Apple developed the computer known by the codename “Lisa” in the early 1980s.
Development began at Apple in 1978, initially as a project for a business computer. The Lisa eventually launched on January 19, 1983, with a graphical user interface, icons, windows, menus, and a mouse. Those features made it far more visually oriented than command-line computers such as the Apple II.
The Lisa was technologically ambitious but commercially unsuccessful. Its high price, limited software library, and performance constraints kept sales low. Apple later released the Lisa 2, and the Macintosh borrowed important ideas and software concepts from the Lisa project after its introduction in 1984.
The name is often explained as an acronym for “Local Integrated Software Architecture,” but that expansion was largely a backronym. The computer was also widely understood to be named after Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Steve Jobs's daughter. Apple developed the machine, while many individual engineers—including members of the original Lisa team—contributed to its hardware and software.