THE IDEO CASE

What is IDEOs value proposition (i.e, what value do customers anticipate

receiving from IDEOs services?

What role does IDEOs culture & organizational processes play in delivering
value to customers?

How do Phase Zero services compare to traditional (Phases 1 -4) services?

What is required for success in Phase Zero?

To what extent is Phase Zero a good fit for IDEO? Should they continue to
emphasize & expand this service?

SOME SALIENT POINTS RELATED TO CONTEXT

IDEO - design & innovation firm known for its various products & approach
to design process.
A firm whose success is based on brokering ideas, knowledge, & skills
acquired during one project for executing other projects.
Expertise in various kinds of engineering, design, & human factors research,
AND creativity.
Product development / innovation, in general, is inter-disciplinary (thus,
need for cross-functional teams), creating a niche for companies such as
IDEO.
IDEOs method: examination of business, technical, human factors,
designing, engineering, & thru to manufacturing.

SOME SALIENT POINTS RELATED TO CASE

Phase Zero began in the business development phase, if client could not
articulate what they wanted.
Phase 1: Concept generation

Phase 2: Concept development

Phase 3: Detailed engineering

Phase 4: Manufacturing liaison

SOME SALIENT POINTS RELATED TO CASE

The case allows exploration of challenges of collaboration between creative
designers (at IDEO) & business people (IDEOs clients).

It also focuses on issue of how much a successful company should change to

accommodate competitive forces: should IDEO keep re-inventing itself?

Further, the case allows us to consider how a company is to learn from

experience, and what should be learned.

Casts light on critical attributes of a learning organization the

capabilities & processes underlying learning.

EXAMINING THE SIMMONS RELATIONSHIP

What is your assessment of the Simmons project? Was it successful?
+ Side

- Side

IDEO came up with creative

reasoning & research
Innovation idea way
beyond what Simmons
could have done
Speed to idea
Sparked enthusiasm
Fulfilling experience

Nothing happened postpresentation

Contrary to IDEOs cultural
preference for action
IDEO employees could not
derive satisfaction from
seeing its design in use in
the real world

Projects success should be evaluated in light of IDEOs capabilities &

strategic aims.

EXAMINING THE SIMMONS RELATIONSHIP

Thinking as an MBA, what aspect(s) of the contract would you have framed
differently?
Notice the last sentence of Objectives section : Simmons & IDEO will
collaborate to define product concepts...

However, little evidence of collaboration; IDEO did not even know its
partner its focus being on a stellar mattress design, IDEO did not study the
Simmons organization, history, culture, mindset.
Notice the very last sentence of contract : The systems concepts would form
the basis of design briefs for full development.
IDEO people seem to be tied to their cognitive framework that Phase Zero
would be followed by the traditional phases.
Different, more specific contract : one that details e.g. whether aim is to
develop scenarios only, or provide a platform for a full-fledged multi-phase
project.be more clear on the range of Phase Zero work.

EXAMINING THE SIMMONS RELATIONSHIP

How did IDEO (& customers) usually measure the success of projects? That
is, how would you describe IDEOs traditional value proposition?
IDEO actually created something for customers:
- IDEO normally has a lot of leverage
- the customers pay for more innovative products that increase their sales
- the role customer plays is arms-length (initiating, then receiving product)

IDEO was able to charge a lot because of extraordinary sales its innovative
designs generated.

What allows IDEO to provide this value proposition? .

EXAMINING IDEO
What is about IDEOs identity/culture that allows it to be innovative? That
is, what capabilities underpin its success?
-

Creativity - wackiness

Allowing space (literally & figuratively)

Allowing space (vertically & horizontally)

A spirit of team & collaboration

Valuing different viewpoints & tolerance

Valuing failure

What was Phase Zero conceived as something that IDEO could offer? Does
it fit with how the organization currently operates?

Vote: Is Phase Zero a good / bad idea for IDEO?

EXAMINING IDEO
Points suggesting that it was a bad idea:
-

The company was not set up to do the kind of work Phase Zero entails

IDEO teams operate in closed, independent space, with little

interest/interaction centering on clients work life, systems & structures

Lack of experience of deep collaboration with clients

Points suggesting it was a good idea:

Given competition, IDEO must keep innovating /re-inventing itself

The firm has demonstrated an ability to learn; so it can learn to be good at

Phase Zero too

To drive demand in their core business

EXAMINING IDEO
Going forward, what does IDEO have to learn to be effective at Phase Zero
work?
Learn that it is important to understand clients corporate culture, structure,
systems; think how clients operate their business model.
Learn to collaborate with clients more deeply.
Learn to teach clients the difference between managing routine operations &
managing innovation.

Perhaps include more MBAs in project teams.

Include client reps as full team members working on designs.
Better clarification of roles, expectations, deliverables in future contracts.