Ideo

IDEO’s working style: Innovative Solution: Innovative People &Processes, Knowledge of Science and Technology (Domain of the Possible), and Intimate Customer Knowledge

IDEO’s culture could be described as eccentric, fun, creative, and innovative. The out-of-the-box working styles and shifting of working groups help to keep thinkers fresh and constantly on their toes.

Analysis of the case: Problems faced by Dennis Boyle and the IDEO team:

The problem facing Dennis Boyle was whether or not to put aside his company’s tradition of spending substantial amounts of time and energy on the design phase of a product in order to rush the Visor PDA to market, which would be cheaper and have more potential for expanding functionality, but would lack the trademark high-quality and well-researched design that had made IDEO designs the front runners of innovation in the industry.

Alternatives: Boyle could reject the offer to assist in the Handspring Visor product, but considering the fact that so many of the Handspring team members have close ties to IDEO, it could create animosity or resentment between the teams. Alternatively, he could ask the management to delay there lease so that more time could be spent designing it properly for the market it was intended for. This comes at the risk of missing out on valuable market entry timing, which could cut into profits or allow competitors time to gain control of the market and gain followers that potentially could have been Visor customers. Boyle also has the option of accepting the project timelines and constraints, allocating to it there sources that he sees necessary to make it the best product it could be, given the limitations of the development time and cost target. Included in this process would have to be the identification of differentiating factors (aside from the improved functionality) that would make it a popular, useful, and competitive product. This option, if chosen, should include giving the IDEO team adequate...