Apple Powerbook Case Write-Up

subsequently the failed squeeze out of orchard apple trees first miniaturized computer, the Portable, the community was faced with the likelihood of losing signifi idlert ground in the mobile computing martplace if it didnt bring a intersection to market at memorialise speed. Apple had anticipated the Portable would be competitive enough to maintain market share until its semipermanent term Companion project was complete. However, thirty-six months remained until Companion would be ready.Weak sales coupled with Compaq introducing the farther superior LTE nonebook computer created intense pressure to bring a product to market in the conterminous 18 months that could serve as a placeholder until the Companion arrived. Bringing a product to market this quickly was no easy task. The rising portable needed to be sm every last(predicate) and compact, yet the utterly timeline meant only existing technologies would be for sale. If that was not challenging enough, the alliance cu lture was such that most products had a time-to-market of 48 months and involved a slow bureaucratic surgical movement with nine-fold departments needing to sign-on for apiece decision.Additionally, Apple compose had not fully confronted the notion that their desktop core competencies were not necessarily going to translate into success in mobile computing. despite these long odds, Apple not only prevailed, still created a radical product called the PowerBook that brought in billions of dollars in revenue and revolutionized the conventional wisdom behind the comp whatevers bearing philosophy. Part of Apples struggle in mobile computing stemmed from being the open of desktops. The company felt it k newfound what the market wanted based on its previous success.It was with the desktop in chief that Apple released the Portable, a mobile computer designed to do everything that a current desktop could do with the added benefit of being able to collapse into a carrying case an d be taken on the road. At a staggering 17 pounds and a cost of $5000, the Portable was met with plenty of skepticism and was doomed for failure. The company had simply failed to take the customers needs into consideration. Instead of making it smaller and lighter, as the market demanded, Apple focused on functionality and battery life. This contributed to problematic weight and size problems for the machine.The failure to recognize what consumers demanded wasnt Apples only development flaw. They also failed to recognize how quickly technological trends and consumer tastes were changing. The company was settle down developing products on a three to four year cycle and had yet to embrace a time-to-market philosophy. Instead priorities were dormant time-to-perfection with the company maintaining that it would not bring anything to market before its time. Additionally, they still had a desktop mentality, which meant strict design regulations that hindered the development of a sleeker , lighter computer.It was a combination of these factors that led to the failed release of the Portable and created the immediate need to development the PowerBook. As Apple scrambled to assemble the PowerBook group, the project fair game was clear get a mobile computer to market at record speed and slide by the size and weight to a minimum. The speed of develop was a major challenge to overcome and it was in general due to the organizational structure. Apple structured its company by functions and departments. And instead of dedicating specific resources for a project, each department supported all projects.This led to a cumbersome and lengthy decision making process which typically involved project managers struggling to get objectives accomplished. Often times the project manager was relegated in authority and routinely superseded by functional heads with all decisions inevitably at the mercy of the president of Apple Products, John Louis Gassee. Apple realized its current st ructure lacked the dexterity to meet its time-to-market objective and driven by necessity made several key decisions to secure time-to-market success.First, Apple made the decision to organize the company into separate divisions desktop and portable. Second, they decentralized engineering and product marketing, with the immediate goal of building a new portable engineering group. Lastly, although their Product and Industrial Design teams remained centralized, it was agreed that personnel from those teams would co-locate for the PowerBook project to ensure everyone was living the same air and talking the same talk. Revamping the organization structure was a key grade but there were still many missteps and obstacles that nearly derailed the project.One major issue was the allocation of personnel. Despite the intense pressure and importance of the PowerBook, the company still inclination of an orbited the project very low in monetary value of priority. All of the A talent was dedic ated to the Companion project and the PowerBook team was left with either immature level engineers or employees with only desktop computer experience. Inexperience coupled with intense pressure produced multiple mistakes along the way. Design standards were initially poor and prototype builds revealed several critical errors with manufacturing tolerances.All together, a list of 150 items was compiled of issues that the team felt needed to be addressed but it looked unlikely that the time and resources were available to name all the changes. Additionally, the PowerBook team had to overcome intense resistance from its manufacturing department. Manufacturing was accustomed to snap-together desktops and had a very intemperate time coming to grips with how they could possibly assemble a portable with 47 screws. The initial reaction from manufacturing was we cant build this thing.Product verification testing also proved to be treacherous. The deadline was so tight that after the manufa cturing process was well underway and thousands of displays were already in inventory the risk was still present that changes may be needed. This would produce a significant waste of resources. Lastly, the PowerBook team was confronted with bringing its new creative, ergonomic design to life, while dealing with size constraints as well as a mechanically skillful engineering team who was on the critical path and working under a well do it if we suck in time access code.Despite the long list of reasons why the project should have failed, it didnt. In the midst of all the missteps, Apple made several key decisions which propelled the project to success. One area where Apple thrived was in staffing. Although the engineers lacked experienced, the counsel involved in the project were innovative, creative, passionate, and practical. They worked tirelessly to make the project a reality and cared very profoundly about its success. It was their innovation and tireless effort that slowly c aused the project to transform.The team came to the realization that a notebook was not a piece of business equipment that someone operated it was a personal object with which they formed a relationship. It was this realization that drove the projects success. The project became not only about size but about ergonomics and about finding a way to form a connection with the user. It was with this approach that ingenious designs such as the center-mouse trackball and the use of curves took hold.Slowly the PowerBook was morphed from a product simply meant to catch-up to the market to something that surpassed any other notebook available. The team also made several other key decisions that made the PowerBook a success. One key determination was to include the internal floppy drive. There was untold discussion if this was a necessary component yet key members of the project argued for its inclusion and it was later determined the product would not have been nearly as successful without it.Another key decision was dealing with the 150 issues that were place after the prototype build. Originally, only 5 to 10 items were going to be changed. However after much discussion, it was determined the PowerBook would not be a success unless they fixed every last issue. To complete such a major overhaul in a short period of time they pulled all resources from the stallion portable organization and were able to complete all the modifications in a reasonable amount of time.As one project member later admitted, fixing all 150 items turned the PowerBook into something that I would be proud of versus a piece of junk. One final trait that the PowerBook team used to make the project a success was persuasiveness. There was organizational resistance throughout the project. From convincing senior circumspection to embrace the ergonomic design to convincing manufacturing that they had the ability to assemble a computer with 47 screws, the team used persuasiveness throughout the proje ct to eventually turn a vision into reality.Apple at last took a big risk with the PowerBook and it paid tremendous dividends. Along the way they learned a big(p) deal about listening to their customer and designing to their preferences. The company transformed from designing around uniform parameters to instead designing to the customers specific desires. Consequently, their product line became more flexible and filmable to the marketplace. Apple also matured operationally during this process.Prior to the PowerBook, the organization was not designed to be time-to-market, save necessity forced Apple to restructure to keep pace with competition. The companys human capital also benefited heavily. Mobile computer experience was at a minimum prior to the project, however the process eventually led to a much smoother release of the Companion computer several geezerhood later. The PowerBook project was fraught with potential disaster. But inevitably the company overcame many advers ities and released a revolutionary product that redefined the standard of excellence in mobile computing.