BusinessWeek summarizes a SXSW presentation by Michael Lopp, senior engineering manager at Apple, about Apple's design processes. Not all strategies I use (I think using the term "strategy" when describing my own work would probably connote too much in the way of, say, strategy), but interesting. And it' hard to argue with Apple's track record overall in terms of design.

One thing I do normally do with design/production teams is what Lopp calls "pony meetings" (a term based, I think, on the Calvin and Hobbs cartoon):

This refers to a story Lopp told earlier in the session, in which he described the process of a senior manager outlining what they wanted from any new application: "I want WYSIWYG... I want it to support major browsers... I want it to reflect the spirit of the company." Or, as Lopp put it: "I want a pony!" He added: "Who doesn't? A pony is gorgeous!" The problem, he said, is that these people are describing what they think they want. And even if they're misguided, they, as the ones signing the checks, really cannot be ignored.

The problem, of course, is figuring out what portions actually get a pony and which get a rocking horse or that little stick with yellow yarn glued to the end.