KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple

Case Analysis

Submitted By
Aakriti Acharya
Animesh KC
Sirjana Shrestha
Surendra Pandey

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November 16, 2014

Synopsis
Apple is the worlds most successful and leading brand. Due to unique vision, philosophy and
dedication of Steve jobs and employees, Apple has been able to maintain its competitive position
till date. The employees of Apple provide new values to customer through unique design and
innovation. Apple has the ability to understand and deliver the customers needs in simple and
sophisticated way. The major reason behind the success of apple is its strategy where it develops
product that are completely differently than competitors i.e. it believes in being innovator rather
than imitator.
Case Issues
The issues in this case can be listed as:

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 customers expectation and continue to be a leading

brand without its founder Steve Jobs?

Which is more important? Innovation or Brand image?

Case Facts
The facts mentioned in the case are listed below:

Apple went through a lot of turbulent phases and had many ups and down in the past but
still, it struggled and never gave up. Due to its commitment towards product design and

development it has been able to sustain itself as worlds top Brand.

Apple always believed in keeping it simple yet sophisticated. It always focused on
customers need and wants and creatively developed user friendly product which are easy

to use and highly interactive.

Apples products are stylish, fashionable and trendy which makes it look classy and
elegant. This is also one of the reasons why Apple has attracted customers of all age

groups.
The co-founder Steve Jobs has played a major role in success of Apple. He along with his
team members had dedication, vision, ability and strategy to differentiate the product
from competitors due to which Apple is so popular these days.

Submitted By: Aakriti Acharya, Animesh KC, Sirjana Shrestha, Surendra Pandey

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November 16, 2014

Apple adopted platform strategy where it combined the strategy with operation. It has
envisioned a generation of products at the earliest stage of product concept and planning.
This strategy helped to collaborate with suppliers and customers by sharing assemblies
and subassemblies and this further created low cost, low repair, maintenance and high

reliability.
Apple always considered customers needs and wants and involved them while designing
the product. For example it applied pre-test trial and error approach, developed beautiful
products using sophisticated colors and designs to attract customers. This also helped to

create customer trust and loyalty towards the brand.

Apple always took bold steps, accepted challenges and went out of its comfort zone to
think ahead of its competitors. For example it invented app store and now has announced

to develop own chips for its products.

The most important fact about Apple is that it has always incorporated itself in learning,
exploring, experimentation, adaptation and innovation to maintain sustainability.

Analysis
Factors of success
Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world in terms of its innovation, creativity
and market capitalization. Also known as the leader of global technology market, its approach to
innovation is driven by creating breakthrough products. Apples success in innovation and
creativity can be attributed to three main factors: Design thinking, Clear platform strategy and
Excellent Execution.
Design Thinking: Apples success relied on the understanding of what people want and need. In
the mid 1970s when computer equipment were used by specialists only, Apple focused on
creating value in computing by focusing on how people used computing devices and by
developing computer that supported and fostered individual work. Apple viewed design as
product integrity and focused on simplicity of use and functionality in its products, and
sensibility in its design by focusing on smallest details. Problems were seen as moving targets
rather than something to be solved for. Similarly, it went beyond the superficial trends and
worked toward creating products that became an essence of customer experiences.

Submitted By: Aakriti Acharya, Animesh KC, Sirjana Shrestha, Surendra Pandey

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November 16, 2014

Clear Platform Strategy: Apple has a clear platform strategy where an initial product is
developed as a platform so that future derivatives and enhancements are not developed from
scratches. Due to the platform strategy, Apple has been able to introduce radical innovations with
consistency in its offerings. Both company and the customer benefit from this strategy as the
existing design elements can be used in the platform which reduces cost and increases reliability
of the production process. On the customer side, there will be fewer hurdles in understanding
how the product works.
Excellent Execution: Apple continuously pulls of the breakthrough products whose introductions
and delivery is nothing but remarkable. And the core approach is working intimately with the
manufacturers and being accustomed to customers. They focus on material selection and the
manufacturing process. And their excellence in execution comes from continuously thinking of
ideas to generate better products and the ways to enter new market.
In addition to these factors, Apples success can also be attributed to its iterative customer
involvement, continued innovation, bold business experimentation, constant learning and
adaptation from its strategies and failures and the design sense of its CEO or the chief innovator
Steve Jobs.
Systematic approach to innovation
Apple has been extremely systematic in its innovation approach. Great products are the result of
creative thinking and strategies. Apple has also placed huge importance on its design which acted
as a motivation to continued innovation. As per their innovation strategy, they build design target
first then only work of engineering would be done to achieve it. They focused on what people
want and need and then figured out how to achieve it technically by pushing engineers to use the
creativity and innovation to make it happen. Rather than creating a language or operating system
and then overlaying an interface, Apple started with an intuitive and simple approach and then
designed the operating system to accommodate it.
Thus it is clear that, Apple seems to have followed all the process required for innovation from
following simplistic approach for product development, creating value for the customer and from
systematic approach for innovation to focusing on details of each product.

Submitted By: Aakriti Acharya, Animesh KC, Sirjana Shrestha, Surendra Pandey

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November 16, 2014

A company without Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs had a larger vision in his mind and he would go to any lengths to achieve it. And it is
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.
However, the question arises whether; Apple will be able to keep up with customers expectation
and continue to be a leading brand without its founder Steve Jobs. With a well defined product
definition and well defined domain definition, Apple falls under sustaining innovation. Even in
the absence of Steve Jobs, Apple has been able to launch new products and deliver impressive
financial results. And thus we can say that Jobs leadership is redundant enough to keep the
company ahead till date. But, there is also question mark on the innovation ability of the Apples
management at this date. The team that helped Steve Jobs introduce new products is still at
Apple, however the absence of innovative products after the demise of Jobs shows that, Apple
has nothing new to offer. Similarly, the competition from Android makers with its latest offerings
can also pose a threat to the leading market share and brand image.
Which is more important? Innovation or Brand image?
Apples 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 to strive on its brand
image that it has built based on its innovation and creativity. But for a company like Apple,
Submitted By: Aakriti Acharya, Animesh KC, Sirjana Shrestha, Surendra Pandey

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November 16, 2014

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.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Design Thinking and innovation, is the main vision in every step, Apple has taken towards any
product design and development. Thus being the most innovative brand, Apple is expected to
move beyond computers, smart phones and tablets into other technology to keep up with the
vision of Jobs and to keep up with its commitment to product design and development. However,
the launch of Apple watch may unveil Apple, its product domain into wearable technology and
prove that Apple is still an innovator. The absence of any out of the box move to lead the
companys product to a new vertical market may lead to failure like that of other historically
great tech companies like Nokia and Sony. And thus, Apple definitely needs to keep on
innovating and focusing on its creativity.

Submitted By: Aakriti Acharya, Animesh KC, Sirjana Shrestha, Surendra Pandey