Insist on the path of gifts to reveal the whole process of Apple innovation

Apple designs products in accordance with the "gift" standard, a feeling that all people are looking forward to opening. Apple's designers believe that there are two types of people in the world. One is to open gifts to people who see them less than Christmas morning, and the other is to put gifts under the Christmas tree, waiting for them like children, and constantly being their own. People who are looking forward to torture and finally open on Christmas morning.

The two hottest topics in the recent past have been related to Apple: One is that Jobs’s “only six weeks of life” rumors have buzzed; the other is the launch of iPad2. Jobs once again showed the world that it was Want to buy iPad2, before the rumors did not break.

At the same time, everyone is also concerned about a problem. Without Jobs's apple, can innovation continue? This question must be seen by the beholder and the wise see him. Here only to initiate a discussion, to discuss with everyone and share your own views. It mainly consists of three discussions. The first one is to share the process of Apple innovation that I know. The second is Steve Jobs's legendary experience in the development of Apple. The third chapter makes some bold predictions for the future of Apple without Jobs.

Apple is the most innovative company in the world in terms of any ranking. In the 2008 "Business Weekly" and BCG Innovation Academy Awards, the "Top 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World" will be selected for the first time. Ranked first: From 2007-2010, Apple's sales increased by 165%, gross margin increased by 18%, and stock returns increased by 96%. The reason that Apple can do this is to constantly launch products with disruptive features: iTune, iTouch, iPhone, iPad and more.

Michael's senior engineering manager, Michael Loop, once disclosed the strict internal product innovation process and design philosophy at the 2008 SXSW conference.

First of all, when Apple designs products, it is done according to the "gift" standard, a feeling that all people are looking forward to opening. Apple's designers believe that there are two types of people in the world. One is to open gifts to people who see them less than Christmas morning, and the other is to put gifts under the Christmas tree, waiting for them like children, and constantly being their own. People who are looking forward to torture and finally open on Christmas morning. Apple's product is designed for the second person. Their philosophy is to make every detail of the product the ultimate, so that every Apple fan will experience the feeling of Christmas when he enters the Apple store several times a year. .

The core of Apple's innovation is to extend from the concept of such a gift. The so-called great idea is packaged with great ideas: Apple MaxOSX is a gift in its lightweight, beautiful hardware design, and the hardware is in Apple's perfect shape design. In the gift, the entire computer is a gift in an apple-like shop. In the end, all this is a gift packaged in Steve Jobs's wonderful, dramatic speech every year. From design to production to marketing, no consumer electronics company has put such a gift concept to such an extreme level.

Second, Apple believes that sample design accurate to the pixel is very important. Each Apple internal designer must design each interface and feature of the software to the pixel, so that senior managers can judge. In this way, every time a senior manager sees a complete product, what is approved will end up looking like the final product. The control of details of many companies will not be so perfect, so that the final product will always surprise many people. Apple's approach eliminates any ambiguous details in product innovation, thereby minimizing the need to correct mistakes later.

Again, from ten to three, to one. Taking into account the design of each sample must be accurate to the pixel, Apple requires that any sample must have ten different designs, from which it will be determined that the three improvements are perfect, and ultimately choose one for the final product. The advantage of such a method is to leave room for innovation to the maximum extent, allowing designers to freely choose any design that is different from the past, while letting them know that 90% of the work may not be adopted. This approach seems to be a waste of company resources, but the strict control of the 10-3-1 process actually guarantees a balance between innovation and efficiency.

There is a design meeting that matches twice a week. Every week, engineers and designers have to open two different meetings together. One is the “brainstorming session.” Everyone speaks out all sorts of crazy ideas and is completely unrestricted. Regardless of the characteristics of new products or the improvement of existing products, everyone speaks freely. Another meeting is a "production meeting." In contrast to brainstorming, this meeting is about making the selected crazy ideas as detailed as possible, how to do it, and why. These two kinds of meetings are repeated in this way throughout the product development process. If you have heard that Steve Jobs rejected a design that is about to be completed at the last minute, you will understand that this DNA for perfection runs through Apple's product design.

Finally, it is a regular sample exhibition. There is a classic saying: "Customers are not buying drills, customers are buying holes." Engineers and product managers don't understand: What customers want to buy is not a product, but they need to use a product to complete a task or solve a problem. problem. Apple will periodically allow engineers to design the best samples based on user needs and the process just described, and then display them to the top management. This maximizes the assurance that what users want is exactly what the product can provide, and also allows management to regularly determine the progress and direction of team work.

The process of such a product innovation R&D has not been heard by all the technology companies I work and understand. This reflects Apple’s pursuit of perfection. The perfectionist is exactly what Jobs has to say about himself. In our next article, we will come to the gossip about Jobs's experience as a perfectionist and its influence on Apple.

Lighting Pole

Huayuan Lighting Co., Ltd. , http://www.jslightpoles.com

Posted on