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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | August 2001 (Revised November 2017)

  IDEO

  Stefan Thomke

  Teaching Note for (600-143).

  Citation:

  Thomke, Stefan. "IDEO." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 602-060, August 2001. (Revised November 2017.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2000 (Revised October 2017)

  IDEO

  Stefan Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

  Describes IDEO, the world's leading product design firm, and its innovation culture and process. Emphasis is placed on the important role of prototyping and experimentation in general, and in the design of the very successful Palm V handheld computer in particular. A studio leader is asked by a business start-up (Handspring) to develop a novel hand-held computer (Visor) in less than half the time it took to develop the Palm V, requiring several shortcuts to IDEO's legendary innovation process. Focuses on: 1) prototyping and experimentation practices at a leading product developer; 2) the role of playfulness, discipline, and structure in innovation processes; and 3) the managerial challenges of creating and managing an unusually creative and innovative company culture. Includes color exhibits.

  Keywords: Business Startups; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Time Management; Product Design; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Creativity; Hardware;

  Citation:

  Thomke, Stefan, and Ashok Nimgade. "IDEO." Harvard Business School Case 600-143, June 2000. (Revised October 2017.)  View Details

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• Article | Harvard Business Review | September–October 2017

  The Surprising Power of Online Experiments: Getting the Most Out of A/B and Other Controlled Tests

  Ron Kohavi and Stefan H. Thomke

  In the fast-moving digital world, even experts have a hard time assessing new ideas. Case in point: At Bing, a small headline change an employee proposed was deemed a low priority and shelved for months until one engineer decided to do a quick online controlled experiment—an A/B test—to try it out. The test showed that the change increased revenue by an astonishing 12%. It ended up being the best revenue-generating idea Bing ever had, worth $100 million. That experience illustrates why it’s critical to adopt an “experiment with everything” approach, say Kohavi, the head of the Analysis & Experimentation team at Microsoft, and Thomke, an HBS professor. In this article they describe how to properly design and execute A/B and other controlled tests, ensure their integrity, interpret results, and avoid pitfalls. They argue that if a company sets up the right infrastructure and software, it will be able to evaluate ideas not only for improving websites but also for new business models, products, strategies, and marketing campaigns—all relatively inexpensively. This will help it find the right path forward, especially when answers aren’t obvious or people have conflicting opinions.

  Keywords: Research; Consumer Behavior;

  Citation:

  Kohavi, Ron, and Stefan H. Thomke. "The Surprising Power of Online Experiments: Getting the Most Out of A/B and Other Controlled Tests." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 5 (September–October 2017): 74–82.  View Details

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