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I think Job was responsible for the maps debacle. When you set hard deadlines for software release dates because you want to have tentpole features for IOS rel
by x0x0 9y ago
I think Job was responsible for the maps debacle.
When you set hard deadlines for software release dates because you want to have tentpole features for IOS releases, and you mostly refuse to do widespread beta tests because then it won't be surprising, you're creating the maps debacle. Now I'm sure maps was harder than it looked, but I'd also bet lots of people on the inside knew that. They should have let the date slip.
- chris_wot 9y agoI honestly think Jobs thought that no problem is hard enough that you can't cajole or threaten staff into just working harder. You see it all through his career. We are hitting territory where there are now problems so hard that it will now take time to create the software. He never got that.
- simonh 9y agoThis is all moot with respect to Jobs. He resigned due to health reasons 20 months before Apple Maps was launched and died almost a year before it was launched. They couldn't let the date slip, because the deal with Google was set to expire and not having a built-in maps application at all was not an option. The question you need to ask is, did a pushy management style make Apple Maps better than it would have been otherwise or worse. I think it's hard to argue that pushing the team hard didn't produce a better product than they would have had otherwise.