Ideo Case Study Report
Case
Study
Report
Introduction IDEO is a design and innovation consulting firm that was founded in 1991 and has been a successful example of what innovation and innovative design can accomplish. Its Palm V program was quite successful and created new expectations for what PDAs could look like and do, while maintaining a functional simplicity. Jeff Hawkins had started the original Palm Pilot program in 1996 and found enthusiastic acceptance among consumers. Senior project leader Dennis Boyle was chosen to head up the development of the Palm V, which would integrate a slim, more colorful and sleek design, which would focus more on emotional appeal than souped‐up hardware. IDEO’s culture could be described as eccentric, fun, creative, and innovative. The outside‐the‐ box working styles and shifting of working groups help to keep thinkers fresh and constantly on their toes. In the early 90s it was innovative to the point of being ambiguous at times for staff and management, but this was seen as providing fertile conditions for the generation of innovative thinking and ideas. However, by the late 90s this culture had become slightly more bureaucratic, to the chagrin of the executives and founders. This is because the management itself is a creative and inspired group that is very comfortable with ambiguity. This is exemplified by founder David Kelley’s dismay when asked permission by employees to leave early or bring a spouse to a company event; he would much rather there was less hierarchy. IDEO’s product creation process is unique in that it embraces the eccentricities of its corporate culture, and does so to increase the creativity and value of the designs it produces. Having a team together for only one project at a time, dispersing them and changing team formations for other projects, makes the input for new designs diversified and the thinking of the participants fresh. Healthy teams are extremely important for stimulating
Introduction IDEO is a design and innovation consulting firm that was founded in 1991 and has been a successful example of what innovation and innovative design can accomplish. Its Palm V program was quite successful and created new expectations for what PDAs could look like and do, while maintaining a functional simplicity. Jeff Hawkins had started the original Palm Pilot program in 1996 and found enthusiastic acceptance among consumers. Senior project leader Dennis Boyle was chosen to head up the development of the Palm V, which would integrate a slim, more colorful and sleek design, which would focus more on emotional appeal than souped‐up hardware. IDEO’s culture could be described as eccentric, fun, creative, and innovative. The outside‐the‐ box working styles and shifting of working groups help to keep thinkers fresh and constantly on their toes. In the early 90s it was innovative to the point of being ambiguous at times for staff and management, but this was seen as providing fertile conditions for the generation of innovative thinking and ideas. However, by the late 90s this culture had become slightly more bureaucratic, to the chagrin of the executives and founders. This is because the management itself is a creative and inspired group that is very comfortable with ambiguity. This is exemplified by founder David Kelley’s dismay when asked permission by employees to leave early or bring a spouse to a company event; he would much rather there was less hierarchy. IDEO’s product creation process is unique in that it embraces the eccentricities of its corporate culture, and does so to increase the creativity and value of the designs it produces. Having a team together for only one project at a time, dispersing them and changing team formations for other projects, makes the input for new designs diversified and the thinking of the participants fresh. Healthy teams are extremely important for stimulating