Excellence in Execution

In this part, Steve tended to improve the execution process by closing 2 divisions,
eliminating 70% of the new products and focusing on the higher potential products,
reducing the product lines from 15 to just 3, and shutting facilities to move
manufacturing outside the company. Apple also launched a website for direct sale of
its products and started to take an interest in materials and how products are
manufactured within a consumer-driven culture.

Platform Strategy

Apple streamlined their product portfolio to a family of products that can be produced
much more quickly while keeping the existing design elements. Also, the company
targeted product that require less repair and maintenance.

Iterative Customer Involvement

The consumer experience should be integrated into the design and development stages
through participating in usability testing. Also, the design for interfaces should focus
on the user experience.

Beautiful Products

In addition to the function of the product, the form should beautiful, which can be
achieved through continuous innovation and development. Apple also focused on the
materials and manufacturing process and took a bold approach to trying new ideas
rather than sticking with the ordinary design forms.
Apple’s history with innovation provides a clear lesson about how design and
innovation can turn company failure to market success and a leading position in a
competitive market. Design thinking helped Apple to innovate while placing their
consumers at the heart of the process. The period that Steve Jobs was absent from
Apple demonstrates that copying others and lacking a clear innovation strategy can
lead companies directly from success to failure. On the other hand, innovation can
definitely help build a successful business.

Why are Apple products different from their competitors’

a CO1 5
products?
How does Apple manage to achieve innovation in its product
b CO2 5
families?
Elaborate the design thinking process with reference to Apple
c CO3 5
company and it’s products.

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Printed Page : 4 Subject Code – KMBN106
Paper ID: 700106 Roll
Number

SRM BUSINESS SCHOOL

NH-24, Sitapur Road, Bakshi Ka Talab, Lucknow
MBA (1st SEM)
PRE-SEMESTER THEORY EXAMINATION 2022-23
DESIGN THINKING

Time : 3 Hours Total Marks : 100

NOTE: 1) The question paper contains THREE sections.

2) All parts and all questions are compulsory.
3) The figure given on the right indicates marks.
4) If require any kind of missing data; then choose or assume suitably.

Section - A
Q1. Write in short (10X2=20)
a What do you mean by design thinking? CO1 2
b What is prototype? Define with suitable example. CO1 2
c What is SCAMPER? What is the use of this tool? CO2 2
d Define technical innovation with suitable example CO1 2
e What is creativity? Give suitable example. CO1 2
f What do you mean by iteration in design thinking? CO1 2
g Examine the term Innovation? CO1 2
h Infer the need of brainstorming in design thinking. CO2 2
i Define the term ideate. CO2 2
What is Ideation? What is use of this tool? Define with
j CO3 2
suitable example.

Section - B
Q2. Elaborate your answer (ANY FIVE) (5X5=25)
“Creativity and Innovation is two sides of the same coin.”
a CO1 5
Justify your answer with the suitable example.
Write down the similarities and differences between the
b creativity, invention and innovation with the help of suitable CO1 5
examples.
c Define the process of Design Thinking with suitable diagram. CO2 5
 “Creativity is the most innovative way to serve your
customers”. Is it really true? How it is important for any
d CO2 5
company to survive? Justify your answer with the point of
view of FMCG sector.
e Differentiate between creativity and innovation. CO1 5
How you will implement the process of innovation? What are
f CO1 5
the elements that determine the process?

Q3. Attempt any FOUR parts

a How to conduct the Design Thinking workshop? What are the CO3 10
phases and activities conducted during this workshop?
b How design thinking helps banking sector to gain customers
CO3 10
trust? discuss
C Evaluate the factors that affect the level of innovation in an CO1 10
industry.
d “Design thinking is human centric”. Discuss CO1 10
e Discuss the various benefits of design thinking. CO2 10

Q4. Write in short (5X3=15)

Case Study – Innovation at Apple

Apple is one of the leading companies that is renowned for its unique products and
brand. A short talk with an Apple user reveals there is an emotional relation between
consumers and Apple products, including every “i” product created in the past two
decades.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple, the company share was only worth US $5 and its
future was uncertain. Today, in 2016, Apple’s share price is around US $108 and the
company achieved revenues of US $233.7 billion in 2015 with net income of US
$53.39 billion. This mini case study sheds light on the role that design thinking and
innovation played in helping Steve Jobs rescue Apple with his consumer-driven
strategy and vision for the company.

The Hard Times at Apple

The early days of Apple (which was cofounded by Steve Jobs on 1976) are
characterized by its first personal computer that was delivered with Apple OS. During
this time, Apple was dominating the market because there were no other
manufacturers of this type of computer as computers were used only by governments
or large companies. However, in 1985, Steve Jobs was forced to leave the company.
This marked the start of a chaotic era in the company’s strategy and product
development.
In the period 1985-1997, Apple struggled to achieve market success, especially after
Jobs’s departure and increasing competition from other giants such as IBM, which
decided to enter the PC computers market. During this period, Apple faced number of
challenges including:

 Unstable strategy due to the change of executive teams

 Unclear vision about Apple’s competitive strategy, especially after IBM
entered the PC market
 Unclear vision about selling OS licenses, which would put the company in
competition with Windows operating system
 Large number of failed products (such as Newton PDA) and few successful
ones (such as PowerBook)
 Products not unique in the market
 Confusion and uncertainty among Apple consumers, resulting from this
strategy

Design Thinking to Fuel Innovation

Apple is one of the leading companies in the field of innovation and this couldn’t have
happened without the company adopting design thinking. Design thinking is a
solution-oriented process that is used to achieve innovation with considerations about
the consumer at the heart of all development stages. Tim Brown, president and CEO of
IDEO, defines design thinking as follows: “Design thinking is a human-centered
approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of
people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”

Think Different!

After Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 (upon Apple’s acquisition NeXT), he
started to apply the design thinking characteristics discussed above, which reflected his
vision for Apple products. The vision discussed below was used to form Apple’s
strategy from 1997 until today. Steve Jobs applied design thinking by focusing on:
 People’s needs and desires, rather than only the needs of the business
 Building empathy by helping people to love Apple products
 The design rather than the engineering work; designers consider both the
form and the function of the product
 Building simple yet user-friendly products rather than complex hard-to-use
products

The vision characterized above can be clearly identified in modern Apple products.
Although other competitors focus on the features and product capabilities, Apple
focuses on a holistic user experience. For example, the iMac is renowned for being
quiet, having a quick wake-up, better sound, and a high-quality display. This vision
was formed in Apple’s development strategy that includes:
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