Facebook's New R&D Machine

Author:

Shayndi Raice

Source:

For years, Facebook Inc. chief Mark Zuckerberg led a loose collection of programmers who dreamed up half-baked products after all-night coding sessions known as "hackathons." They would often remodel the website with no warning and with little concern for users' opinions.

Now, with a user base of more than 900 million and plans for a blockbuster stock debut, Mr. Zuckerberg takes a decidedly deliberate approach to product development.

That's evident in how the 28-year-old chief executive led the creation of "Timeline"—Facebook's biggest product launch since 2006...