How Apple organize technology development

Technology development and R&D is paramount for technology companies. For both the tech and industrial companies I have worked for, R&D is used to create superior customers experience as well as increasing margins through more cost effective products.

Organizing technology delevopment in terms of ideas, financing and process is a big issue for most companies. How does the most innovative companies do this?

In a recent interview at the Apple`s Wordwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple`s SVP for software engineering shares some insights:

  • All software developments includes people from different diciplines and levels including software engineers, designers, hardware engineers, and product managers. i.e . cross-functional teamwork at a massive scale. However they tend to keep the individual teams small

  • The result of their joint efforts in combining different disciplines often leads to the creation of software technology that goes beyond their initial intentions. This unexpected outcome highlights the essence of discovery and adaptation in the collaborative process.

Obviously this requires vision and leadership, as well as top down initiatives focusing on user experience, integration across devices, and technological advancements.

One of the most impressive new software this year was the new calculator, Math Notes: