress appeared to come to a standstill, the leader could call for a
Deep Dive approach wherein the team would focus intensively for an entire day to generate
a large number of creative concepts, weed out weak ideas and start prototyping based on
the top handful solutions. Since IDEO considered the involvement of clients throughout the
process, frequent client meetings were held to discuss all those issues regarding process
outcome, cost and time.

The culture reflected the importance that management attached to creating a democracy
of ideas.Most design firms(Unit) had less than two dozen employees despite the fact that
the total number of employees of IDEO grew to 300. Employees were encouraged to design
their own workspace to reflect their own personalities. The company discouraged formal
titles and did not mandate a dress code. Management encouraged employees to leave their
desk and walk around especially during mental blocks. IDEO paid high rent for its prime
silicon valley location so as to encourage stimulating interactions between employees. Free
unlocked loaner bicycles also facilitated movement between each buildings. Designers were
encouraged to talk to one another or even call a brainstorming session through email.
Management rarely fired employees and high performing employees were rewarded by
being given more challenging projects to lead and through more shares through its client
venture capital base. Each employee was assessed through a peer review sessions, with
peers chosen by the employee. An individual could work on one large project as principal or
on as many as three to four projects as a contributor. IDEO was a flat organisation and the
lack of hierarchy also avoided the problem of promoting designers and engineers into
administrative positions and out of their core functional area.
IDEO practices a non-formal five-phase process for development of a project, which
uncovers the successes and failures of a design. These phases include frequent
brainstorming, rapid and repeated prototyping, and concurrent engineering, which
combines art with engineering to produce a functional and visually pleasing product. IDEO
considers each phase of their process to be essential to development of a winning design.
For two decades, IDEO has contributed to the design of thousands of new products ranging
from a computer mouse to a stand-up toothpaste dispenser

Phase 0 :(Understand / Observe)- The team sought to understand the client’s business and
immersed itself in finding out the feasibility of a product

Phase 1: (Visualize/Realize) – The team ended up choosing a product direction based on

ideas, technologiesand market perceptions. By the end of Phase1, through the close
coordination with the client, the team would have rough three-dimensional models of a
product and general idea of the manufacturing strategy to be utilized.

Phase II : (Evaluating/ Revining)- The team enhanced design prototype through testing
functional prototypes. Phase II culminated with a functional model as well as a look like
design model.

Phase III: ( implement/Detailed Engineering) – The team completed product design and
verified that the final product worked and could be manufactured

Phase IV: (Implement/ Manufacturing Liaison) – The team ensured smooth product release
to manufacturing as the product moved from the shop floor to the clients factory lines.

The very frame work of IDEO philosophy was to encourage innovation through ‘out of the
box thinking’. The design of the organisation structure, product development process, work
culture and employee management was aimed at encouraging innovative ideas. Prototyping
which was the very essence of IDEO philosophy was also aimed at transforming new ideas
into acceptable products. Being a product development firm, IDEO rightly had identified
innovation as the key to its success. New products could be developed only through new
ideas and prototyping and client interactions ensured that the new ideas are transformed
into innovative and useful products.