Apple is a technology company that creates revolutionary products and moves innovative progress over the last several decades. Steve Jobs, the founder of the company, had many creative ideas, yet only ones that were adequately analyzed and managed as projects led Apple to launch revolutionary products. The first iPad was released in 2010 as the middle device between the iPhone and MacBook, and it still has a strong market position among tablets (Isaacson, 2016). This paper aims to describe the iPad’s production as Apple’s project and discuss its objectives, requirements, and deliverables.
The iPad is an excellent example of the successful implementation of technology, design, and management during the work on objectives expected from the device. One of the key objectives was to implement the touch sensor technology in a tablet with a 9.7-inch, 1024×768 pixel display twice wider than a phone’s screen (Warren, 2020). It led the company to develop screens and glass capable of dealing with width requirements. An iPad was expected to be the same power as Apple’s other devices. Thus, another objective was to develop a battery that allows a customer to use an iPad for 10 hours straight without charging (Warren, 2020). It was revolutionary considering the size and power-consuming features of the tablet, and the project management included the analysis of existing batteries to choose from.
Although the objectives are related to different parts of the device, their basis is similar: both of the goals required the existing technology to be updated for becoming capable of applying to a new tablet. It is necessary for the project management to analyze products’ performance, forecast the strengths and weaknesses of the developing device, and determine what details are required to be built from scratch (Sońta-Drączkowska, E. & Mrożewski, M., 2020). Apple used its own technology from the iPhone to develop a new touchscreen and elaborated new batteries by improving the ones that already existed to meet the iPad requirements.
The crucial part of the iPad project management took place during the planning and execution stages. The outcomes of these phases influence the whole project’s success and require attention if new technologies are implemented (Munck et al., 2020). To build wider displays, Apple’s project management had to include the analysis, trials, and touchscreens’ development to align with the project closure deadlines. The batteries’ construction is required to manage the probation of sizes and power from older versions to optimize the new one. The execution phase for both objectives was controlled by tracking the quantity and quality data for each detail and testing and updating the tool’s capabilities.
The deliverables of producing powerful batteries and wide touchscreens for iPads were the technologies developed during the process. In 2020, Apple released its iPad Pro with a 12.9-inch display, significantly more tools, two powerful cameras, and a battery enough to work for more than 12 hours (Dillet R, 2020). It could not be possible if Apple did not manage its projects along with trying to discover innovative decisions.
Apple iPad was designed and developed in the United States, yet built in China in Apple factories. The labor culture of the Chinese is different, and considering this factor helped Apple to construct products faster. Moreover, personal differences played a vast role in completing the iPad’s objectives. Steve Jobs required the touchscreen to be light, and it forced the company to collaborate with third-party glass providers, yet they could build it in Apple factories (Isaacson, 2016). The impact of cultural and personal differences is that they increased an iPad’s production cost and made Apple’s technologies and manufacturing approaches exclusive.
The technologies, power, and tools that Apple offered by releasing its iPad made the company a market leader and turned many people into its loyal clients. The iPad’s project management reveals how the attention to the details and high level of requirements helped a company build a revolutionary product. The technological approaches based on Apple’s experience are used for many companies worldwide to produce powerful devices.
References
Dillet, R. (2020). Apple announces new iPad Pro.TechCrunch. Web.
Isaacson, W. (2016). Steve Jobs. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Munck, J. C., Tkotz, A., Heidenreich, S., & Wald, A. (2020). The performance effects of management control instruments in different stages of new product development.Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 16(2), 259-284. Web.
Sońta-Drączkowska, E., & Mrożewski, M. (2020). Exploring the role of project management in product development of new technology-based firms.Project Management Journal, 51(3), 294-311. Web.
Warren, T. (2020). Apple’s iPad changed the tablet game 10 years ago today.The Verge. Web.